The one bright spot for the Dallas Cowboys in 2019 was the offensive side of the ball. Dak Prescott came within one yard of tying Tony Romo’s single-season passing record, Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup each went over 1,000 yards and the offense as a whole was the NFL’s top-ranked unit.
Beginning last week, ESPN has been doing a series of ranking the top 10 players at 11 different positions after conversing with 50 NFL executives, coaches, scouts, and players. However, they also took the time to rank all 32 teams according to their offensive firepower. The Cowboys came in the third slot (tops in the NFC).
Dak Prescott, QB
Prescott has gradually progressed throughout his career but 2019 is where he took a significant jump and threw his name in the conversation with the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Prescott threw for 4,902 yards (2nd) and 30 touchdowns (4th). In addition to Cooper and Gallup, he now has dynamic rookie CeeDee Lamb at his disposal. With Blake Jarwin emerging plus Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard coming out of the backfield Prescott will have his most explosive set of weapons ever in 2020 and could have his best season yet.
Ezekiel Elliott/Tony Pollard, RB
Elliott’s reputation started as as soon he entered the NFL in 2016. In two of his first three seasons (2016, 2018) he led the league in rushing, and his 98.3 yards per game was tops league-wide in 2017. After signing a six-year, $90 million dollar extension just prior to last season Elliott was expected to perform at his usual high-level. Even though he had a career-low of 85 yards per game Elliott was still right there with the league’s best in terms of production. He finished with 1,357 yards (4th), 12 rushing touchdowns (4th), 1,777 all-purpose yards (2nd), and seven 100-yard games (tied for 1st).
Pollard, in flashes, showed his potential as a rookie last season. He averaged 5.3 yards per attempt on 86 carries. In Week 3, he ran 103 yards against the Miami Dolphins, only to be topped by his 131-yard performance in Week 15 vs the Los Angeles Rams.
This two-headed monster at running back just nay be the league’s best.
Amari Cooper/Michael Gallup/CeeDee Lamb, WR
The Cowboys have arguably the best trio of wide receivers in the entire league, and it all starts with Cooper. He set career highs in yards (1,189), touchdowns (8), and yards per catch (15.1) in 2019. Since arriving in Dallas midway through the 2018 season Cooper is fifth in yards (1,914) and tied for the most receiving touchdowns (14).
Gallup raised his game to another level last season. He finished with 66 receptions for 1,107 yards and six touchdowns, doubling his numbers in all three categories from his rookie campaign. In just a short amount of time Gallup has developed into one of the top number two receivers in the league.
Lamb, regarded by many as the best wide receiver in the 2020 NFL Draft, gives the Cowboys offense an entirely different dynamic. Much like Cooper, Lamb can lineup in the slot and on the outside. This versatility will allow the Cowboys to lineup their talented trio all over the field and create a lot of mismatches in coverage.
With these three studs, Prescott has an embarrassment of riches at the receiver position.
Blake Jarwin, TE
It seemed as if the progression of Jarwin was beginning in 2018 after future Hall of Famer Jason Witten briefly retired. In the season finale against the New York Giants, Jarwin had seven receptions for 119 yards and three touchdowns. However, when Witten returned in 2019, Jarwin was put back into his backup role. He caught 31 passes for 365 yards and three touchdowns.
Now, with Witten once again off the roster after departing for the Las Vegas Raiders, Jarwin has another opportunity to establish himself at the Cowboys TE1. His threat to stretch a defense down the seams will make the Cowboys passing attack even more lethal and ultimately help the running game as well.
Offensively, the Cowboys are very talented and also very young. It’s safe to say that they should rank rather high on these types of lists for years to come.
