Who are the starters? (center edition)

[fivetwos]

I'm seriously hoping the secondary will improve impressively with MM and the new coaches in charge. I think the deep coverage will be much improved with some better talent at safety. One or two good CB additions might help to give better depth and allow the starters an occasional breather, if needed. I believe another vet FA addition could prove valuable until the rookies get fully integrated into the defensive scheme.

Even if they do, all four starters as of now are FA next year.

 

[fivetwos]

I agree that he bears some similarity to Frederick. His strength is .... well, strength. Straight up, he's considered to be an immovable object. His questionable area seems to be lateral movement skills. He may never been as good as Frederick, but he could easily be good enough.

He just cant be written off at this point.

Sometimes it seems like people expect a proven All Pro at every position.

Cant spend a 3rd on a player and never give him a shot. He got hurt last year and that was unfortunate, but he would have played much anyway most likely.

He will end up as the starting C and be better than fine. Perfect example of why you draft BPA.

 

[Bullflop]

Even if they do, all four starters as of now are FA next year.

Every year will normally provide their separate challenges.

I'll take it one year at a time, before hand wringing sets in.

Hopefully, our FO will find a way to re-sign some of them.

 

[gimmesix]

I also think it is possible Looney is our starting center and McGovern challenges Williams at LG. Then pushes Williams out to become a backup guard or our swing tackle when Tyron’s back goes out for a few games again. I would really like to see them take a tackle in this draft for Tyron security. Also because it is pretty deep on talent and you can’t have too much of that on your offense or defensive lines IMHO.

I think a little more of Williams' improvement than I think some do. I don't know if Dallas is looking to challenge him at guard. (Last offseason, I felt the Cowboys needed to.) The position we have to get solved is center, and we really need the players who are challenging for that spot to spend as much time as possible, especially if it's going to be a player who missed his rookie season.

 

[DuncanIso]

I think for now it is Looney’s job to lose. McGovern makes a lot of sense as a possibility too though. He just seems like he might be a little too raw after missing a year. Especially since even when he was participating it was at guard. Even with his college background at center it seems like a bit too soon to think he is the leading candidate to me.

isn’t Looney on a one year deal?

Dallas needs a long term starter.

 

[gimmesix]

isn’t Looney on a one year deal?

Dallas needs a long term starter.

That's actually a good point. If McGovern wins the job, we have him under contract the next three years for relatively low sums.

Of course, the other side of the coin could be that Looney serves as a bridge this year before McGovern takes over in 2021 after a year of preparation.

 

[Stash]

As I wrote in my first thread in this series, Dallas likes to fill absolute needs in the draft so it isn't forced into taking a player at a certain position. Did the retirement of Travis Frederic catch the Cowboys off guard or do they feel they are already covered at the position? This thread is based on who I believe might start if they feel they have the position covered in-house.

IMO, the candidates for the job are Joe Looney, Connor McGovern and Adam Redmond. And I think the starter will be ...

Connor McGovern

McGovern was a bit of a surprise choice in last year's draft. We essentially had our starting five with Smith, Williams, Frederick, Martin and Collins; however, the reason given for drafting McGovern in the third round was he was the highest-rated player on Dallas' board.

There were definitely some questions about the starting left guard position after Connor Williams' rookie season, and there was even mentions that Williams might be moved to right tackle since Collins was on the last year of his deal. Collins signed a new deal, though, which meant that only Williams' spot on the line was uncertain. However, we didn't get to see if Dallas was going to let McGovern compete with Williams for that spot because McGoven got hurt.

Williams beefed up some and his play at left guard improved in his second season. For the year, he committed six penalties and gave up one sack. Still, it made sense to have him and McGovern compete for the left guard spot until Frederick announced his decision. Suddenly, drafting McGovern looked like a good job by Dallas preparing for this possibility. He was the starting center at Penn State his sophomore year. McGovern has plenty of strength and power for either spot, but has some holes in his pass protection that could make working at the most protected position along the line ideal.

The primary question for me with any center candidate is recognition skills. You need a smart player at the spot to point out what the defense is doing and make sure everyone along the line knows their assignments. This was the main problem with Joe Looney starting in 2018. Looney showed good movement skills, especially when pulling, and adequate power when he started in place of Frederick. However, there was all kinds of confusion and it seemed that Looney often would help-block with Martin and leave the rookie one-on-one against a superior DT. The physical skills are there for him to do the job, but I'm not sure the mental ones are.

Redmond might be the opposite of Looney. He seems to have a great technical understanding but lacks the physical skills needed to be the starter. He was getting driven back a whole lot last preseason. McGovern, to me, seems like he could be the best combination of both the physical and mental.

What say you?

Ideally, I hope McGovern can win the job, but the current climate and offseason scheduling doesn't do him or us any favors.

I disagree with you on Looney having the needed power at the center position. Playing him there, along with Williams at left guard put us at a huge disadvantage in short yardage and goal line situations trying to drive opponents off the ball. That played a big part in our red zone scoring being among the worst in the league.

 

[gimmesix]

Ideally, I hope McGovern can win the job, but the current climate and offseason scheduling doesn't do him or us any favors.

I disagree with you on Looney having the needed power at the center position. Playing him there, along with Williams at left guard put us at a huge disadvantage in short yardage and goal line situations trying to drive opponents off the ball. That played a big part in our red zone scoring being among the worst in the league.

Fair enough. It definitely was not a great combination since he's no T-Fred.

 

[OmerV]

McGovern is a complete unknown at the NFL level, so for now I will say Looney is the likely starter.

 

[Silver N Blue]

As I wrote in my first thread in this series, Dallas likes to fill absolute needs in the draft so it isn't forced into taking a player at a certain position. Did the retirement of Travis Frederic catch the Cowboys off guard or do they feel they are already covered at the position? This thread is based on who I believe might start if they feel they have the position covered in-house.

IMO, the candidates for the job are Joe Looney, Connor McGovern and Adam Redmond. And I think the starter will be ...

Connor McGovern

McGovern was a bit of a surprise choice in last year's draft. We essentially had our starting five with Smith, Williams, Frederick, Martin and Collins; however, the reason given for drafting McGovern in the third round was he was the highest-rated player on Dallas' board.

There were definitely some questions about the starting left guard position after Connor Williams' rookie season, and there was even mentions that Williams might be moved to right tackle since Collins was on the last year of his deal. Collins signed a new deal, though, which meant that only Williams' spot on the line was uncertain. However, we didn't get to see if Dallas was going to let McGovern compete with Williams for that spot because McGoven got hurt.

Williams beefed up some and his play at left guard improved in his second season. For the year, he committed six penalties and gave up one sack. Still, it made sense to have him and McGovern compete for the left guard spot until Frederick announced his decision. Suddenly, drafting McGovern looked like a good job by Dallas preparing for this possibility. He was the starting center at Penn State his sophomore year. McGovern has plenty of strength and power for either spot, but has some holes in his pass protection that could make working at the most protected position along the line ideal.

The primary question for me with any center candidate is recognition skills. You need a smart player at the spot to point out what the defense is doing and make sure everyone along the line knows their assignments. This was the main problem with Joe Looney starting in 2018. Looney showed good movement skills, especially when pulling, and adequate power when he started in place of Frederick. However, there was all kinds of confusion and it seemed that Looney often would help-block with Martin and leave the rookie one-on-one against a superior DT. The physical skills are there for him to do the job, but I'm not sure the mental ones are.

Redmond might be the opposite of Looney. He seems to have a great technical understanding but lacks the physical skills needed to be the starter. He was getting driven back a whole lot last preseason. McGovern, to me, seems like he could be the best combination of both the physical and mental.

What say you?

Hard to project anything with McG at this point with no nfl game tape and coming off an injury, not a Looney starter fan based on his 18 tape/play. For me, C is the biggest need now and won’t be shocked if Ruiz is the first pick. Great write up and hope to see what McG has soon.

 

[gimmesix]

Hard to project anything with McG at this point with no nfl game tape and coming off an injury, not a Looney starter fan based on his 18 tape/play. For me, C is the biggest need now and won’t be shocked if Ruiz is the first pick. Great write up and hope to see what McG has soon.

I just don't think you can draft these third-rounders and not give them a chance at the job. Looney would be the fallback or even Redmond if necessary.

As I've said before, I won't be upset if we use a pick on a center, but one way or the other, you're going to have to put the ball in the hands of someone who has not proven himself on this level.

 

[Silver N Blue]

I just don't think you can draft these third-rounders and not give them a chance at the job. Looney would be the fallback or even Redmond if necessary.

As I've said before, I won't be upset if we use a pick on a center, but one way or the other, you're going to have to put the ball in the hands of someone who has not proven himself on this level.

Agree

 

[charron]

I think Looney starts at center. I'm not convinced a guy who played only 1 year at center and 0 NFL snaps coming off a peck injury will beat Looney out this year as the starter. It's possible but not likely.

 

[cowboyec]

now that we have interviewed Cesar Ruiz....I'll switch my pick from McGovern...to Ruiz.