How many of our starters would start for the 5 best playoff teams in this league?

[CowboysFaninHouston]

I assume you mean if they are all healthy
so the following for sure

Parson
CD
Tyler Smith

that's about it.

maybe maybe Bland or Diggs.
can't really see anybody else.

 

[SlammedZero]

I'm surprised there's not more love for Jourdan Lewis in here. I think he'd be a great slot cornerback for any of the playoff teams. They'd really appreciate his scrappiness.

 

[noshame]

We aren’t great at QB…but wow….IMO we have serious needs at multiple positions just to be a playoff contender. We need help at OL, RB, DL, LB, S, WR…maybe TE.

Other than that we good…

Do we really have a problem with the offensive line, or do we just have poor coaching? I'm going to go with coaching.
Yesterday we were moving people off the ball and Rico was going wild. until our coach decided he needed to throw the football for no particular reason.

As he's done all season.

If we had been running a zone blocking system with this group of beef, Rico would have had 1500 plus yards easy this season.

The problem is, Mike is an old school WCO guy who believes short passes are as good as runs. But they're really not, because they do not wear down a defensive line.

Then you've got Zimmer, for whatever reason waited until we were getting pummeled game after game to decide to implement his system.

Then we began getting respectable fast, and if Overshown hadn't have been injured. The sky could have been the limit for this group.
This team has been a coaching cluster for the past two seasons, especially the offense.
But sadly, if you don't have a threat at QB to attack the mid-range and long-range throws, you've got nothing.
Just the fact that Cooper rush was attacking the 10 to 15 yd. throws from time to time was enough to slightly open up the running game. Then, once again, we began using small factions of the zone blocking attack and things began to work.

It all starts with the coaches pulling the strings. Look what Quinn did up in Washington? Who would have put them in this position at the end of last year?

 

[75boyz]

Here is the question I’m asking: Of the 22 starters we have right now on our depth chart, how many would be starting for the better playoff teams this year? My assessment will be based on the teams with the 5 best records in both conferences, regardless of seeding in playoffs. Followed by the question, “Would this Cowboys starter start for one of these teams?” Answers will be yes, no or maybe.

Here are the top 5 teams by record:

• Detroit Lions - 15-2
• KC Chiefs- 15-2
• Minnesota Vikings - 14-3
• Philadelphia eagles - 14-3
• Buffalo Bills- 13-4

Below is our depth chart based on who would be our starting lineup if everyone was healthy. I will then give my opinion as to whether our starter would be a starter for any of the five best teams, yes, no or maybe?

OFFENSE

• QB Dak Prescott- would he start for any of the 5 best teams? Maybe Minn. But that’s it.
• RB Rico Dowdle - No.
• WR Cedee Lamb - Yes. Any of the 5.
• WR Brandin Cooks- No.
• WR Jalen Tolbert - No.
• LT Tyler Guyton. No
• LG Tyler Smith. Yes. Any of the 5.
• C Cooper Beebe. No. (He does have a bright future though)
• RG Zack Martin. Sadly, no because of his injuries.
• RT Terance Steele - No.
• TE Jake Ferguson - No.

So on offense, we have 2 players who are yes, and one maybe.
DEFENSE

• DE DeMarcus Lawrence - No because of age and injuries. I almost said maybe.
• DT Mazi Smith - Hard No.
• DT Osa Odighizhua- Maybe.
• DE Micah Parsons - Yes.
• LB Eric Kendricks - No.
• LB DeMarvion Overshown - if he was healthy yes. As it is now, sadly no.
• CB Deron Bland - Yes.
• CB Trevon Diggs. No.
• Slot CB - Jourdan Lewis. I say maybe but that may be generous.
• S Donovan Wilson - No.
• S Malik Hooker - No.

So on D, Micah Parsons and Deron Bland were a yes. Osa Odighizhua and Jourdan Lewis are maybes. I believe Overshown would be a yes if he were healthy.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• K Brandon Aubrey - yes.
• P Brian Anger - Maybe.

So overall, I see us having 2 yes players on offense - Cedee Lamb and Tyler Smith. I see 2 yes players on D - Parsons and Deron Bland. 1 yes on ST in K Brandon Aubrey. So that’s 5 players I would consider the core of this team that would be starting on any NFL team.

Translation: I know this is subjective, but it looks like we have 5 really good players, a few pretty good players (the maybes) and a bunch of JAGs at multiple positions. We have a lot of talent gaps to fill.

What are your assessments of our starters?

Great post that further illustrates the reality of how far the Cowboy roster is from being a contending one.

 

[Techsass]

Great idea for a thread. I generally agree with your take as far as replacing their current starters. What I have a problem with is a lot of our "starters" aren't quite seasoned yet & are only playing to replace all of the starters we let go last off season.

 

[Bobhaze]

I assume you mean if they are all healthy
so the following for sure

Parson
CD
Tyler Smith

that's about it.

maybe maybe Bland or Diggs.
can't really see anybody else.

I also had Bland, Aubrey and Turpin as yes.

 

[acr731]

I would trade Dak Prescott for Sam Darnold straight up right now.

I would trade Dak for some chicken nuggets, but that's really pushing Dak's value

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

I also had Bland, Aubrey and Turpin as yes.

oh yeah, forgot about Aubrey. probably him too. he is got distance

 

[mrmojo]

CeedDee for sure.....Parsons, T Smith, Turpin, Overshown (B4 injury), Bland, Lewis, Aubrey, Anger

Goodwin, he would be a great addition for anyones STs.

 

[sunalsorises]

This is kind of a bad question. What if Tyler Guyton had been drafted by the Chiefs? Would he have developed into a top 5 LT? Dallas might not have the talent of the teams listed, which I think is the point of the original post but maybe it is due to coaching and culture and not talent alone.

 

[stilltheguru]

Bills have better safeties than Dallas now? Interesting

 

[erod]

If you are giving an injury qualifier to Diggs, then I agree. A healthy Diggs would be a starter anywhere else just like he was here.

He is one of the most overrated players in the league.

 

[Landryhat73]

I'd take hurts any day over Dak

Even last year?

 

[charron]

I agree 4 of our guys for sure.

 

[StarOfGlory]

OFFENSE

• QB Dak Prescott- would he start for any of the 5 best teams? Maybe Minn. But that’s it.
• RB Rico Dowdle - No.
• WR Cedee Lamb - Yes. Any of the 5.
• WR Brandin Cooks- No.
• WR Jalen Tolbert - No.
• LT Tyler Guyton. No
• LG Tyler Smith. Yes. Any of the 5.
• C Cooper Beebe. No. (He does have a bright future though)
• RG Zack Martin. Sadly, no because of his injuries.
• RT Terance Steele - No.
• TE Jake Ferguson - No.

So on offense, we have 2 players who are yes, and one maybe.
DEFENSE

• DE DeMarcus Lawrence - No because of age and injuries. I almost said maybe.
• DT Mazi Smith - Hard No.
• DT Osa Odighizhua- Maybe.
• DE Micah Parsons - Yes.
• LB Eric Kendricks - No.
• LB DeMarvion Overshown - if he was healthy yes. As it is now, sadly no.
• CB Deron Bland - Yes.
• CB Trevon Diggs. No.
• Slot CB - Jourdan Lewis. I say maybe but that may be generous.
• S Donovan Wilson - No.
• S Malik Hooker - No

Tyler Smith and Landon Dickerson are a push, so I say 4 of 5. Barring injury, they both will probably be PB for the next 6-7 years.
A healthy Diggs would find a spot, maybe on Buffalo, the Vikes, or Eagles (Slay is still listed as the #2 CB, so I'd take him over Old Man Slay. DeJean is still officially the nickel).
If Darnold turns into the old Darnold, I'd take Dak.

 

[Chasing6]

Brother, I’m going to disagree that “the talent is there”. I believe as it stands right now the Cowboys are middle of the pack in talent. That goes back to last year when even though we were 12-5, we beat up on bad teams, and other than Det, we didn’t play the better teams well at all.

I believe this team is lacking in talent in the trenches (badly) and at most of the skill positions. We certainly aren’t the bottom half of the league in talent but I would say we’re in the middle - maybe 12th - 20th overall.

Being solid in the trenches makes everyone else's job easily. Not sure why Jerry can't figure this out.

 

[5Stars]

Sorry to disagree but I think Dak is better than Hurts and with good protection probably better than Goff. And never forget that as bad as we may think our offensive linemen are, they are consistently graded out among the top 10 in the league.. Which is a testament to how bad offensive line play has gotten int eh NFL. I think a healthy Lawrence and Overshown are solid yeses too. And I would upgrade Kendricks to a maybe. Dude was pretty solid when he was on the field.

Yeah, to you Dak is better than any QB to ever play in the NFL. And, Zeke is the best back that has ever played in the NFL. I got your game, bro.

 

[5Stars]

I would trade Dak for some chicken nuggets, but that's really pushing Dak's value

Wrong, you mean a chicken nugget. No sauce.

 

[Coogiguy03]

Even last year?

Every year

 

[Diehardblues]

Here is the question I’m asking: Of the 22 starters we have right now on our depth chart, how many would be starting for the better playoff teams this year? My assessment will be based on the teams with the 5 best records in both conferences, regardless of seeding in playoffs. Followed by the question, “Would this Cowboys starter start for one of these teams?” Answers will be yes, no or maybe.

Here are the top 5 teams by record:

• Detroit Lions - 15-2
• KC Chiefs- 15-2
• Minnesota Vikings - 14-3
• Philadelphia eagles - 14-3
• Buffalo Bills- 13-4

Below is our depth chart based on who would be our starting lineup if everyone was healthy. I will then give my opinion as to whether our starter would be a starter for any of the five best teams, yes, no or maybe?

OFFENSE

• QB Dak Prescott- would he start for any of the 5 best teams? Maybe Minn. But that’s it.
• RB Rico Dowdle - No.
• WR Cedee Lamb - Yes. Any of the 5.
• WR Brandin Cooks- No.
• WR Jalen Tolbert - No.
• LT Tyler Guyton. No
• LG Tyler Smith. Yes. Any of the 5.
• C Cooper Beebe. No. (He does have a bright future though)
• RG Zack Martin. Sadly, no because of his injuries.
• RT Terance Steele - No.
• TE Jake Ferguson - No.

So on offense, we have 2 players who are yes, and one maybe.
DEFENSE

• DE DeMarcus Lawrence - No because of age and injuries. I almost said maybe.
• DT Mazi Smith - Hard No.
• DT Osa Odighizhua- Maybe.
• DE Micah Parsons - Yes.
• LB Eric Kendricks - No.
• LB DeMarvion Overshown - if he was healthy yes. As it is now, sadly no.
• CB Deron Bland - Yes.
• CB Trevon Diggs. No.
• Slot CB - Jourdan Lewis. I say maybe but that may be generous.
• S Donovan Wilson - No.
• S Malik Hooker - No.

So on D, Micah Parsons and Deron Bland were a yes. Osa Odighizhua and Jourdan Lewis are maybes. I believe Overshown would be a yes if he were healthy.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• K Brandon Aubrey - yes.
• P Brian Anger - Maybe.
• LATE EDIT: KR Kevante Turpin - yes

So overall, I see us having 2 yes players on offense - Cedee Lamb and Tyler Smith. I see 2 yes players on D - Parsons and Deron Bland. 1 yes on ST in K Brandon Aubrey and KR Kevante Turpin. So that’s 5 players I would consider the core of this team that would be starting on any NFL team.

Translation: I know this is subjective, but it looks like we have 5 really good players, a few pretty good players (the maybes) and a bunch of JAGs at multiple positions. We have a lot of talent gaps to fill.

What are your assessments of our starters?

I’m not sure I’d place Minn as a top 5 team based purely on record. I’d take Balt over Minn. And if we took them out then Dak is out as starter leaving Lamb who is only offensive weapon we have.

On defense only Parsons starts for any team . That’s it.

And of course Aubrey.

If Overshown could stay healthy I’d more likely throw his name in there over Bland or Diggs who I’d argue are both over hyped as CB’s based basically on one season with a high number of picks .