Dak Prescott’s job is more than safe as far as the 2018 NFL season is concerned. There won’t be any “quarterback controversy” going on when discussing who will receive Travis Frederick’s snaps every week. The same cannot be said for the backup position, though.
As impressive as Cooper Rush was last preseason, Mike White’s arrival will put his job in danger.
Last year, the Cowboys began the season with three quarterbacks on the roster. Rush beat Kellen Moore for the QB2 spot and eventually, Moore was released in October. Now a QB coach, Moore will try to develop and figure out who’ll back up Prescott in 2018.
But the Cowboys might not be able to do what they did in 2017. While last year they took the position battle into the season, giving three quarterbacks a roster spot could be tougher to achieve with such an uncertain offense.
The Cowboys’ wide receiver group is deep, but clear-cut starters will be tough to define. Allen Hurns, Michael Gallup and Cole Beasley sound like the most likely guys to start when week 1 comes around. But young guys like Cedrick Wilson, Noah Brown and even Lance Lenoir are talented enough to fight to be one of the 53 Dallas Cowboys.
Especially since we’re talking about a whole new set of wide receivers which might see tons of changes throughout the season.
Not to mention the tight end position, in which the Cowboys will have a hard time defining who is the first Jason Witten succesor in the franchise. Blake Jarwin, Geoff Swaim, Dalton Schultz and Rico Gathers will be battling in training camp to make the team.
On the defensive side of things, the coaching staff might want to go deep along the defensive line given they have tons of guys who could contribute to a strong, solid rotation. Dorance Armstrong, Taco Charlton, Datone Jones, Kony Ealy and more guys are very likely to get snaps. They might also go heavy in the secondary, since the safety position doesn’t seem very… well, safe.
The Dallas Cowboys will have to decide between going heavy at these positions with players that are more likely to contribute on the field in 2018 and keeping a third-string promising young player at the most important position of all: the quarterback position.
It’s a tough call and one that will add some extra flavor to the position battles in training camp. The Cowboys have a deep roster and that will show in July and in August, when the preseason comes around. Surely, the QB battle between Mike White and Cooper Rush will manage to be one of the most intriguing ones, given that they won’t only be fighting to be Dak Prescott’s backup, but to be on the 53-man roster in September.
