Cowboys Connor McGovern on playing FB: “livin’ a lot of fat kids’ dreams”

The Dallas Cowboys said they wanted to find ways to get their five best offensive linemen on the field at the same time, so I suppose no one should be surprised that when they went to Connor McGovern with a plan, they were able to accomplish just that. What we didn’t imagine is how exactly Kellen Moore was going to go about doing it.

Would it be at RG? With La’el suspended five games, many of us were clamoring for Zack Martin to man the RT post and let McGovern take over at his natural position of RG. Or would it be at center? McGovern was a center at Penn State and second year center, Tyler Biadasz, has struggled in the pass protection portion of his job.

None of the above. The idea Kellen Moore came up with was much more creative than that. And when he proposed it to Connor McGovern, Connor simply replied, “Sure, what do I gotta do?”

The Dallas Cowboys have found success using their top reserve offensive lineman as a fullback.

The idea of using an interior lineman to play lead-blocker isn’t completely unseen in the NFL. The 86 Bears popularized it by using William “the Refrigerator” Perry back in the day and a handful of other girth-lovin’ coaches have followed suit in the years since.

But using Connor McGovern in the backfield is still fairly unique to McGovern and to the Dallas Cowboys offense. It’s thinking outside of the box and it’s paying off big time. In his two snaps at the goal line, both resulted in touchdowns. His four other opportunities netted 28 yards. You can see above his agility to move quickly, get to his point and make his block. Not all big guys can do that.

Not only is McGovern excelling in his new role, but it saves the Dallas Cowboys an active roster spot in the process. It also gets the best offensive linemen on the field at the same time.

"“A lot of linebackers think they can just beat me to the hole, they don’t know that I can get there too,” McGovern said with an enormous smile. “It’s just a lot of fun, livin’ a lot of fat kids’ dreams out there.”"

By using McGovern, the Cowboys aren’t just winning match-ups, but they’re keeping him engaged and active on offense as well. McGovern has expanded his skillset and in his own words, “It’s nice knowing seven positions.”

Between the offensive line positions, tight end, and fullback, McGovern does offer tremendous depth and versatility to the roster. And I think we all know how much a certain Stephen Jones values position flex, am I right?

It wasn’t just Connor McGovern who was noticeably giggling while talking about his new role, but the topic brought about Kellen Moore’s biggest smile of the press conference as well. The package known simply as “Mac”, brought on this explanation from the Cowboys OC:

"“It’s the Mac show,” said Moore. “Mac goes in there and he handles everything. It’s been awesome. ”"

The Dallas Cowboys aren’t just an extremely talented offense but they are creative as well. Using Connor McGovern as a FB and TE is just the latest example of that.

Good job Mac. Keep living those fat kids’ dreams out there…