CFZ Cowboys will have the most rookie starters in NFC at beginning of season

[CCBoy]

We shall shortly see the importance of leadership in team developments.

Kneeland came into the NFL with one clear attribute, power. He has the ability to push offensive lineman back into the backfield by getting low with his leverage and extending his arms. In the league, though, you have to have a pas rush plan in case your initial move doesn't work. As Brodddus said, some of that was clear on film throughout the preseason and training camp, and with more coaching and experience, Kneeland will transform into a complete edge rusher.

https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/202...-training-camp-demarcus-lawrence-sam-williams

Smith came in with a similar trait and this pair will be developing similarly with the same leadership over them.

 

[Bobhaze]

Yeah it was their plan. I don’t know if it was a smart one though.

Yeah when I did the OP I was both touting the rookie class and reminding fans too that when you start a bunch of rookies, it can have a learning curve downside too. Very, very few even really good NFL rookies are ready to just step in and be great.

 

[CCBoy]

Kneeland came into the NFL with one clear attribute, power. He has the ability to push offensive lineman back into the backfield by getting low with his leverage and extending his arms. In the league, though, you have to have a pas rush plan in case your initial move doesn't work. As Brodddus said, some of that was clear on film throughout the preseason and training camp, and with more coaching and experience, Kneeland will transform into a complete edge rusher.

https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/202...-training-camp-demarcus-lawrence-sam-williams

Smith came in with a similar trait and this pair will be developing similarly with the same leadership over them.

Osa Odighizuwa with Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, makes for a very strong defensive line.

Kneeland with the return of Sam Williams next season will round out that group top shelf.

The size added this off season, and the further development of Smith, and further group in the tackles will make the defensive line top shelf and deep.

 

[gimmesix]

It’s easy to be excited about the 2024 Cowboys rookie class. As of today, 7 rookies made the 53 man roster and likely 4 of those rookies are projected to either start or see significant playing time in Cleveland. We will learn a lot about these rookies starting next Sunday. So far, this rookie class has outshined the 2023 class.

So who will our rookie starters likely be for opening night in Cleveland? As of today it will be LT Tyler Guyton, C Cooper Bebee, CB Caelen Carson and LB Marist Liafau. DE Marshawn Kneeland will also probably see significant snaps as well. I’m very excited to see how these guys perform under the regular season bright lights.

Also, it’s interesting to see that the Cowboys starting 4 rookies is the most in the NFC. This will change as the season goes along of course, but as of today here are how many rookie starters each NFC team will have according the depth charts provided at “Our Lads”:

• Cowboys: 4
• Rams, giants: 3
• Bears, packers, Bucs, cards: 2
• Niners, lions, egirls, vikings, panthers, saints, commanders: 1
• Falcons, seahawks: 0

Starting 4 rookies is exciting but does also have some roller coaster qualities. Even the most talented rookies can have great games followed by a bad one. All part of the learning process. Starting multiple rookies is a two sided coin. It speaks well of their talent and potential to start right away.

But rookies can also have a learning curve that takes some patience. It’s extremely rare for a rookie to immediately be a starter and play at a consistently high level. We will see starting next Sunday. Can’t wait to see how these guys perform.

I don't think Liufau will start, but he will probably see quite a bit of playing time, especially if Overshown isn't ready to go.

IMO, the starters will be Clark, Kendricks and Parsons on run downs. Liufau and Overshown may get significant reps in the nickel.

But I do believe we'll still have four rookie starters because Kneeland will play one of the DE spots on run downs. Of course, those run-down reps probably will be divided among Kneeland, Lawrence and Golston to keep Lawrence rested to play on pass downs.

 

[gtb1943]

Good players are good players.

except this team refuses to upgrade in FA when they could without it costing that much
we could have BETTER players if Jethro was worth a bucket of warm spit as a GM that REALLY WAS DRIVEN TO WIN A SB

 

[atlantacowboy]

Amazing how much better we are drafting OL than DL.

One side a hit on almost every early pick. The other side a bust on almost every early pick.

Imagine if we had hit as big on defense as offense . Might have had much more success this era.

I don't think we have hit on a DL in the first 3 rounds since DLAW in 2014. Here's the record of futility..

2014: DLAW round 2
2015: Randy Gregory round 2 - bust
2016: Maliek Collins round 3 - bust
2017: Taco Charlton round 1 - bust
2018: no DL picked in first 3 rounds
2019: Tristy Hill - round 1- bust
2020: Neville Gallimore round 3 - bust
2021: Osa and Gholston round 3 busts
2022: Sam Williams round 2 - not looking good
2023: Mazi round 1- not looking good.

That's a lot of wasted defensive draft capitol.

 

[ShiningStar]

im great with this. Forged by fire sits well with me. We arent going anywhere, get them prepped for next year.

 

[Mr Cowboy]

Kirwin was talking about the Rams have 6 UDFA that made the team and are expected to see significant snaps.

 

[atlantacowboy]

I don't think we have hit on a DL in the first 3 rounds since DLAW in 2014. Here's the record of futility..

2014: DLAW round 2
2015: Randy Gregory round 2 - bust
2016: Maliek Collins round 3 - bust
2017: Taco Charlton round 1 - bust
2018: no DL picked in first 3 rounds
2019: Tristy Hill - round 1- bust
2020: Neville Gallimore round 3 - bust
2021: Osa and Gholston round 3 busts
2022: Sam Williams round 2 - not looking good
2023: Mazi round 1- not looking good.

That's a lot of wasted defensive draft capitol.

And just for fun, here is who we could have had with those wasted picks. These guys were on the board and selected around the same area of the draft.....

2015: Danielle Hunter DE
2016. Javon Hargrave DT
2017. TJ Watt DE
2019. Chase Winovich DE
2020. no good options on the DL at this point in draft
2021: no good options....

 

[rambo2]

I don't think we have hit on a DL in the first 3 rounds since DLAW in 2014. Here's the record of futility..

2014: DLAW round 2
2015: Randy Gregory round 2 - bust
2016: Maliek Collins round 3 - bust
2017: Taco Charlton round 1 - bust
2018: no DL picked in first 3 rounds
2019: Tristy Hill - round 1- bust
2020: Neville Gallimore round 3 - bust
2021: Osa and Gholston round 3 busts
2022: Sam Williams round 2 - not looking good
2023: Mazi round 1- not looking good.

That's a lot of wasted defensive draft capitol.

Parsons looks good.

 

[thunderpimp91]

I don't think we have hit on a DL in the first 3 rounds since DLAW in 2014. Here's the record of futility..

2014: DLAW round 2
2015: Randy Gregory round 2 - bust
2016: Maliek Collins round 3 - bust
2017: Taco Charlton round 1 - bust
2018: no DL picked in first 3 rounds
2019: Tristy Hill - round 1- bust
2020: Neville Gallimore round 3 - bust
2021: Osa and Gholston round 3 busts
2022: Sam Williams round 2 - not looking good
2023: Mazi round 1- not looking good.

That's a lot of wasted defensive draft capitol.

Crazy to me that people still consider OSA a bust.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Yeah when I did the OP I was both touting the rookie class and reminding fans too that when you start a bunch of rookies, it can have a learning curve downside too. Very, very few even really good NFL rookies are ready to just step in and be great.

You are exactly right. I like to use history to predict the future and I can’t recall a situation where young players like that went on to win a championship…but we do have a solid combination of vets…..

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Crazy to me that people still consider OSA a bust.

I think one person noticed he doesn’t really sack quarterbacks in the latter half of the season and people ran with the narrative he’s not good….

 

[Jarntt]

My understanding is we will be starting these rookies in Cle:

• LT Tyler Guyton
• C Cooper Bebee
• LB Marist Liafu
• CB Caelen Carson (for Bland)

Obviously something could change, but that was the depth chart I saw this morning.

I haven’t seen anywhere that Liafau is expected to be starting. Who knows

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

I don't think we have hit on a DL in the first 3 rounds since DLAW in 2014. Here's the record of futility..

2014: DLAW round 2
2015: Randy Gregory round 2 - bust
2016: Maliek Collins round 3 - bust
2017: Taco Charlton round 1 - bust
2018: no DL picked in first 3 rounds
2019: Tristy Hill - round 1- bust
2020: Neville Gallimore round 3 - bust
2021: Osa and Gholston round 3 busts
2022: Sam Williams round 2 - not looking good
2023: Mazi round 1- not looking good.

That's a lot of wasted defensive draft capitol.

I don’t know if I’d call Gallimore and Collins busts.
Hill was a second round pick. We got a lot riding on Kneeland.

 

[5Stars]

It’s easy to be excited about the 2024 Cowboys rookie class. As of today, 7 rookies made the 53 man roster and likely 4 of those rookies are projected to either start or see significant playing time in Cleveland. We will learn a lot about these rookies starting next Sunday. So far, this rookie class has outshined the 2023 class.

So who will our rookie starters likely be for opening night in Cleveland? As of today it will be LT Tyler Guyton, C Cooper Bebee, CB Caelen Carson and LB Marist Liafau. DE Marshawn Kneeland will also probably see significant snaps as well. I’m very excited to see how these guys perform under the regular season bright lights.

Also, it’s interesting to see that the Cowboys starting 4 rookies is the most in the NFC. This will change as the season goes along of course, but as of today here are how many rookie starters each NFC team will have according the depth charts provided at “Our Lads”:

• Cowboys: 4
• Rams, giants: 3
• Bears, packers, Bucs, cards: 2
• Niners, lions, egirls, vikings, panthers, saints, commanders: 1
• Falcons, seahawks: 0

Starting 4 rookies is exciting but does also have some roller coaster qualities. Even the most talented rookies can have great games followed by a bad one. All part of the learning process. Starting multiple rookies is a two sided coin. It speaks well of their talent and potential to start right away.

But rookies can also have a learning curve that takes some patience. It’s extremely rare for a rookie to immediately be a starter and play at a consistently high level. We will see starting next Sunday. Can’t wait to see how these guys perform.

Plus they have a "young" QB on the team.

 

[plasticman]

Let's go easy on these guys after game #1. We have to see how they adjust to the difference in intensity. I think this is particularly true of game #1which can reach the level of critical December games.

Guyton begins his career with Myles Garrett. To his advantage, he practices every day against an accomplished adversary.

From my understanding, Beebe hasn't snapped as ball in a regulation game since high school. I would expect a certain level of "anticipation" from him.

Kneeland will probably be the least analyzed and least used, I would expect about ten plays from him. Most times he is in, Lawrence or Parsons will be out. They will defer to their veterans in game #1 when they can.

Caelon Carsons will be picked on immediately. How he responds, initially, will dictate his evening.

I'm in favor of giving the rookies a pass for game #1 so long as it doesn't get completely embarrassing.

Then again, you really never know. Will a star be born?

Only Everson Walls, Michael Downs, and Dexter Coakley had an INT in game #1 their rookie season for the Cowboys. Both Walls and Downs were free agent rookies starting game #1 in 1981. The Cowboys record for INT's in game #1 of rookie season is 1.

No rookie Cowboys defender had more than one sack in game #1 of the season. Therefore, the record is 1 with a 4-way tie. Two of them were secondary blitzers.

 

[windward]

Like you, I’m excited about our rookie class. But IMO it will occasionally give us some gray hair but young players with big upside are always fun to watch.

Interestingly in the last 4 seasons, half of the teams that had the most rookie snaps made the playoffs and obviously half did not. Really underscores the coin flip of depending on multiple rookies.

It’s fine. I’ve embraced my gray hairs.

 

[plasticman]

By my count, there are 24 players drafted by the Cowboys since 2020 on the roster, 12 are starters. Another 6 or so will contribute substantially as rotational players.

I suspect some of these players will not be here after their rookie deals expire. Some because they are just JAGs and others, like DaRon Bland who will be too expensive to keep.

There are only 2 players left from the 2020 draft - Lamb and Diggs. Biadasz and Gallimore left as a free agents. Reggie Robinson, Bradley Anae, and Ben DiNucci were the other picks and were all cut.

From the 2021 draft 4 players remain. Parsons, Odighizuwa, Golston and Mukuamu. Josh Ball is on the practice squad. Kelvin Joseph, Jabril Cox, Simi Fehoko, Quinton Bohanna, and Matt Farniok were cuts. Nahshon Wright was traded For Andrew Booth.

From the 2022 draft, only John Ridgeway and Devin Harper are gone. 7 other draftees remain.

From the 2023 draft, Viliami Fehoko and Eric Scott were cut, 6 other draft picks made the team.

From the 2024 draft, 6 players made the team, Nathon Thomas was injured/reserved and Justin Rogers was waived and picked up by the Bengals.

To me this looks like a pretty good drafting record overall, but I do not know how it compares to the rest of the league. I would also note that just because these draft picks are on the roster does not mean they are good players. Since the Cowboys build through the draft they may retain players other teams would cut and replace with free agents. Then there are players, like Biadasz who started, but the Cowboys were unwilling to pay them market contracts. I think we may see that with Odighizuwa and Golston after this year.

I would put Parsons and Diggs up against any other team's complete 2020 draft today. The players in that Cowboys draft were either great or awful. I would call that the epitome of a "feast or famine".

 

[Bobhaze]

Let's go easy on these guys after game #1. We have to see how they adjust to the difference in intensity. I think this is particularly true of game #1which can reach the level of critical December games.

Guyton begins his career with Myles Garrett. To his advantage, he practices every day against an accomplished adversary.

From my understanding, Beebe hasn't snapped as ball in a regulation game since high school. I would expect a certain level of "anticipation" from him.

Kneeland will probably be the least analyzed and least used, I would expect about ten plays from him. Most times he is in, Lawrence or Parsons will be out. They will defer to their veterans in game #1 when they can.

Caelon Carsons will be picked on immediately. How he responds, initially, will dictate his evening.

I'm in favor of giving the rookies a pass for game #1 so long as it doesn't get completely embarrassing.

Then again, you really never know. Will a star be born?

Only Everson Walls, Michael Downs, and Dexter Coakley had an INT in game #1 their rookie season for the Cowboys. Both Walls and Downs were free agent rookies starting game #1 in 1981. The Cowboys record for INT's in game #1 of rookie season is 1.

No rookie Cowboys defender had more than one sack in game #1 of the season. Therefore, the record is 1 with a 4-way tie. Two of them were secondary blitzers.

I guess I’m old enough to remember when old school coaches used to say that however many rookies you started was how many close game losses you would have in a season.

I don’t think that‘s still true but having to count on multiple rookies to give your team a realistic shot at making the playoffs is risky business. I like our rookies but rookies are still players with no NFL experience.