The Cowboys’ run game gets a closer look as minicamp continues. The team’s lead back is limited for now, but a marquee name is reportedly being kicked around within the organization. That just might help the problems that one outlet has uncovered in a deep dive of Dallas’s running habits under Mike McCarthy.
Elsewhere, we’re examining the contributing factors that led to Dak Prescott’s lackluster stats last season, all while getting a questionable prognosis on a key piece of the O-line. McCarthy is tipping his hat to a high-performing rookie, a former standout is calling for big things from the defense’s current star, and Trevon Diggs makes an all-star team of the dollars-and-cents kind. All that, plus how ex-backup-QB Andy Dalton is now charged with pushing the No. 1 pick into the spotlight, and more Cowboys connections on the 2024 ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame. News and Notes, coming right up.
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Updates: Cowboys being cautious with Tony Pollard :: The Mothership
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Rico Dowdle, Malik Davis, and Ronald Jones were featured the most on Tuesday, with Deuce Vaughn mainly featured on the second team. Pollard is expected to be fully recovered and ready for the start of training camp, but the team is taking no chances with him suffering a setback in this week’s minicamp. He’ll be limited for the foreseeable future.
What is the personality of the Cowboys’ running game? What does that even mean? :: The Athletic
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A look at more than 1,500 run plays since Mike McCarthy was hired in 2020 paints a pretty accurate picture of how the Cowboys like to run (or at least did under Moore). They lean heavily on outside zone runs, but actually didn’t do it all that well compared to the league average. That may explain why they placed a premium on drafting a very good blocking tight end. (And they almost never run it out of shotgun, giving defenses an easy tell.)
Report: Jets, Cowboys interested in Dalvin Cook :: Bring Me the Sports
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KSTP’s Darren Wolfson told The Mackey & Judd Show that Dallas, he’s “heard, at least internally, has kicked around the option of adding Dalvin.” The reporter added that cutting Cook now makes no sense for the Vikings, but working all trade options “until a trade is not in play” seems to be the strategy.
Cowboys put Tyron Smith back at LT, Tyler Smith at LG as minicamp opens :: Cowboys Wire
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After some experimentation in OTAs, the Cowboys’ front five was set to take on a more typical look this week at practice. “We’ll move Tyron [Smith] to left tackle and Tyler Smith to left guard to start this week,” McCarthy told reporters prior to Tuesday’s session. That’s the left-side lineup the Cowboys went with during last summer’s training camp and then abandoned when Tyron Smith tore a hamstring before Week 1.
McCarthy: Terence Steele might not be ready for start of training camp :: Michael Gehlken (Twitter)
Pass protection and WR play remains pivotal way for Cowboys to improve :: Cowboys Wire
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Last season saw Dallas ranked 28th in pass-block win rate and quarterback Dak Prescott sitting on a 4.8% sack rate. That no doubt contributed to Prescott’s pedestrian passing numbers. Receivers who couldn’t gain separation on their routes compounded the issue, leaving Prescott with nowhere to throw. If the offense can just provide Prescott with a clean pocket and larger targets in 2023, things should improve greatly.
How Panthers’ Andy Dalton is embracing role as Bryce Young’s mentor :: ESPN
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Dalton had to step up and be the guy in Dallas when Prescott went down in 2020. Now the 35-year-old veteran passer is in charge of teaching top overall draft pick Bryce Young how to do it in Carolina. But he believes he’s still a starting-caliber quarterback. “There’s just a moment where you’re, ‘OK, I know the position that I’m gonna have to step into,'” Dalton said of being a backup or mentor. “But it doesn’t necessarily mean that I view myself that way.”
McCarthy impressed with sixth-round CB Eric Scott Jr. :: Clarence Hill Jr. (Twitter)
All-Paid Team of Tomorrow: Justin Jefferson, Nick Bosa poised to reset market at respective positions :: NFL.com
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Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs will likely set a new financial bar at the position with a projected APY of over $22 million. Pollard is on the radar at running back after he played out the franchise tag; CeeDee Lamb figures to be competitive for wide receiver dollars but probably lands somewhat behind Justin Jefferson.
Jaylon Smith: Micah Parsons ‘will be’ best defensive player in football :: Up & Adams (Twitter)
Terence Newman, Kellen Moore among Cowboys on 2024 College Football HoF ballot :: Cowboys Wire
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Fewer than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) of all college football players ever are in the College Football Hall of Fame. Newman, Moore, Flozell Adams, Bradie James, Kevin Smith, Ken Norton Jr., Darrin Smith, Timmy Newsome, Ryan Leaf, and Luis Zendejas are those with Cowboys connections who find themselves on the ballot for inclusion in 2024.
Story originally appeared on Cowboys Wire