Why Connor McGovern could still have a future on the Dallas Cowboys

Not too long ago, the Dallas Cowboys considered a certain third round pick out of Penn State to be their steal of the draft. After watching him fall roughly two rounds deeper than where they slotted him, the Cowboys pounced, grinning ear to ear on Day 2 of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Since then, things haven’t been quite so sunny for Connor McGovern in Cowboys Land. Veterans have blocked his entry into the starting lineup and even when given spot starts at LG and RG, he’s produced a mixed bag of performances.

The man once seen as the heir apparent to Connor Williams at LG, is now seen as no more than a spare part in Year 4 of his NFL career. And that might be a mistake.

Connor McGovern could have a future as the starting left guard on the Dallas Cowboys

The difference between Connor McGovern at LG and Connor McGovern at RG is night and day. In Week 1 of 2021, McGovern was asked to start in place of Zack Martin on the right side (film breakdown in the twitter thread below). All he did was put up a career performance against one of the best interior defensive lines in the NFL.

Later in the season, McGovern was asked to take over for Connor Williams on the left side. All he did here was prove the grass is indeed not always greener and that McGovern isn’t half the guard on the left side than he is on the right.

That may sound preposterous since the demands, skill sets, and assignments are the same from one side to the other. But we can’t underestimate the importance of muscle memory and how flipping sides of the offensive line requires mirrored (opposite) movement and technique. It doesn’t always immediately translate.

What we can’t deny is how well McGovern played on the right and that it’s within his ability to play that way on left if he can just develop that needed muscle memory to make the movements natural. When that happens – he’s in business.

Opportunities linked to Tyron Smith in 2022

The pathway to the starting lineup is once against blocked for the fourth-year guard. Zack Martin is entrenched at RG and the rookie Tyler Smith seems a shoe-in for the guard spot on the left.

You may be thinking, what opportunities will Connor McGovern get in 2022 and how on earth is it linked to Tyron Smith – a tackle? It’s true, no reasonable person would think McGovern can play tackle so the Tyron Smith connection is not a natural one to make.

But in a trickle-down kinda way, we could very easily see this “link” come to pass.

As we discussed earlier in the week, the Dallas Cowboys are going to continue to work Tyler Smith at both LG and LT. The Tulsa rookie is an experienced LT and someone the Dallas Cowboys may lean on if and when Tyron Smith misses games in 2022.

Keep in mind, the two main back-up tackles on the roster are developmental prospects we know very little about. The idea of asking either Josh Ball or Matt Waletzko to take NFL snaps in place of Tyron is enough to shivers down the spines of even the bravest among us.

In other words, if Tyron Smith misses time, expect Tyler Smith to slide over and fill in. This would open a hole at LG, creating an opportunity for Connor McGovern to prove he’s the steal the Dallas Cowboys thought they were getting when they drafted him in 2019.

Until then, Connor McGovern will play the same role he played last season. He’ll be the Dallas Cowboys special weapon as the sixth offensive lineman. He’ll be part FB, part TE, and part OL on obvious running downs.

The LG of the future

We can’t disregard the many potential ways this season could go on the offensive line. Think about everything that happened last season…

In summer of 2021, La’el Collins and Tyron Smith were back. Connor Williams and Tyler Biadasz were coming off a streak of some of their best games (late in 2020) and Zack Martin was again Zack Martin.

How did it all shake out? Collins lost his job to arguably the worst OT in the NFL a season prior (Terence Steele was abysmal in 2020). Connor Williams had his worst season as a pro and even lost his job for a period of time. Biadasz floundered a bit and Tyron was good but unreliable.

Within six months, Collins and Williams were off the roster completely. Imagine if someone told you all that at this time last year?

So imagine this for 2022: Tyron Smith struggles to stay healthy. Tyler Smith covers LT in relief and looks pretty good doing it. Connor McGovern replaces Smith at LG and looks pretty good doing it.

The Dallas Cowboys decide to move forward from Tyron in 2023 and permanently move Tyler Smith to LT (a plan they hope to execute someday anyway). They re-sign McGovern to a mid-level deal making him the starting LG going forward.

Likely to happen? A lot more likely than Steele going from lucky to be in the league to starting RT on the Dallas Cowboys, that’s for sure.  The point is, don’t sign off Connor McGovern quite yet. He’s shown us he can be a plus starter on the right side and if he can just get the muscle memory down to do it on the left, he could help form an improved offensive line in the near future.

Connor McGovern is a good NFL guard. If he he can prove he can play both sides this season, he may have a future on the Dallas Cowboys