CFZ Key Post-draft Question: Are we better as a team in 2024 than 2023?

[blueblood70]

Honestly, the answer to your question really depends on if previous draft and rookie classes from the last two years develop and start playing well. Many bemoan “progress stoppers” on the roster, but then panic when Dallas allows the “progress stoppers” to leave, and put trust in recent rookie classes from previous seasons.

I’ll just give you a “for example” for the 2024 rookie class. Many think Cooper Beebe was the best pick the Cowboys made. But he has both Tyler Smith and Zach Martin playing ahead of him. He may not even see the field much in 2024. But the Cowboys may plan on him taking over for Zach Martin in 2025. How many will call Beebe a “bust” after this season if Smith and Martin remain healthy all year? My guess is by this time next year, many will be moaning about how little Beebe contributed in 2024.

The draft is not always about this season. Kneeland and Beebe could be planned replacements for DeMarcus Lawrence and Zach Martin, both drafted in 2024, and both who have contracts ending after this coming season. But too many will downgrade this draft, not realizing the Cowboys are planning ahead.

That is why I always stress that last year’s draft class, and the year before are the proper focus for team improvement this year. From last season, only Brandon Aubrey had a rookie season to celebrate. But players like Mazi Smith, Luke Schoonmaker, DeMarvion Overshown, and all their 3rd day picks have had a year to develop. We have no idea who might have a breakout season this year from the 2023 draft class. Does Asim Richards blossom as a tackle? Does Eric Scott surprise people? Does Deuce Vaughn find the production he showed in college? Does Fehoko become a key pass rusher?

And what about players from two years ago like Sam Williams and Jalen Tolbert. Tolbert quietly had a good 2nd season after being a huge disappointment as a rookie. He is the likely replacement for Michael Gallup, with very little, if any drop off from how Gallup played a year ago. Sam Williams has been sitting behind Armstrong and Fowler for 2 seasons. He could easily have a breakout season in 2024 with more playing time since those two players are gone.

Too much expectation is placed on rookies, when the true expectations should be on those drafted the last 2-3 seasons.

First off I understand what you're saying I agree with some I don't agree with it all but here's my take... And by the way I do not have too much expectations for some rookies or most of the rookies but there are a couple I do and yes you're right the second and third year players are gonna get a shot but not at center...

I don't know how you think they're going to use CooperB but he is not behind Zach Martin and Tyler Smith he's going to be the starting center... And yes there's no reason that he could be the future guard but right now he's gonna work in at center just like we used Tyler Smith at left tackle even though that's not what we were hoping for him and he did very well for a rookie left tackle and then we moved him into his more comfortable spot he became basically an all pro left guard that's exactly how we're gonna use Cooper B...

I really don't understand why you don't see that somehow Miami turned a cast off from here and Connor Williams into a solid center which some people wanted to bring back even hurt and you don't think this Cooper kid can play center, he's already has a little bit, he can play all three of the interior line and do it very well...


he's not going to be behind anybody, he will be the starting center unless he fully collapses the only person he's competing with is Hoffman and he won't go down easy either...

we have those two young guys to pick and make our center again don't make me say Connor Williams was a cast off nobody wanted to keep around here and what little we saw him play center in preseason or in practice nobody wanted anything to do with it and yet they were wrong fans are typically wrong... No let me get this straight we didn't need a center at the time and we weren't going to pay a guy $6 million to be our backup guard and that's why Connor Williams was let go but this isn't that Tyler Beatrice was a solid center could snap the ball well was pretty decent in zone running and pass protection but anybody who bull rushed the guy he got shoved back into the backfield that won't happen with either one of our two young centers I just mentioned they are gonna compete in training camp and I almost feel like it's Cooper beebe's job to lose..

Ohh you're right but everyone gets elevated upwards Sam Williams will take the place of Armstrong kneeling will take the place of for fowler unless you are correct maybe golston or fuoco does that but I think that the two defensive players they took we're obviously and I even think they may have mentioned it in their press conference after the draft Mike Zimmer wanted those players those all the defensive players that we took were Mike zimmer's picks.. So he will find a way to get them on the field sooner than later just like all Dan Quinn's pet cats got on the field more than a lot of people even if it was for the good or for the bad they made the field..

 

[DanA]

Let's do it one by one..

QB - Dak in year 2 with McCarthy stands to be better than Dak in year 1. - better
RB - Zeke a buncha dudes vs Pollard and a buncha dudes.. - push
LT - HOF Tyron vs rook - worse
LG - Tyler with another year of strength and experience - better
C - Rook vs Biadasz? You say a rookie won't be better from day 1. Did being a rookie stop Fredrick from being better than whoever he replaced.
RG - Zack a year older but won't miss training camp.. - push
RT - Steele a year further away from the ACL - better
TE - Ferg, Hendershot, Schoon and Stephens - better.
WR1 - CD is it possible for him to be better than he was last year? Probably not.. but I don't see a dropoff either.. push .
WR2 - Cooks and Dak were not on the same page a lot of last year.. but got better as the year wore on .. until things went south in the playoffs. Still call it a push.
WR3 - Turpin, Tolbert, Brooks. I would expect all of them to be better this year than last

DE - Micah will continue to be a beast and Lawrence is still playing at a high level. Williams and Gholson will spell them - push. This will take steps forward though if the light bulb goes on for Williams.
3-tech - Osa is still improving but hit a wall down the stretch, maybe maxed out? The youngsters (Fehoko and the rooks) will be key here - but so as not to be a homer let's say we take a step back - worse
1 tech - Mazi and the rook vs Hankins and Mazi/Gallimore. worse until proven otherwise.
ILB - Hendricks and Clark vs Clark and Bell? Is this a trick question? - better
OLB - Overshown and an actual linebacker vs Kearse and another safety.. - better
SS - Wilson and Bell vs Wilson and Thomas - push
FS - Hooker and Izzy vs Hooker and Izzy again- push
CB - Diggs back, Bland and a healthy J-Lew ... better (as long as Diggs suffers no ACL hangover.)

Kickers - push


So by my count I have 9 position groups getting better, 4 getting worse and 7 staying about the same. Obviously any of these could go in either direction but if you look at it objectively, this team has a higher chance of being BETTER in 2024 than it does being worse. And that's before we see what the rookies can add.

Obviously until they take the field none of this amounts to a hill o beans.. but I reject the auto-leap to "we're gonna suck" just because we didn't sign some overpriced big name.

I don’t think you looked at it objectively. The roater is worse at OC, LT, a a MN RB, WR, DT, SS, CB, LDE, RDE in terms of ins and outs.

Now obviously we can get a better contribution at CB from our current roster as it turned out Diggs didn’t play but it’s worse going into the season and I don’t think we were hit particularly hard by injury in the 2023 season in totality.

Our problem last season was we couldn’t stop the run nor run it ourselves. To me that hadn’t been fixed. On a strategic level we are going into the season with more holes.

 

[JoeKing]

It's the wrong time of year to know the answer. Last year is in the books so we know what that was, even though that Green Bay Playoff game we can still ask, "What the Heck was that?".

What we don't know is what this team will be in 2024. I don't know if we are better or worse, and neither does anyone else. It's possible this team is still a Super Bowl contender. I know there are many opinions about that. I just know it's too early to saw, either way.