There has been a lot of debate about which offensive line position the Cowboys would need the most. And luckily for the team and offensive line coach Mike Solari, there’s a Tyler Smith up front who can give you flexibility on who exactly gets picked with the versatility of him potentially moving from guard to left tackle.
For McCarthy, it allows the team to draft the best player available rather than reaching a specific position.
“I think the most important thing is that you have to choose the best player, the best value,” he said. “Tyler’s flexibility gives us something unique. The fact that he started both positions at such a young age is pretty special. I look at these players, I’m just saying the spacing of the offensive line, what player, regardless of position , can the offensive line spacing improve? I have great confidence in our process: if we select up, we will improve the offensive line spacing and we will figure it out.”
Also working in the Cowboys’ favor is their history of drafting first-round offensive linemen with Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, Travis Frederick and Tyler Smith all exceeding high expectations after their arrivals.
“I think communication is excellent between our testing staff and Mike [McCarthy] and his staff, Will and his staff, really in terms of getting to the page about what we want in a Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman,” Stephen Jones said.
“There are guys up there that some people have rated higher than others. Everyone has an opinion and certainly an idea of what would fit with their group. I just think we do a great job of analyzing all of these guys and really communicating in a way. side to side”.
Beyond the needs of the offensive line, the expectation of the weekend is to get a starting-caliber running back. But for McCarthy, bringing in a guy who can simply elevate the competition in the room and not have to push the issue of selecting a starter allows it to come into play.
“Gosh, I hope we can get one of these running backs,” McCarthy said. “It would be great to add him to the roster. But I don’t think these draft picks are absolutely starters. I don’t succumb to an 11-man roster because that’s not the reality of how this works. I think the fact that we’re on a 17-game schedule exemplifies it even more. It will take everyone to get where we want to go.”
Regardless of whether there is an expectation that draftees will come in and be starters or not, the Cowboys’ needs compared to the number of picks they currently have have little room for error for the front office and evaluation department.
Despite an inactive free agency period and a baffling contract extension test, that urgency – at least – does not go unnoticed.
2024-04-23 21:09:36
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