Playing just 12 snaps against the San Francisco 49ers in the Dallas Cowboys first preseason game, Defensive End Kony Ealy is seeing the road to the Cowboys 53-man roster only get longer. The fifth year pro was signed by Dallas this April.
With no subsequent moves at defensive end until the fourth round of the draft, Ealy has felt like a lock to make the team as a needed veteran presence. Arguably being outplayed by that fourth round pick — Kansas’ Dorance Armstrong — while also seeing Charles Tapper and Taco Charlton come on strong at training camp, Ealy’s potential impact on this defense feels minimal just weeks into camp.
To make matters worse for Ealy, who’s on his third team since 2017, Randy Gregory has been steadily working his way back into practice. Yesterday, he took part in some full team drills and looked good doing so.
The Cowboys are expecting Gregory to be ready for week one. Should he return to the team’s rotation at right defensive end, the Cowboys would have solid and versatile depth in Gregory and Tyrone Crawford at the position.
Armstrong developing as the third string right end would be ideal. With several flash plays against the 49ers, the Cowboys are hopeful that a player drafted for traits can develop into yet another athletic rusher off the edge.
Whether or not this depth chart still has room for Kony Ealy will depend entirely on how much he’s willing to fight for a spot. The Cowboys remain thin at defensive tackle, a spot Ealy has taken snaps at previously to rush the quarterback from a 3T position.
If you’ve followed me for long enough, you know there’s a few “football philosophies” I constantly fall back on. One of them is that every team will benefit from a younger player out playing a more experienced one.
This is exactly what’s happening with Ealy and the Cowboys defensive line, making the excitement for this unit as a whole warranted. Even a player like Taco Charlton, unfairly having to shake the bust label before ever arriving in Dallas, is coming on as a strong option to back up DeMarcus Lawrence in 2018.
On paper, going into the season without Ealy would give the Cowboys another lackluster free agency class. Cam Fleming is looking better by the day as the team’s option at swing tackle, but free agent Guard Marcus Martin is facing surgery that would likely keep him out for the season.
Better prepared to handle injuries in the trenches this season though, the Cowboys defensive line is where my attention will primarily be when the team returns home this weekend to play the Bengals.
With no guarantee that this means we’ll see Ealy get more snaps, the Cowboys are clearly very pleased with the progress of their defensive ends thus far.
