The Dallas Cowboys will open training camp in Oxnard, California with their initial training camp press conference on July 21st. That’s just 16 days away.
Football is close.
At training camp this year, as teams do every year, the Cowboys will have to figure out several positions through completion. On defense, in particular, the Cowboys have a lot of numbers at several positions, but no clear answer as to how the players will be deployed and who will be deemed the starter.
Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll get you ready for training camp by highlighting the questions the Dallas Cowboys face as they prepare for the 2021 NFL Season. Today, we look at several positional battles.
1. Interior Defensive Line
The Dallas Cowboys worked hard to rectify the depth issues that plagued them at defensive tackle in 2020. Much of the issue with the linebacker position could be directly related to the lack of talent along the Cowboys’ defensive interior. Though there are still questions about the talent level at the position, the Cowboys are much better suited to find an answer in 2021 than last year.
The Cowboys brought in Brent Urban, Carlos Watkins, Quinton Bohana, Osa Odighizuwa, and Chauncey Gholston to add to Trysten Hill and Neville Gallimore on the inside.
We don’t quite know how Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn will deploy his defensive fronts, but we know he wants to use multiple looks and some three-down linemen looks. Each guy fits a bit differently, and the opponent and gameplan could determine how they’re deployed. Still, it will be fascinating to see who emerges from the group to be at the head of the table in the Cowboys’ interior defensive line rotation.
2. Cornerback
Cornerback was another area that struggled with depth after several starters were lost to injury at different points during the season. And it showed.
Like interior defensive line, the Cowboys spent considerable resources to address the cornerback spot this offseason. They re-signed Jourdan Lewis, and Maurice Canady is back after his 2020 COVID-19 op-out. Then they drafted Kelvin Joseph in the second round, Nahshon Wright in the third round, and Israel Mukuamu in the sixth round.
With Anthony Brown taking a lot of the snaps in minicamp and OTAs and Reggie Robinson still looking to make an impact after an underwhelming rookie season, the Dallas Cowboys have several players that will be competing for cornerback snaps in training camp.
While Brown appears to be the leader in the clubhouse at this point, how they compete against the Dallas Cowboys’ talented wide receiver group could adjust how these players are viewed heading into the regular season.
3. Tight End – Blake Jarwin vs Dalton Schultz
The offensive side of the football is pretty well solidified. There’s an entrenched starter and a pretty solid backup option available to the Dallas Cowboys at each spot. The only place where there might be a bit of a question is at tight end. But the Cowboys have two really good options to choose from in Blake Jarwin and Dalton Schultz.
Jarwin is easily the more athletic of the two and an incredibly dynamic receiving option. Unfortunately, he’s coming off an ACL injury he suffered in week one of the 2020 season. He hasn’t taken part in team practices yet, but that could be the team wanting to ease him in slowly.
Dalton Schultz, on the other hand, is the more well-rounded of the two players and had a really good 2020 season, showing that he could be a starter in the NFL.
It will be an intriguing battle as the Cowboys will either go with the high floor that Schultz provides because of his blocking ability or with the high ceiling that Jarwin provides because of his playmaking ability.
Either way, the Cowboys have a good answer to a problem that’s not really even a problem.
