Over the course of six games, the Cowboys have trotted out 19 first or second-year players in the hopes that they can develop into reliable pieces across the board.
The unfortunate reality is that most of the time, that doesn’t happen overnight.
The Cowboys have won three of their six games to start the 2024 season, but after a tough 47-9 loss to the Detroit Lions and their fourth straight loss at AT&T Stadium, the time is now for the newcomers on this team to make their presence felt.
“I think it’s an excellent opportunity for our young guys to continue to play,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said when asked about his team’s mental state after the loss. “It’s an excellent opportunity for these guys to build off of some of the things they have done well becausMce this will pay forward.”
One of the areas it may need to pay forward the most is up front on the offensive line. After the Dallas run game only generated 53 yards and saw Dak Prescott get pressured on 47.4% of his drop backs, there’s no question the unit needs to play better. Especially with two rookies starting a majority of the snaps in Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe, being familiar with the guy next to you is of the utmost importance for linemen.
“That’s one of your biggest decisions as a head coach in personnel,” McCarthy said of constructing the offensive line. “Because those five guys playing together and in particular practicing together, at the end of the day, it’s huge, you don’t get those reps back.”
The offensive line is not the only position group with younger players that are looking to take the next step. DeMarvion Overshown has put together a solid campaign thus far, Caelen Carson has seen an uptick in snaps with injuries in the secondary, Mazi Smith and Tyrus Wheat have shown flashes of what could be, the list goes on and on. And McCarthy has seen this exact kind of situation play out before in his career.
“When you play young players this much, and you play this many different players this much, I think the long game has a chance to be very bright.” McCarthy said.
Now, the question is how quickly does the brightness increase for this team? Just a year ago, they were 4-2 heading into the bye week with plenty of questions left unanswered. They then came out of it winning six out of their next seven games, finishing the season 12-5. Only time will tell if the 2024 Cowboys can go on a similar run, but confidence is high that the sluggish start the season can be turned around courtesy of players both young and old.
“At the end of the day, if we totally don’t believe it’s about us, it’ll always be about us, and play to who we are, what we do, how we do it, then we’re not going to get to where we want to go,” McCarthy said. “And I believe we will. I think this is an opportunity that we relish, I know I relish it, and I think they do too.”