Dallas Cowboys biggest concern: The Athletic says it’s this…
By Reid Hanson
The Dallas Cowboys, like most NFL teams, enter the summer with a handful of concerns. From health, to development, to personnel, to consistency, there’s no shortage of worries in the days leading up to camp.
The Athletic recently sat down and pounded out the top concerns for each team this summer. Heading up the Dallas Cowboys portion of the endeavor was none of than long-time Dallas writer, Jon Machota.
What did he list as the very top concern in Dallas?
The offensive line remains the top concern for the Dallas Cowboys this summer.
After the somewhat aged unit cratered last season, the Dallas Cowboys invested major efforts in rebuilding their offensive line this offseason. They let two former starters walk (La’el Collins and Connor Williams) and invested two draft picks to somewhat replace (including their first round pick).
Even with all the attention paid to the O-line this offseason, the Dallas Cowboys know as good as anyone their top top issue entering the 2022 offseason remains their top issue heading into training camp.
the Dallas Cowboys know as good as anyone their top top issue entering the 2022 offseason remains their top issue heading into training camp.
Aside from Zack Martin at right guard, there is a certain degree of concern across the line this summer. Do we know how Terence Steele will play his second season at RT? He was okay last season (league average performance) which marked a huge improvement over his rookie year. Will he continue that upward trend? Will he plateau? Will he regress back? We expect him to improve but that’s still big speculation for a former undrafted prospect.
Tyron Smith on the other side is also a mystery. Over the last two seasons he’s missed more games than he’s played. When he plays he’s a star. The problem is…well…you know.
Backing him up is anyone’s guess and could tip the balance of the entire season. Josh Ball and Matt Waletzko are the options and both of them are complete unknowns in the NFL. If the idea of one of them starting multiple games at LT isn’t a concern to you, I don’t know what would be.
Tyler Smith at left guard is going to offer highlights as well as low lights. He’s both extremely raw and extremely gifted, so mixed results should be expected. Even at center Tyler Biadasz is a mystery. Despite being a two-year starter, he hasn’t progressed how we’d hoped. Was he bad in 2021? No, but he wasn’t good either. The idea of combining Biadasz’s play with a rookie wildcard like Smith is the reason they created blood pressure medicine.
Jon Machota certainly didn’t go out on a ledge here. Everyone who looks at the situation critically can see the offensive line is a concern. The Dallas Cowboys will only go as far as their offensive line will take them.
Must Read. Where Dak and Zeke more to blame than the O-line?. light
What are other concerns heading into camp. What do you rank No. 2?
- Published on 07/11/2022 at 12:28 PM
- Last updated at 07/11/2022 at 12:34 PM