Why the Dallas Cowboys don’t need insurance for Tyler Biadasz at Center

The Dallas Cowboys traditionally live and die by their offensive line play. That’s why last season death seemed inevitable when both starting offensive tackles were lost for the year early in the season.

The snowball only grew from there: Dallas’ swing tackle Cam Erving missed significant time, top guard Zack Martin missed significant time, and starting center Joe Looney missed time. For a team built on the back of their offensive line, it was an exercise in Murphey’s Law for the 2020 Dallas Cowboys.

So it only makes sense the Dallas Cowboys want to insulate themselves this offseason from the disaster they suffered last year. All the skill position talent in the world don’t matter a hill-a-beans if the O-line is a disaster.

Do the Dallas Cowboys need to find a contingency plan behind Tyler Biadasz?

This winter the focus has been primarily focused on the tackles. With both starters suffering significant injuries last year (neck and hip), a full return to action in 2021 is no forgone conclusion. But is it possible the concern at OT is causing us to overlook concerns elsewhere? Particularly at center?

Last year the Dallas Cowboys seemed to score one of the steals of the draft when they snagged Wisconsin center, Tyler Biadasz, in the fourth round. The former Rimington Trophy winner, given to the nation’s top college center, quickly earned his way into Dallas rotation and now represents the future at the center position for the Cowboys.

But with last year’s starting center, Joe Looney,  set to hit free agency next month, the Dallas Cowboys are seemingly lacking depth. That may be risky considering Biadasz’s injury history. One of the reasons he fell to Dallas in the draft is because of his injury plagued 2019 season at Wisconsin. And last year the rookie center missed time to injury again.

It seems irresponsible to put all of the Dallas Cowboys eggs in Biadasz’s basket.

Last season Biadasz did well but he wasn’t exactly lights out either. Of the 36 centers Pro Football Focus graded and ranked, Biadasz finished 32nd. Based on all of this, it seems irresponsible to put all the Dallas Cowboys eggs in Biadasz’s basket.

The good news is the Dallas Cowboys already have a contingency plan on the roster. Whether they choose to recognize him or not, Connor McGovern is a versatile interior lineman who has experience at the center position back at Penn State.

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McGovern will likely be in the mix at guard with Connor Williams, but it’s the latter Connor who’s expected to win the job. That frees up McGovern to be a swing interior lineman and a former top-100 pick who can provide some insurance to Biadasz.

The Dallas Cowboys shouldn’t feel pressured to grab depth at center, either in free agency or the draft, because they already have it in McGovern. It’s unlikely anyone they pick up will be better than McGovern so it seems wise to allocate those resources elsewhere.

Obviously, if the best player available is a center and there’s no other reasonable options at positions of need or positions of higher value, then by all means, draft a center. But there’s no reason to actively pursue a center just because we’re a little unsure of Biadasz.

The Dallas Cowboys should be cautiously optimistic about Tyler Biadasz but they don’t need to add additional contingency plans because they already have one