Despite winning 12 games for three straight years, the Dallas Cowboys are feeling the heat entering the 2024 offseason. They have had success in the regular season, but once the playoffs start, things fall apart for them.
That’s why the upcoming 2024 NFL draft is looming so large for this franchise. They have several of the key pieces but need to replace a few role-players — perhaps even some starters — in order to take their next step. With that in mind, here are six starters who could have their job taken by a rookie.
6. Leighton Vander Esch, MLB
The Cowboys, first pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Leighton Vander Esch broke into the league with a huge campaign as a rookie. For the next couple of years, he struggled with injuries, which wasn’t a major surprise.
While at Boise State he had issues with a neck injury, but the Cowboys felt good enough about his medical check to give him an opportunity. He finally appeared healthy over the last two years, but in 2023 Vander was lost for the season due to yet another neck injury.
Now reports suggest he’s not going to be able to play again, meaning the Cowboys are going to have to find a new metal linebacker. While we wish LVE the best, that's sadly the way the business side of the game works.
If Dallas wanted to address the position early, Edgerrin Cooper of Texas A&M or Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. from Clemson might be on their radar. Later in the draft, Ohio State’s Tommy Eichenberg or Marist Liufau out of UCLA could be in the mix.
5. Johnathan Hankins, NT
The Dallas Cowboys need a run-stuffing nose tackle. Rinse. Wash. Repeat.
Year after year, this is a major need for the Cowboys and they have been guilty of ignoring the middle of their defensive line on several occasions. This appeared to finally change when they traded for Johnathan Hankins ahead of the 2022 NFL Trade Deadline. Hankins didn't put up huge numbers on the stat sheet but the defense was much better against the run when he was on the field.
Then in 2023, they used their first-round pick on Mazi Smith from Michigan, giving them another 330-plus pound defensive tackle. It looked as though they were finally serious about making teams work to get the ground game going but called an audible at the last minute.
Instead of letting Smith be the nose tackle he was meant to be, they came up with this ridiculous plan to have him lose roughly 30 pounds. He did as he was asked and his performance suffered. Hopefully, they will learn from this and let Mazi be Mazi but it's hard to tell with this team. What we do know is that Hankins is past the age of 30 and continues to deal with injuries so the Cowboys have to bring in a replacement.
Early on in the draft process, it appears they plan to do just that. Dallas has already met with Fabian Lovett from Florida State, a 6-foot-4, 315-pound defensive tackle.
Florida State DT Fabian Lovett has had an informal interview with the Dallas Cowboys at the NFL Combine. pic.twitter.com/wiAtMwEedp
— Nick Harris (@NickHarrisDC) February 28, 2024
Lovett showed incredible strength at FSU and was able to overcome double-teams with ease. He's not someone who will offer much when it comes to rushing the passer, which means he should be on the clock well into Day 3. He does, however, know how to clog running lanes and could be the run-stuffer this team needs.
Other names to watch include T'Vondre Sweat from Texas — if they want to go after someone on Day 2 — Evan Anderson from Florida Atlantic and Jordan Jefferson from LSU.
4. Tyler Biadasz, C
Taking over for one of the best, and most likable players on the team is never an easy job. But that’s the position that Tyler Biadasz found himself in when he had to replace Travis Frederick. A former first-round pick, Frederick ended up retiring after a battle with Guilian Barre syndrome. The autoimmune disease impacted his play, and Frederick said he needed to retire since he could no longer perform at the level he expected of himself.
Biadasz is also a product of Wisconsin and was selected in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL draft. As a rookie, he played sparingly behind bridge starter Joe Looney. By his second season in the league, he took over and has been the starting center ever since.
Entering year five, Biadasz is set for free agency, and there might not be a huge market for him, but there is some team out there that’s going to be willing to pay more than the Cowboys likely are. That leaves a hole in the middle of their offensive line.
If Dallas really wanted to solve the position and improve vastly, they could look to Jackson Powers-Johnson from Oregon. Powers-Johnson spent the first two seasons of his career as a reserve and took snaps at nearly every position. By 2023 he was a starting center for the Ducks and proved to be the best in the nation.
The only question is if he will last long enough for Dallas to take him at No. 24 overall, but if he does, he would be a day-one starter and solve the position for the next 10 years or longer.
3. Markquese Bell, LB
Leighton Vander Esch isn’t the only linebacker that the Cowboys are likely going to look to replace in the 2024 NFL Draft. During this past season, they were using Markquese Bell as an outside linebacker. Bell played very well finishing the campaign with 94 tackles, but this was never his natural position.
An undrafted free agent out of Florida A&M, Bell is a safety who converted to linebacker under Dan Quinn’s defensive scheme out of necessity. Again, he did better than most expected but at the end of the day, he didn’t give the Cowboys enough strength against the run.
That was evident in their loss to the Green Bay Packers in the first-round playoffs as they had the road team way with them on the ground. Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love even said afterward, while appearing as a guest on Micah Parsons’ podcast, that the Cowboys had a defensive back playing linebacker, which gave them plenty of confidence to run the ball.
Ideally, the Cowboys will be able to move Bell back to his natural position. Jayron Kearse is a pending free agent, so Bell may even slide into his vacant role, should he sign elsewhere. Then in the draft, they need to look for somebody who can play outside linebacker. Some of the same names mentioned with LVE would work such as Marist Liafau but also keep an eye on Steele Chambers from Ohio State, Jaylan Ford from Texas, and Washington’s Edefuan Ulofoshio.
2. Tyron Smith, LT
For more than two decades with Jerry Jones as the owner, the Dallas Cowboys refused to use a first-round draft pick on an offensive lineman. That finally changed in 2011 when they took USC‘s Tyron Smith at No. 9 overall. Smith spent his rookie season as a right tackle while Doug Free played on the left side. Then in 2010, the two flip sides and Smith has been a fixture as the blindside protector ever since then.
An eight-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro selection, Smith is one of the best in the entire NFL. The only thing that has ever slowed him down, is his injury concerns. Smith hasn’t played a full season since 2015 and missed a significant amount of time in both 2020 and 2022.
This past season, he played 13 games which is more than most expected. However, the Cowboys are likely to move on in the offseason. Smith is a free agent and has said that he doesn’t plan on retiring, and would like to come back to Dallas. The franchise seems ready to make something happen as well.
The problem is that as long as Dallas keeps him, they’re not going to try and find a permanent replacement at left tackle. Looking ahead to the 2024 NFL draft, they could use their first-round pick on somebody such as Jordan Morgan from Arizona to try and fill in at left tackle.
Or they could look for a left guard later on, and move Tyler Smith to left tackle, which was his natural position. Either way, they need to try to move on from Tyron Smith, because he’s unfortunately not somebody they can depend on long-term. Even if he's re-signed, it needs to be one-year max with a replacement ready and waiting. Otherwise, they will find themselves in trouble at some point during the season as they scramble to replace him.
1. Tony Pollard, RB
It seems as though the Cowboys are the kings of making a move just a little bit too late. They held onto Ezekiel Elliott for a couple of years longer than they needed to, despite seeing Tony Pollard out-perform him every season.
Once Pollard was outside of his rookie deal, and coming off of a broken leg, they decided to release Elliott and turn the reins over to Pollard. Dallas slapped the Memphis product with the franchise tag, keeping him under contract for one more year just over $10 million. Pollard started the campaign slowly as he was recovering from his fractured fibula and high ankle sprain suffered in the loss to San Francisco during the playoffs.
He began to come on a little stronger as the year ended and had 1,005 yards for the year, but was far from the explosive player we saw during the first four seasons of his career.
Now set for free agency, there’s an expectation that Pollard is going to leave for a different team. The Cowboys, on the other hand, are going to have to find a new starter. They don’t have anyone on the roster right now capable of taking over. Free agency could offer some decent options, but none of the available players are long-term options.
Arguably the most interesting name to watch is Jonathon Brooks from Texas. He’s coming off of a torn ACL, which might give the team pause considering Pollard was just slowed down due to an injury. Still, Brooks is by far the most versatile, and complete back in the entire draft. If they don’t take him, prospects such as Bucky Irving from Oregon or Trey Benson from Florida state also make sense.
Whatever they decide, the Cowboys have to find somebody else to take over as the running back. The only way Pollard sticks around is if he takes a veteran minimum which I just don’t see him doing.