With training camp underway and the first preseason game scheduled for August 11th, the Dallas Cowboys are still without CeeDee Lamb, who isn’t expected to attend camp until a deal gets done.
That isn’t news at this point, but with that now in the forefront and Lamb not in the building, others are going to need to step up. Not only during camp, but I would guess they’re going to need a career type of year for this team to come close to winning 12 games again.
KaVontae Turpin
The first player who may need to elevate his game to a new level for this team to have another 12-win season, or close to that, is KaVontae Turpin.
The Cowboys need him to be a Swiss Army Knife.
A guy who is doing more than just returning kicks. He needs to be on the field whenever he can because he creates a mismatch for the defense.
You can line him up in the slot or get him behind Dak Prescott and hand him the football. He is one of the most dynamic players they have on the offense going into 2024.
They need to get Turpin on the field whenever possible.
Last season, KaVontae Turpin carried the ball 11 times for 110 yards and a touchdown.
Handing him the ball can be a dangerous offensive weapon. He averaged 10 yards per line-of-scrimmage touch last year. It’s time for him to explode in the final year of his three-year contract.
We have only seen flashes of what he can do if he is given enough snaps. He can be a real game changer for this offense.
Osa Odighizuwa
The most underrated player on this roster right now might be Osa Odighizuwa.
With the lack of depth on the defensive line, if Osa can break out into a career year, he could be a major contributor to the Dallas Cowboys defense.
The Cowboys’ run defense is so bad that a career year by just one player, Odighizuwa, could very well help them go from near the bottom to at least the middle of the pack.
Over the first three seasons of his career, the 6-foot-2, 280-pound defensive tackle has accumulated 125 tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 35 quarterback hits, 39 pressures, and nine sacks.
He now gets Mike Zimmer as his defensive coordinator and that could certainly be the catalyst he needs to go from underrated to breakout star.
I’m excited to see what he can do in Zimmer’s D. Zimmer is a coach who has had a proven track record of getting the best out of his guys.
Sam Williams
Cowboys pass rusher Sam Williams has a golden opportunity this season. With all the depth they lost on the defensive line, if Williams can get his penalties under control, he could have a 10 sack season. A career type of year.
Williams played in 15 games and logged 273 snaps as a rookie. He racked up 22 tackles (10 for a loss), four sacks, nine quarterback hits, a forced fumble, and three fumble recoveries.
He was pretty productive in his 303 snaps in 2023 as he tallied 26 tackles (five tackles for a loss), 4.5 sacks, seven quarterback hits, and a forced fumble in 17 games.
Williams should have over 400 snaps this season with the lack of depth on the Cowboys’ defensive line, and if he does, he could easily put up career numbers this season.
Even with a career year from these three guys, if they don’t get CeeDee Lamb signed, the offense will struggle.
They have a lot of drama going around that could have, and should have, been figured out two months ago.
I’m on the fence about what to think of this team and where they may finish, but if Lamb, Dak Prescott and Micah Parsons are on the field, there is no reason why they should not at least make the playoffs.