The Cowboys continued a decades long pattern of drafting only tackles and centers for their Oline. When the Cowboys draft an interior lineman, they rarely draft a college interior lineman unless he plays, or they project him to play the Center position.
So, how do they get their Guards? They draft college tackles, and convert them to guard. Look back over time - especially over the last 25 years. Who have been the highest performing guards for the Cowboys? Leonard Davis, Ron Leary, Zack Martin, La’el Collins, Connor Williams, and now Tyler Smith.
And their top performing interior players were Andre Gurode, Travis Frederick and Tyler Biadasz. Now they’ve spent another high pick on an interior lineman. It is no surprise they want Beebe to play Center.
Frankly, despite his lone Pro Bowl appearance as a replacement for another player, Tyler Biadasz has been a weak link for the Cowboys - especially in the run game. The drop in the Cowboys performance over the past few seasons can be directly attributed to their weakness in the center of the Oline.
I’m not saying that Biadasz was trash. He improved. But he was never the powerhouse that you would prefer at the position. I don’t personally know that much about Connor Beebe, other than some highly regarded scouts had him ranked among their top 40 players in this draft. He was picked 73rd.
If Beebe can successfully transition to Center (and it could take some time for the adjustment to take hold), he might be a significant upgrade that directly affects the pocket security of Dak Prescott, and has a huge impact on the Cowboys power running game.
How might this affect the Cowboys in the near term, and later this coming season? Well, last year the Cowboys spent a 6th round pick on a RB who is small in stature, but quick to the hole, and explosive after he hits the hole. If Berne can improve the interior blocking, the Cowboys have a much better chance to recoup the investment they made in Deuce Vaughn.
Also, the Cowboys have questions on the edge, with Rookie Tyler Guyton adjusting from the right side to the left side, and undrafted wunderkind Terence Steele coming off a disappointing season that followed a knee injury. Bringing back Zeke Elliott at RB may be more about helping out the pass protection for Dak than it is getting running game production from him. Zeke is well known as one of the best blocking backs in Pass Pro in the NFL. If Zeke can help with pass protection while the rookies adjust to the NFL, and while Steele hopefully gets back to the form that earned him a big contract, then the investment in Zeke could pay off - even without great production from him in the running game.
But they key to making this work is getting a big nasty Center that can hold down the middle of the line against the strong interior Dlinemen in the Division, and create space for the running game to operate efficiently.
That’s a big “if.” But all the rookies, and many of the 2nd year players remain “ifs” right now - until we see them perform. But the Cowboys at least have a plan. We’ll see if the risks they’ve taken will pay off. The key factor will be if the Cowboys grow stronger as the season progresses.
