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» » Film room: Cowboys position battles to follow when football resumes, including a possible shakeup at cornerback - The Dallas Morning News

Film room: Cowboys position battles to follow when football resumes, including a possible shakeup at cornerback - The Dallas Morning News

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It’s unclear how the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will affect the NFL season. We don’t know when the league will be able to start on-field activities, but OTAs and mandatory minicamp appear unlikely -- at least in terms of on-field work.

When on-field activities do resume, the one thing the Dallas Cowboys won’t have a shortage of is competition. A new coaching staff means everybody on the roster must prove themselves to the new sheriff in town: Mike McCarthy.

For example: Reserve linebacker Luke Gifford won the hearts of the Cowboys’ coaching staff during OTAs, minicamp and training camp last year, making the team even though a high ankle sprain sidelined him for the last couple of weeks of camp. If the old regime were still in Dallas, Gifford’s roster spot would more than likely be secure. A new staff, however, means Gifford must start fresh and once again earn the respect of his coaches. Fortunately for him, almost every other player on the roster will be in the same spot, evening the playing field a bit.

Backups are fun, but the real juice in Dallas’ competitive atmosphere will come from the position battles for starting gigs -- those players figure to have a bigger impact on wins and losses moving forward.

With that in mind, let’s dive into a few Cowboys position battles to watch when football resumes.

Left guard/center

The left guard and center positions are combined here because, in all likelihood, there will be a lot of crossover between the competitions. As things stand now, the Cowboys have four players -- Joe Looney, Connor Williams, Connor McGovern and Tyler Biadasz -- competing for the starting left guard and center jobs.

This competition is so important because the winners will set the offensive line’s floor in terms of on-field effectiveness. An offensive line is only as good as its weakest links. Tyron Smith, Zack Martin and La’el Collins are among the NFL’s best at their positions, so the starters at left guard and center will go a long way toward dictating how vulnerable Dallas’ offensive line will be moving forward.

While most fans are aware of the physical toll trench play puts on a player’s body, not many know how mentally taxing it is to play on the offensive line, especially at center. Offensive linemen must understand how to read a defensive front on the fly while also being able to communicate and make the right adjustments.

This is why Looney (center) and Williams (left guard) are the slight early favorites to win their battles, based on experience. While Looney and Williams have never suited up for McCarthy or offensive line coach Joe Philbin, their experience does give them a leg up over McGovern and Biadasz -- both of whom are essentially rookies, considering McGovern missed all of last year with a pec injury -- because they’ve seen more looks and are comfortable working in cohesion with the stalwarts on the Dallas offensive line.

Looney proved to be an effective enough center while filling in for Travis Frederick in 2018. He wasn’t great, but Looney was good enough that the offense could still be functional and effective, evidenced by a trip to the NFC divisional round of the playoffs.

Looney was most effective in pass protection, allowing just one sack and three quarterback hits in more than 600 pass-blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. His run blocking was a little more hit or miss, but he proved capable of making tough blocks, like reaching a shaded nose tackle on an outside zone-run play (above clip).

Williams has steadily progressed each year since entering the NFL in 2018, just not at the rate that those who were spoiled by Martin hoped for. In 2018, Williams allowed 32 total pressures and five sacks on 506 pass-block snaps (15.8 snaps per pressure), ranking 47th in pass-block efficiency, according to PFF. In 2019, Williams improved to just 21 pressures and a single sack allowed on 426 pass-block snaps (20.2 snaps per pressure), ranking 39th in pass-block efficiency.

He still has some issues with power, balance and footwork, but he’s improving in those areas while displaying impressive athleticism and hand technique. But there’s a question as to how much of Williams’ progress was due to improvement or simply having Frederick next to him at center.

It would be unwise to rule out McGovern or Biadasz in any competition, as both have intriguing skill sets that could earn them starting gigs. McGovern may have a slightly bigger mountain to climb because McCarthy’s staff invested nothing in him, while it was McCarthy who led the charge to trade back into the fourth round to select Biadasz in April’s draft.

McGovern played guard and center at Penn State, where he showed impressive grip strength, an ability to steer defenders in the run game, a strong anchor and Houdini-like ability to recover and sustain blocks when put in compromising positions. The problem is that McGovern put himself in positions to recover too often because of inconsistent footwork/weight distribution and wide/late hands that provided easy access to his chest.

While McGovern could compete at left guard and center, Biadasz figures to solely be in competition for the center gig, having started 41 games for Wisconsin at the pivot. While Biadasz is just a rookie fourth-rounder, his football intelligence is good enough that he can vie for a starting job right away. The biggest question for Biadasz is his play strength -- his biggest weakness last year at Wisconsin.

While the new coaching staff may feel better if McGovern or Biadasz is able to beat out Looney at center, Looney does provide a solid floor the Cowboys know they can win with, which should ease concerns. If McGovern or Biadasz wins the job, it’s because they proved capable of outperforming Looney, which would be a good sign for the Cowboys’ offensive line.

Williams would appear to have a slightly bigger initial lead at left guard, but there’s a real chance someone like McGovern can steal his spot, especially if the Penn State product has maintained his play strength while recovering from his injury.

Whatever the case may be, one thing is certain: The competition will be fierce at both spots and go a long way toward determining the kind of success Dallas has up front in 2020.

Cornerback

The competitions at left guard and center will be fierce, but they will likely pale in comparison to the battle coming down the pike at cornerback.

While McCarthy has preached a more inclusive process in player acquisition, the new staff certainly appears to have a type at corner, as each one signed by this regime stands at least 6-1 with Anthony Brown (5-11) being the lone exception. The team has seemingly taken previous defensive backs coach Kris Richard’s proclivity for tall/long corners to the next level.

When asked by 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM] during draft weekend about the type of corners the Cowboys are looking for, cornerbacks coach Al Harris said: "The type of cornerbacks we’re looking for? Big bodies that can run... I’m a fan of the bigger guys. If you look at the receiver trends, they’re not getting smaller... They’re getting bigger and faster.”

So, even though Chidobe Awuzie, Brown and Jourdan Lewis are the incumbents at corner, don’t be surprised if the secondary looks significantly different in 2020 as newly signed Daryl Worley or rookies Trevon Diggs and Reggie Robinson II earn playing time. Further evidence of major changes coming to the secondary are reports that Awuzie could transition to safety.

If Awuzie moves to safety, it creates a really interesting competition for the corner spots. Given Brown’s new three-year, $15.5 million contract, it’s probably safe to assume he will be the starting slot corner although Lewis won’t make it easy on him. Outside of that, it’s anybody’s guess as to who will fill the other two spots.

If Awuzie fails at safety or stays at corner, then the competition for the starting boundary corner jobs becomes even more crowded.

For all of his issues playing the ball with his back turned to the passer, Awuzie is the best pure cover corner on the roster. Awuzie rarely gives up a lot of separation, possessing elite athletic and reactive traits for the position. But inconsistent technique and an inability to consistently affect the ball at the catch point often undue his great coverage. If he ever learns to be more consistently disruptive at the catch point in man coverage, he could be a Pro Bowl-caliber corner. But the fact that Dallas is considering moving him to safety illustrates its lack of trust that Awuzie can improve in those areas.

Lewis is the most competitive of the bunch, but he’s small and lacks the deep speed (4.54 40 time) that Dallas obviously values in its corners. Either one on its own would be easy to get past, but missing both of those crucial traits may be tough for Lewis to overcome in the coaching staff’s eyes. This is why Diggs and Worley have real shots to earn starting gigs in 2020 (Robinson has an outside chance). Lewis’ best bet may be to compete against Brown for the slot corner role.

Worley is the most experienced corner on the Cowboys’ roster and owner of one of the NFL’s most impressive interceptions in 2019 (above clip). Worley lacks deep speed (4.64 40 time) but has all the size (6-1, 215 pounds) to be effective at the line of scrimmage and catch point. Worley has the skills to replace Byron Jones as Dallas’ de facto tight end stopper, an incredibly important role in a division with the likes of Zach Ertz, Evan Engram and Dallas Goedert.

Diggs has the highest upside of any corner on the roster, which is why the Cowboys were ecstatic that he was still available at pick No. 51. At 6-1, 205 pounds, Diggs is a converted wide receiver who thrives in press-man and zone coverages while possessing excellent ball skills to contest catches and make plays above the rim. He needs refinement in his transitions and footwork, but don’t be surprised if Diggs is playing a prominent role on defense sooner than later.

As a rookie fourth-rounder, it’s not likely Robinson will be able to compete for a starting job, but given his size and athleticism (6-1, 205 pounds with a 4.44 40 time), he’s a dark-horse candidate to earn major playing time. If Awuzie moves to safety, there’s even an outside shot Robinson could earn a starting job.

In any case, the competition at corner will be intense. It’s anybody’s guess as to how it all shakes out before the regular season (hopefully) begins in September.

Kicker

Cowboys training camp in 2018 was the year of the kicking competition no one knew about. Dan Bailey was the incumbent and presumed starter coming off a down year by his standards (making 75% of his field goals) while Brett Maher was a 28-year-old rookie who had yet to make a roster. But after Maher nailed a 57-yarder against the Houston Texans in a preseason game, Dallas decided to go with the unproven commodity over one of the best kickers of the last decade.

For the rest of 2018, the move appeared to be the right one -- Bailey struggled again for most of the season after signing with Minnesota, making just 75% of his field goals for a second straight year. Maher wasn’t great in his own right, but making 80.6% of his field goals was better than Bailey. The 2019 season, however, crystallized Dallas’ mistake in choosing Maher over Bailey -- Maher was released toward the end of the season after proving to be the NFL’s least accurate starting kicker, while Bailey returned to being one of the best kickers, making 93.1% of his field goals (fourth-best in 2019).

Hopefully, the Cowboys will do a better job of picking a winner in this year’s competition between Greg Zuerlein and Kai Forbath.

Zuerlein is the heavy favorite to win the job based on his contract (three years, $7.5 million) and relationship with Dallas’ new special teams coach John Fassel, his coach with the Los Angeles Rams. Before an injury-riddled 2019, Zuerlein had been one of the best kickers in football, posting three straight seasons in which he made more than 86% of his field goals. He had one of the strongest legs to go with an unflappability in clutch situations. Zuerlein made a 57-yarder in overtime to send the Rams to the Super Bowl during the 2018 season (above clip), and even made a 64-yarder in a joint practice against the Cowboys in 2015.

Nevertheless, it should be noted that Zuerlein is coming off one of his worst seasons as a pro, making just 72.7% of his kicks in 2019 while dealing with foot and quad injuries throughout the year.

Forbath’s performances after replacing Maher in 2019 are the biggest reasons why he should not be counted out in this competition, despite his underdog status. Forbath went 10 for 10 on field goals for the Cowboys -- eight from 40-plus yards -- which seemingly earned him the respect of the locker room.

While Zuerlein has a much bigger leg, Forbath actually has a higher field goal made percentage (86.8% to Zuerlein’s 82.0% although it should be noted that Zuerlein has 94 more attempts) to go with more consistency in the all-important 40-49-yard range. Zuerlein has been a tad inconsistent from 40-49 in his career, making 76.6% of his attempts, whereas Forbath is dialed in from that range, making 87.7% of his attempts.

While it’d be unwise to rule out Forbath, NFL coaches tend to side with players they are most comfortable with, and after spending eight years together with the Rams, it’s a sure bet that Fassel is more comfortable with Zuerlein.

If the battle is close, expect Fassel to go with Zuerlein.

Find more Cowboys stories from The Dallas Morning News here.

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