Where do you think the Cowboys have upgraded on offense relative to last season?
The Dallas Cowboys are going through big changes this season. With a new coaching staff and new players, this team should look different this year. That’s a good thing considering they didn’t play well and finished with a losing record for the first time since 2020.
But how much different will they look? If we just examined the starters, what spots would you expect the Cowboys to be better? Worse? Or just stay the same? Today, we’ll run through the offense and project what to expect from each starter.
QB – Dak Prescott
Dak Prescott was bad last season. Sure, he missed half the year with a torn hamstring, but even before that, he was not playing well. You’d have to go all the way back to 2017 to find a completion percentage and yards per attempt lower than last season. His 1.4 touchdown-to-interception ratio (1.4) was the worst of his career.
The good news is, what we saw last year wasn’t Dak. Or, at least, it hasn’t been. Prescott has produced some contrasting seasons over his career, and the weapons around him (or lack thereof) have played a big part. Last year, everything was a hot mess on offense. From the running game, lack of receiving threats, and terrible offensive play-calling from former head coach Mike McCarthy, it was one of Prescott’s least favorable situations.
All that’s changed now. The Cowboys have done a lot of work to make things as Dak-friendly as possible. The biggest challenge for Prescott will be to stay healthy, as he’s missed a good chunk of time in three of his last five seasons. If he can do that, we should see a much better version of Dak this season. If we don’t, then we have a legitimate problem.
Status: Big Improvement
RB – Javonte Williams
We all want the Cowboys’ rushing attack to be better, and there are reasons to believe it will, but from talent alone, there shouldn’t be much of a difference between Javonte Williams and Rico Dowdle. For fans of Dowdle, that’s not a bad thing, as last year’s lead back was a solid player. Williams should be able to provide a similar level of play, and he does offer a bit of upside as he is another year removed from his knee injury. If he returns to form, this could change to an improvement, but we won’t count those chickens just yet.
But the chickens we are counting are the big changes in the coaching staff. The additions of new offensive coordinator Klayton Adams and new offensive line coach Conor Riley are huge for the Cowboys. Those guys are two of the most respected offensive line coaches in football and have a strong track record of coaching up linemen and scheming up excellent rushing attacks. The team also got stronger along the interior offensive line, so similar to our reasoning with Dak, what we see out of Williams should be an improvement over what we saw out of Dowdle last season.
It’s also worth mentioning that the running game is not a one-man job these days, and the team is hopeful that the addition of rookie Jaydon Blue will give them a stronger one-two punch. And that won’t be hard because Ezekiel Elliott’s career-low 15.1 yards per game contribution helped no one.
Status: Slight Improvement
WR1 – CeeDee Lamb
CeeDee Lamb is a stud, and he’ll remain a stud, but even studs could use a little help. Lamb’s production has been impressive from the onset, but when the team has no presence of a WR2 threat, it shows. Over the last three seasons, Lamb’s numbers have looked like this:
- 80 yards per game (2022) with Noah Brown as WR2
- 103 yards per game (2023) with a healthy Brandin Cooks as WR2
- 80 yards per game (2024) with Jalen Tolbert (Cooks was hurt) as WR2
That’s a big difference. George Pickens has joined the team, and his impact will be felt in more ways than one. Expect a better season from the Cowboys’ star receiver.
Status: Slight Improvement
WR2 – George Pickens
This is the biggest area of improvement for the Cowboys. A talent like George Pickens would immediately bolster any team. The only question left to be answered is how much he will impact the offense. Will he put up another 1,100-yard season like he did a couple of years ago, his floor of 800 yards, or completely disappoint by being the headache many have suggested he will be? While there is a range of outcomes here, it feels more likely this will work out on the favorable side, considering the talent level and added motivation stemming from a contract year.
Status: Big Improvement
WR3 – Jalen Tolbert
The former third-round pick hasn’t lived up to his draft cost, but he has been showing some improvement year after year. While there is an opportunity to have an even better season, we feel like we know what they have in Tolbert. And for that reason, this gets the no-change label.
But that is not necessarily a bad thing. Tolbert’s 610 yards and seven touchdowns are fantastic if we’re talking about a WR3. Last year, he was forced into the WR2 role because Cooks got hurt, and from that perspective, it was underwhelming, but with Pickens in town, Tolbert being Tolbert should be just fine. And we should also note that we don’t know who the WR3 will be. It could be Tolbert. It could be Jonathan Mingo. Or, we might see a breakout season from KaVontae Turpin.
There is a chance we could see the WR3 role jump up similar to Randall Cobb’s 800+ yard season in 2019, when the offense also had Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup (pre-injury), but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. To avoid double-counting, the projected WR3 production stays put, but it will feel much better this time.
Status: No Change
TE – Jake Ferguson
The Pro Bowl tight end from 2023 saw a production decline of 35% last year that was attributed to multiple factors. While catching passes from Cooper Rush was part of it, Ferguson battled multiple injuries last year (knee, concussion), and it showed. Better health and a contract year should make Ferguson an improvement candidate.
Status: Slight Improvement
FB – Hunter Luepke
There’s not much to see here. Luepke’s roster security will likely be talked about again as we all ponder other options, but keep in mind that the coaching staff loves this guy. He may be used more efficiently with this new offensive staff, but we’ll just keep it even-steven for now.
Status: No Change
LT – Tyler Guyton
Everyone is down on Guyton, and we get it. He didn’t perform like the previous first-round offensive linemen the Cowboys have selected before him. But those are unreasonable standards to hold him to. Guyton followed a typical rookie trajectory that was affected by several injuries. The coaching staff is very high on him, and better things should come in year two, especially when you consider he’ll be surrounded by some of the best offensive line coaching in the biz.
Status: Slight Improvement
LG – Tyler Smith
This just in – Tyler Smith is really good at football. He’s entering his fourth year in the league, and he’s only 24 years old. This cat’s only getting better. Riley should help Smith reach his ceiling, but expectations are already high for the team’s top offensive lineman.
Status: No Change
C – Cooper Beebe
This is a player to keep an eye on. Beebe was thrown into the center position last year after spending all his time at Kansas State playing everywhere on the offensive line except center. It didn’t matter, though. He had a solid rookie year, and his raw traits were on full display. Add in that he’s getting his old college coach, Conor Riley, who turned him into a star, and we might start hearing his name come up as one of the better centers in the league.
Status: Slight Improvement
RG – Tyler Booker
On one hand, Booker is a rookie, and rookies come with growing pains. On the other hand, he’s the top guard coming out of college, and the Cowboys absolutely had to have him with their 12th overall pick. Booker should be a good player with the upside to be great, and that makes him a slight improvement over 2024 Zack Martin. And remember, Martin’s performance last season showed us an aging player who had some real struggles.
Status: Slight Improvement
RT – Terence Steele
Finishing things off is the player everyone loves to hate. Steele gets the Doug Free treatment as he’s labeled as the weakest link because his bad plays are… well, bad. But where he separates himself from Free is how well he can play at times, and those instances are slowly coming back. Remember, he was a good player pre-injury, and with another year removed from his terrible knee injury, this should be the year he reminds fans why he was given that nice contract.
Status: Slight Improvement
Looking at the offense, here is a summary of the changes…
Looking at this group, there are many areas where the Cowboys are expected to get better. This is great news for an offense that finished outside the top 20 in points scored last year after finishing inside the top 5 the previous three years. If you’re looking for a reason to be excited about the Cowboys this year, look no further than the improvements we should see on offense.
