Dallas Cowboys post draft assessment: What position improved the most?

The Dallas Cowboys addressed a handful of major needs in the 2022 NFL Draft this past weekend. Their three biggest needs, interior offensive line, defensive end, and wide receiver, were all attacked with Dallas’ first three picks.

The Dallas Cowboys continued to fertilize their garden with traits-heavy players. Players that with a little time and a little development are physically equipped to become legitimate NFL pieces. As we predicted earlier in the offseason, the Dallas Cowboys are focused more on 2023 than they are 2022, and this incoming draft class certainly seems to support that idea.

In due time, what position group improved the most by adding the Dallas Cowboys 2022 NFL Draft class?

I imagine, at first thought, offensive line jumps to the forefront of most minds when posed this question. The Cowboys added Tyler Smith in the first round, Matt Waletzko in round five, and even picked up Alec Lindstrom as an undrafted free agent.

Smith and Waletzko are traits freaks who just need seasoning and they could be stars in the pros. Lindstrom is pedestrian physically, but as we explained yesterday, he’s one of the smartest centers in the class and should be able to overcome any physical shortcomings with intelligence.

Based on how the various units played in 2021, which one stands to be better with this influx of new talent down the road?

While the potential for impact is there on the offensive line, I’m not sure it will be the most improved when the new guys actually get comfortable and finally hit their stride. I want to consider the position group as a whole. Based on how the various units played in 2021, which one stands to be the most improved with this influx of new talent?

The position I’m looking at for that improvement is linebacker.

As crazy as it first sounds, linebacker is the position that stands to improve the most (over their 2021 standard) once their draft pick gets on his feet. The draft pick I reference is LSU’s Damone Clark.

Micah Parsons, Jabril Cox, and Damone Clark could give the Dallas Cowboys one of the best LB trios in the NFL in 2023

Drafted in in the fifth round (No. 176 overall), Damone Clark is not your typical sleeper pick. The captain of LSU’s defense and Dick Butkus Award finalist, Clark is one of the best linebacker prospects to enter the NFL this year.

Wearing the infamous No. 18 jersey, Clark was once considered a lock to go early on Day Two of the draft (injury aside, Bryan Broaddus ranked him the highest in the Cowboys draft class – above Tyler Smith) . One spinal fusion surgery later and Clark’s stock fell through the floor. Some teams even removed his name from their board altogether.

Teams that need to “win now” can’t afford to spend a draft pick on a potential red shirt player. But a team like the Dallas Cowboys who have been eyeing 2023 all along, have no problem being patient. And it could pay off enormously…

Micah Parsons, Jabril Cox, and Damone Clark could give the Dallas Cowboys one of the best LB trios in the NFL in 2023

They say “timing is everything” and that appears to be the case here. Parsons (22), Cox (24), and Clark (21) are just scratching the surface of their immense potential. When Clark expects to be back in 2023, they forecast as one of the youngest starting trios in the NFL and could very well be the best as well.

It’s not that all three are just individually superior; it’s that all three complement each other’s play so well. Micah Parsons, as we all know, is not just an off-ball linebacker. He rushes the passer at an abnormally high rate from a variety of places like the EDGE, slot, 3-tech, and linebacker positions.

Jabril Cox is a coverage ace. Noted to be the best coverage LB in the 2020 NFL Draft, Cox came to Dallas as a coverage option at LB, as well as SAF, and even slot coverman. When Parsons runs forward, Cox drops back. They’re the perfect third-down pairing.

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Putting it all together is Damone Clark.

Like the other two Dallas Cowboys linebackers, Damone Clark is gifted athletically.  The 6-foot-3 239lb. linebacker out of LSU is a do-it-all weapon. He can pursue the run, play man coverage, and even lineup on the EDGE and rush the passer.

Clark isn’t as disciplined as Cox is coverage, nor is he as dynamic as Parsons is rushing the passer, but he’s a player without any true weakness that blends the two together giving the Dallas Cowboys quite the fearsome threesome.

Obviously this all depends on Clark’s ability to get back from that terrible injury that took him off some teams’ boards, but the same argument can be made for any undeveloped prospect we’re prognosticating. Clark is on track for a full recovery, and unlike Jaylon Smith’s issue a few years ago, lingering effects are not expected.

Clark is on track for a full recovery, and unlike Jaylon Smith’s issue a few years ago, lingering effects are not expected.

Where this unit differs from all the other Dallas Cowboys’ units, especially the offensive line, is the timing. Remember we said “timing is everything?” Well, linebacker is generally a hit-the-ground-running type of position, meaning the learning curve shouldn’t be significant for any of the three LBs as they transition to the NFL. Again, this could be the best off-ball LB unit in the NFL by 2023.

Offensive line? Not so much. Developing into an elite offensive lineman often takes time. Zack Martins and Tyron Smiths are not grown on trees. They were special and came to Dallas polished AND elite. Tyler Smith and Matt Waletzko are not that. While Smith has sky-high potential, he also has a lot he has to clean up. He comes to Dallas with 16 penalties on his resume. It’s safe to say even playing inside at guard, he’ll be challenged more in Dallas than he was at Tulsa.

Matt Waletzko is all that, times ten. His tape is even more suspicious and while he tested off the charts physically, he needs a lot of work developing before he’s anything but a liability. And just yesterday I discussed the UDFA Alec Lindstrom. Lindstrom has a legit shot at challenging Tyler Biadasz the next couple years at center. He’s limited physically but he’s elite mentally.

So in a best case scenario, where two of the three offensive linemen work out and make an above-average impact on the starting offensive line, what are we looking at? 2023? 2024 maybe?

In two or three seasons the rest of the offensive line could look considerably different than it does now. Tyron probably won’t be playing, and if he is, it won’t be even close to the level we’re used to. Zack Martin can’t play forever either. Keep in mind, Martin is only a month (A MONTH!!!!!) younger than Tyron.

So by the time these 2022 picks start really making an impact on the Dallas Cowboys offensive line, Dallas will be in the market for new offensive linemen to replace cornerstones Tyron and Zack. So those Tyler Smith, Matt Waletzko, and Alec Lindstrom additions weren’t about upgrading, they were about surviving (although I do believe Smith starts at LG in 2022).

When you really look at things, it’s the LB group that upgraded the most from the 2022 NFL Draft. Clark’s injury won’t let it be immediate, but it will happen fast and should happen somewhat seamlessly.