Dallas Cowboys Training Camp: Top-5 position battles to watch in 2020
By Reid Hanson
Dallas Cowboys Battle No. 3: Center
Primary Competition: Joe Looney, Tyler Biadasz, Connor McGovern
Edging out guard for the more important battle to monitor this summer is the battle for starting center. The center position is tasked with identifying and communicating assignments across the line. The position is more mental than physical since the center rarely takes on blocks alone and has to see the big picture each and every play.
Joe Looney is floor in this battle since he’s a proven veteran and 16-game starter for Dallas back in 2018. He wasn’t good, mind you, but he wasn’t atrocious either. He was basically a C- on an offensive line of mostly A students. He’s their insurance if other options claim the position in training camp.
As mentioned earlier, Connor McGovern is former college center and could challenge for that starting role if the Dallas Cowboys decide so. If Dallas felt good with Connor Williams at guard again in 2020, that may the wise thing to do. McGovern is a smart and talented linemen more than capable of playing in the middle.
The real wild card in this battle is the rookie Tyler Biadasz. The former Wisconsin Badger fell into the fifth round of the 2020 draft and the Cowboys moved up to get the guy many teams considered the second-best center in the draft.
Biadasz, a 2020 Outland Trophy Finalist (for best offensive lineman in college), a first team All-American, and the 2020 winner of the Rimington Trophy (best center in college) appears to be the most talented of the bunch. But injuries hampered him last season (hence his fall in the draft) and it’s unknown if he’s actually 100% heading into Cowboys Camp.
What also threatens to disrupt his bid for starting center is the uncertain status of training camp. COVID-19 renders everything uncertain and training camp will most assuredly be like something we’ve never seen before. That’s bad news for any rookies or unproven challengers like Biadasz.