We’re just two weeks from the start of the 2024 NFL Draft and most teams have turned their focus completely to that event. The Dallas Cowboys might have been the first team to put all of their focus on the draft since they practically stayed out of free agency.
Even with their inactivity in the offseason, there are still a handful of Cowboys who could be in danger of losing their position with the club. Here we look at the six who are on the thinnest ice entering the NFL Draft.
6. Nahshon Wright, Cornerback
Dan Quinn had a type when it came to cornerbacks. The former defensive coordinator (who is now the head coach of the Washington Commanders) wanted tall cornerbacks with long arms. That’s exactly what he got when they took Nahshon Wright from Oregon State in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Wright was considered a late-round pick and the Cowboys were accused of making a huge reach here. After three seasons, it still appears as though Wright was over-drafted.
He’s been unable to carve out a role on the base defense, logging just 50 snaps this past season. That’s down from the 91 he played as a rookie and the 128 he had in year two.
Wright heads into this season with 37 tackles, five pass defenses, and one interception. He’s been a good special teams contributor but that might not be enough for him to stick around, especially if Dallas adds more depth at the position in the draft.
5. Deuce Vaughn, Running Back
The darling of the 2023 NFL Draft class fell off in a major way as a rookie.
Deuce Vaughn was added in the sixth round of the draft and his father was the one who gave him the call of a lifetime. Chris Vaughn, the assistant director of college scouting, was able to deliver the news and ask the Kansas State product to come work with him.
Unfortunately, it was quiet for Vaughn after that. He appeared in just seven games as a rookie and had 40 yards on 23 rushing attempts. He added 40 yards on seven receptions but managed just two first-down conversions and never scored a touchdown.
Looking ahead to 2024, it can go just about any way imaginable for Vaughn. He’s suddenly on a very thin depth chart with Rico Dowdle and Malik Davis as the only other experienced backs. That could lead to an uptick in touches for him. Or, it could lead to them utilizing more than one draft pick on the position, making it that much harder for him to make the roster as a sophomore.
Vaughn had 3,604 yards and 34 touchdowns in three seasons for the Wildcats. He needs to figure out how to turn that collegiate production into success in the NFL — and needs to do so in a hurry.
4. Viliami Fehoko, Jr., Defensive End
Deuce Vaughn was far from the only player the Cowboys selected in 2023 who failed to live up to expectations. In all honesty, the entire class did very little including their first-round pick, Mazi Smith, and second-round selection, Luke Schoonmaker.
Their issues didn’t improve during Day 3 either as they had almost no production from those rookies. That includes Viliami Fehoko, Jr. who was a fourth-round pick out of San Jose State.
Fehoko came into the league with an ideal build to play defensive end. He measured in at 6-foot-4 and 276 pounds at the combine. The second cousin to Vita Vea, Fehoko was expected to be a project but as a rookie, he never even saw the field.
Perhaps the coaching staff felt it was best to essentially redshirt him and allow him to grow through practice. But it would have been nice to see him find his way to the field, if even just at the end of the season.
Dallas could find a way to move him up now that Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler followed Dan Quinn to Washington. But he could also be on thin ice if they didn’t see enough growth from him during the season.
3. Jalen Tolbert, Wide Receiver
The good news for Jalen Tolbert is that he’s in a much better spot this season than he was heading into the 2023 campaign. After catching just two passes for 12 yards as a rookie, he was an afterthought going into year two.
Once camp began, he proved to have taken a step forward, and that showed on the field. Tolbert played in all 17 games and was credited with six starts. He ended up recording 22 receptions for 268 yards with two touchdowns. He even helped the offense take a step forward when he was elevated to the No. 3 spot ahead of Michael Gallup.
Having said all of that, Tolbert still didn’t do enough to keep Dallas from adding a wide receiver in the draft. He surely benefited from Gallup setting the bar so low and will have to prove he’s still making forward progress to keep his job.
If Dallas were to land a wideout during the first two days of the draft, the South Alabama product could slide right back down the depth chart. It might not be enough to get him removed from the 53-man roster (they’re far from loaded at wideout) but it could relegate him to special teams once again.
2. Terence Steele, Right Tackle
As frustrating as it was to watch the Cowboys ship off Amari Cooper in 2022 to pay Michael Gallup, it was even worse to see them fail to learn from their mistake.
Gallup was recovering from an ACL tear suffered at the end of the previous season when Dallas handed him a five-year extension worth $62.5 million. Gallup struggled to get back to form and they ended up releasing him this offseason.
A similar fate could be in store for Terence Steele.
Much like Gallup, Steele was given a huge extension after tearing his ACL. While still recovering last offseason, Steele signed a five-year deal worth $86.8 million. While it’s true he was fantastic in 2022, paying him before he proved he could bounce back was an unnecessary risk — and it backfired in 2023.
Steele was one of the top right tackles in the game in 2022 but went in a pole opposite direction last year. He struggled in both pass and run protection and was easily the weak link on their line.
Perhaps having a year under his belt following the surgery will help but there’s also a chance the Cowboys could start looking for his replacement. This year would be an ideal one to do so with several impressive offensive line prospects. All the Cowboys need is for one of them to slide into Day 2 or 3 and they could land a developmental player to push — or eventually replace — Steele.
1. Mike McCarthy, Head Coach
Even if it’s not fair, Mike McCarthy enters this draft sliding all over the ice.
The Cowboys’ front office continues to do things their own way — despite the continued failures. They remain the one team that sticks with five-year extensions for players rather than three (which was a sticking point in their first negotiations with Dak Prescott) and refuse to spend on outside free agents.
They also love to play hardball with players during negotiations despite being burnt in the past by Prescott and DeMarcus Lawrence. That extends beyond players as well as they have no problem sending their coach out for a lame-duck season.
That’s what happened with Jason Garrett in 2019 as everyone knew he was coaching for his job. Now in 2024, they’re doing the same with McCarthy.
Despite winning 36 games over the past three seasons, they refuse to commit to him long-term. To make matters worse, they’re giving him a roster that has less talent than a season ago and might have Prescott playing in his final year as well.
The deck is stacked against McCarthy right now — and even though it might be good to get away from the Jones family, it might also be hard to find another head coaching gig if this season is a disaster.