The Cowboys investment at linebacker will pay off for years to come

[big dog cowboy]

The Cowboys linebacker position has the potential to be a strength for a long time.
By MLenix84 May 4, 2024

One of the things the Dallas Cowboys had to do this offseason was get their linebacker room in order. The experiment with Markquese Bell at the position had some high notes, but he needs to go back to his natural spot playing safety. Dallas decided to go the veteran free agent route and picked up not only Eric Kendricks, but also Damien Wilson as of Monday.

Marist Liufau is the shiny new toy in the linebacker room. Taken in the third round, Liufau will be play strong side or Sam linebacker to start, according to linebackers coach Scott McCurley. His sideline-to-sideline ability mixed with long arms and skills to cover a lot of ground in space make him a perfect weapon in the middle, and he gets to learn from multiple veterans right off the bat. However, there's also the potential for Liufau at middle linebacker as well with his skill set per McCurley. So, the Kendricks and Wilson additions can be impactful there.

Two years ago, the Cowboys took a chance on Damone Clark, who was coming off spinal fusion surgery just before the NFL draft. The flashes were there as a rookie, and he even played well for the most part in 2023. However, the injury the Leighton Vander Esch forced him to play middle linebacker when he's more suited to play the weakside or Will role, which he'll do in 2024. Now, Clark can show more of his talent with this comfort level and get to use his athleticism and excellent tackling ability.

DeMarvion Overshown was arguably the draft pick from last season that had the most buzz behind it. A former safety, Overshown was set to come in and make an immediate impact with a big role, but he unfortunately torn his ACL in the preseason. Luckily, that gave him a full year to recover, and he's expected to be ready for training camp.

Clark, Overshown, and Liufau are the future core of the linebacker room in Dallas. Having Kendricks and Wilson to mentor them will pay huge dividends this season

https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/202...er-eric-kendricks-marist-fiulau-damien-wilson

 

[IceBowler]

"For Years to come" is a joke. Can you spell "FREE ANGENCY and SALARY CAP.?
This isn't the NFL.

 

[gimmesix]

I don't mind the additions to Kendricks and Wilson because we certainly don't need to be leaning on the young guys who haven't proven themselves, but both of those vets' best days are in the rearview mirror so I have no idea what they can provide. If the vets are washed up, we're going to have to be hoping that we've hit on all of those young guys.

 

[ICP]

Come talk to me in a couple of years and we'll see if what you say pans out.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

The Cowboys linebacker position has the potential to be a strength for a long time.
By MLenix84 May 4, 2024

One of the things the Dallas Cowboys had to do this offseason was get their linebacker room in order. The experiment with Markquese Bell at the position had some high notes, but he needs to go back to his natural spot playing safety. Dallas decided to go the veteran free agent route and picked up not only Eric Kendricks, but also Damien Wilson as of Monday.

Marist Liufau is the shiny new toy in the linebacker room. Taken in the third round, Liufau will be play strong side or Sam linebacker to start, according to linebackers coach Scott McCurley. His sideline-to-sideline ability mixed with long arms and skills to cover a lot of ground in space make him a perfect weapon in the middle, and he gets to learn from multiple veterans right off the bat. However, there's also the potential for Liufau at middle linebacker as well with his skill set per McCurley. So, the Kendricks and Wilson additions can be impactful there.

Two years ago, the Cowboys took a chance on Damone Clark, who was coming off spinal fusion surgery just before the NFL draft. The flashes were there as a rookie, and he even played well for the most part in 2023. However, the injury the Leighton Vander Esch forced him to play middle linebacker when he's more suited to play the weakside or Will role, which he'll do in 2024. Now, Clark can show more of his talent with this comfort level and get to use his athleticism and excellent tackling ability.

DeMarvion Overshown was arguably the draft pick from last season that had the most buzz behind it. A former safety, Overshown was set to come in and make an immediate impact with a big role, but he unfortunately torn his ACL in the preseason. Luckily, that gave him a full year to recover, and he's expected to be ready for training camp.

Clark, Overshown, and Liufau are the future core of the linebacker room in Dallas. Having Kendricks and Wilson to mentor them will pay huge dividends this season

https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/202...er-eric-kendricks-marist-fiulau-damien-wilson

Awesome.

I’m so glad MLenix84 has spoken on the matter. Now I can rest.

In all seriousness, this “article” said absolutely nothing.

 

[JBS]

"For Years to come" is a joke. Can you spell "FREE ANGENCY and SALARY CAP.?
This isn't the NFL.

Absolute joke of an article hahaha

 

[Rockport]

"For Years to come" is a joke. Can you spell "FREE ANGENCY and SALARY CAP.?
This isn't the NFL.

 

[Rockport]

Awesome.

I’m so glad MLenix84 has spoken on the matter. Now I can rest.

In all seriousness, this “article” said absolutely nothing.

Haters gonna hate no matter.

 

[VaqueroTD]

Will not be shocked if Overshown fizzles out early from injuries. Kid definitely has talent though.

 

[shabazz]

The Cowboys linebacker position has the potential to be a strength for a long time.
By MLenix84 May 4, 2024

One of the things the Dallas Cowboys had to do this offseason was get their linebacker room in order. The experiment with Markquese Bell at the position had some high notes, but he needs to go back to his natural spot playing safety. Dallas decided to go the veteran free agent route and picked up not only Eric Kendricks, but also Damien Wilson as of Monday.

Marist Liufau is the shiny new toy in the linebacker room. Taken in the third round, Liufau will be play strong side or Sam linebacker to start, according to linebackers coach Scott McCurley. His sideline-to-sideline ability mixed with long arms and skills to cover a lot of ground in space make him a perfect weapon in the middle, and he gets to learn from multiple veterans right off the bat. However, there's also the potential for Liufau at middle linebacker as well with his skill set per McCurley. So, the Kendricks and Wilson additions can be impactful there.

Two years ago, the Cowboys took a chance on Damone Clark, who was coming off spinal fusion surgery just before the NFL draft. The flashes were there as a rookie, and he even played well for the most part in 2023. However, the injury the Leighton Vander Esch forced him to play middle linebacker when he's more suited to play the weakside or Will role, which he'll do in 2024. Now, Clark can show more of his talent with this comfort level and get to use his athleticism and excellent tackling ability.

DeMarvion Overshown was arguably the draft pick from last season that had the most buzz behind it. A former safety, Overshown was set to come in and make an immediate impact with a big role, but he unfortunately torn his ACL in the preseason. Luckily, that gave him a full year to recover, and he's expected to be ready for training camp.

Clark, Overshown, and Liufau are the future core of the linebacker room in Dallas. Having Kendricks and Wilson to mentor them will pay huge dividends this season

https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/202...er-eric-kendricks-marist-fiulau-damien-wilson

Wishful thinking.....but with little to no evidence at this point.

 

[boysfanindc]

LB play has to be better this year, because after losing Vander it could not have been any worse then last year.

Excited to see Overshown.

 

[Carson]

Come talk to me in a couple of years and we'll see if what you say pans out.

This isn’t aimed at you, just the general statement.

People understand it’s a message board and it’s for discussion and debates. Literally every thread minus game day threads could be “talk to me in a few years”. What fun is that?

 

[Bowdown27]

Come talk to me in a couple of years and we'll see if what you say pans out.

Agreed. On paper we could have a dominant lb group with these young guys but agent 0 and Marist haven’t even stepped on the field yet. Let’s tap the brakes with this article.

 

[Creeper]

I remember 2021 like it was just yesterday. The Cowboys drafted Micah Parsons and Jabril Cox to play along side LVE and we though the Cowboys LBs situation would pay off your years to come. Cox got hurt and never got another chance to play before he was cut. Micah became more of an edge rusher than LB, and LVE go hurt and retired. The promising LB additions didn;t even pay off for 1 season let alone years to come.

Beware the hype that follows the draft and the offseason.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Wishful thinking.....but with little to no evidence at this point.

Considering Clark will be back at the position he should be at and Overshown and Liufau haven't even played one down of regular season football yet, what evidence could there be?

 

[shabazz]

Considering Clark will be back at the position he should be at and Overshown and Liufau haven't even played one down of regular season football yet, what evidence could there be?

That's my point.....it's all just speculation and the fact that at least 4 or more of our players are post surgery it's even harder to speculate.

 

[SultanOfSix]

How do you write an article on LBs as a strength and not mention Micah?

 

[Carson]

How do you write an article on LBs as a strength and not mention Micah?

Probably because they do not know how they will utilize Micah. However, we know how great he is haha

 

[doomsday9084]

I just said this in a different thread but I think that the one thing Dallas may have addressed this offseason is run defense. Between the change of scheme, the new people, etc. I think that Dallas isn't going to get pushed around as much as they were at times last year.

This may come at the expense of the pass defense. DQ basically put everything towards generating pressure on pass D without compromising big plays there. I would not be surprised if we see less turnovers and less pass pressure with more long plays.

 

[lkelly]

That's like saying Dallas invested at running back this offseason.