Cowboys fans woke up this morning with Brian Schottenheimer as the team’s head coach, and questions and concerns are flooding social media. After all, this is his first head coaching job, so we can’t know exactly what to expect.
The most important area for this concern is the upcoming NFL Draft. We all know Dallas isn’t going to spend in free agency, so the draft is their one chance at adding talent.
This roster will have a ton of holes come April, so how they decide to approach their selections will be critical to watch.
Dallas is committing to four years of Schottenheimer, so you can bet he will have significant influence in the war room. This draft should not be run through Jerry and Stephen Jones’ offices.
With that in mind, let’s consider how his hiring will impact the Cowboys draft plans, and who could arise as the top target for Dallas.
Brian Schottenheimer: The New Philosophy
While Brian Schottenheimer hasn’t been a head coach yet, we still know some of his tendencies and what he favors in an offense.
The biggest example of this is at the running back position.
Schottenheimer has, throughout his career, shown a clear preference for running the football. Sometimes to his detriment, the 51-year-old is a ground-and-pound guy through and through; he will run more than Mike McCarthy ever did.
We saw the Cowboys front office go cheap at running back during the 2024 offseason, but with Schottenheimer at the helm, it’s hard to see that bleeding over to this year.
Dallas did see their inexpensive strategy payoff to some degree, as Rico Dowdle did exceed expectations, but he is now a free agent coming off a career year.
Dowdle is going to command money on the open market, and with the NFL Draft being more lucrative this year at the position than nearly any in recent memory, you could see the Cowboys invest there this April.
Ashton Jeanty: Destined For Dallas?
If you’ve followed the NFL Draft at all to this point, you know that Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty is heavily connected to the Cowboys. At this point, you can’t find a mock draft that doesn’t link this pairing.
Jeanty, 21, finished as the runner-up for the Heisman trophy and projects as the top running back in this draft class. He is as good as it gets for a prospect.
With Dallas picking 12th, they are certainly in his range, and could very well see him on the board when Roger Goodell puts them on the clock.
Before the hiring of Brian Schottenheimer, you could make the argument for a defensive selection with their first pick, but you can’t hire a run-heavy, offensive-minded head coach and ignore the offensive line and running back.
Schottenheimer will want to build in the trenches and develop a running game to set up the play-action.
Drafting Jeanty would be a huge step forward in creating that offense.
It’s still early in the offseason, but it is hard to see the Cowboys, and their new head coach, pass on Jeanty if he’s available.
The Bottom Line: Offensive-Centered Draft
Regardless of whether the Cowboys go with Jeanty, another high-profile rookie, or someone in the free agent pool, it’s hard to see them avoiding running back like they did last year.
Why invest in Schottenheimer just to ignore one of his key offensive philosophies?
It looks like Dallas is the favorite to land Matt Eberflus as their next defensive coordinator, and they are loaded up with high-end talent on that side of the ball. They will be fine next season with player development, some minor tweaks, and a signing or two.
The offense is what needs to take off again for the Cowboys, and they should follow Brian Schottenheimer’s lead in determining what that looks like.