Cowboys polls: Fan confidence in Brian Schottenheimer; rookie breakout season

Each week we ask you the readers to give your opinion on five questions surrounding the Dallas Cowboys. To help you decide before you cast your vote on each question, we give opposing views on each poll, so make your vote and leave your opinions in the comment section.

How confident are you in Brian Schottenheimer’s ability as head coach?

Mike: From the moment Brian Schottenheimer took the reins at Dallas and started putting together his coaching staff and roster everything looked great. But it’s not what a head coach does 99% of the time.

Can he be the guy to raise the team in hard times and be the reason this team finally gets over that final hurdle and into a Super Bowl? It’s possible. But for now, based on the fact he has zero head coaching experience in an NFL game, confidence is best placed somewhere in the middle, let’s say in the “too soon to tell” category.

Brandon: From everything I’ve seen and heard so far this offseason, Brian Schottenheimer has shown he’s deserving of the opportunity to be a head coach. He’s great with the players and media, and has an ability to make people on the outside feel like they’re part of the ride too.

Whether or not this will all translate into wins remains to be seen. Many questions linger on the defensive side of the ball. Having an experienced coach in Matt Eberflus leading the charge gives Schottenheimer a chance to catch a break in year one. If things go sideways, it’ll come down to the first-time head coach to make personnel changes. How he handles stress under pressure will tell us a lot about his coaching ability.

Up to this point, I have confidence he’ll be a solid head coach, but it’s all TBD so I’d say slightly confident.

Which offseason acquisition will have the biggest impact this season besides George Pickens?

Mike: Javonte Williams was a huge signing for Dallas. The team lost Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowlde who was coming off a 1,000 yard season meaning all that was left on the roster was Deuce Vaughn. Having the smallest player in the league with very little playing time and zero depth behind him was a wildly concerning weakness on this roster, but the front office managed to fix the issue with a very solid running back.

Sure, Williams is coming off a down trend in his production after a very nasty knee injury two years ago where he tore nearly every ligament in his knee. But he is now two years removed from said injury and if he’s even 90% of what he was in North Carolina or during his rookie year in Denver, then Cowboys fans should feel very excited for what Williams can bring to this offense. There’s something a little DeMarco Murray-like in Williams’ style of play.

Brandon: I genuinely believe Solomon Thomas will be a factor for the Cowboys this season. His impact might not be felt as much on the field as it will in the locker room. Like Dak Prescott, Thomas was up for Walter Payton Man of the Year and does great work in the community off the field with his foundation, The Defensive Line.

Over the last few seasons, the Cowboys have lost key veteran leaders, including Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, and DeMarcus Lawrence. While young players like Tyler Smith, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons are stepping up in their absence, they still need someone who has been in the league for a long time to help guide them. Dallas brought in Thomas and Dante Fowler this offseason to help bring along a young, talented defensive front.

Thomas can be a mentor to help bring players like Mazi Smith, Marshawn Kneeland, and Donovan Ezeiruaku, who “should” be part of the team’s long-term future.

What’s your biggest concern heading into 2025?

Mike: The offensive line still scares me. On paper everything looks great, talented players at each position, three players taken in the first round, one of the best left guards in the league, all of this is inspiring. But the game isn’t played on paper. We’re hoping Tyler Guyton finds his groove at left tackle, we have a rookie right guard and Terence Steele is hoping he can finally find his earlier form.

The problem we have is everything on the offensive line for this season is still all unknown until we get into the nitty gritty and see how the starting five gel together and perform. When do we get to see that? When the bright lights come on and they’re facing NFL pass rushers. That makes for a very cornering narrative.

Brandon: The biggest concern for me remains the run defense. We saw a major shift across the NFL last season, where teams that ran the ball effectively were the ones who made it to the postseason. Just within the Cowboys’ own division, Saquon Barkley had a MVP-level year running the ball that made it easier for the offense to attack defenses in various ways.

Look at how important offensive guards have become to a team’s success. If an offense can have dominant line play from its interior (something Dallas hopes to have), then it puts all the pressure on a defense to have bigger, stronger defensive tackles to stop the run.

Unfortunately, outside of Osa Odighizuwa, there is a lack of confidence in Mazi Smith’s potential, and there is too much riding on Jay Toia and Tommy Akingbesote’s hope of taking huge steps in their rookie seasons. The Cowboys released Justin Rogers, who was let go last season, and he was one of the team’s remaining big-bodied defensive tackles. I need to see more right now from a run defense that was among the worst in the NFL just a season ago.

Which rookie is most likely to breakout this season?

Mike: Donovan Ezeiruaku was a personal favorite in the draft, not just because the Cowboys took him, but because he’s a full grown pass rusher that had first-round talent neon lights flashing all over him. You place a guy who is so technically proficient as a pass rusher next to Micah Parsons then you have a double-barreled threat that is hard to stop.

Ezeiruaku ended his 2024 season as ACC Defensive Player of the Year and led the conference in sacks (16.5) and tackles for loss (21), then combined that with 80 total tackles proving he’s more than just sack artist. He was also awarded the Ted Hendricks award which is given to the best defensive end int he country, putting him in the company of previous winners such as Laiatu Latu, Aiden Hutchinson and Jadeveon Clowney. The fact Ezeiruaku was also captain at Boston College proves he can take the lead and perform with the extra weight on his shoulders. This dude is set for a big career in the NFL.

Brandon: I am excited to see what Tyler Booker can bring to the offensive line. There has been a viral clip of him competing against campers at his annual camp event, where Booker said on X (formerly Twitter), “How you do anything is how you do everything.”

His mantra continues to be in lockstep with what Brian Schottenheimer has talked about from the beginning: competing every day. Filling the shoes of Zack Martin, a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, is no easy task. However, Booker showed a leadership style and attitude similar to his predecessor when he arrived in Dallas in 2014.

What’s your realistic outcome for the Cowboys in 2025?

Mike: There’s way too much talent on this roster to miss the playoffs. Sure, everyone will point at certain areas of the team that are lacking or comment on the fact the offense still has questions. But look at the top of this roster at the Pro Bowl-caliber talent the team has. Parsons and CeeDee Lamb should give fans a comfortable level of optimism and that’s without adding George Pickens, the additions to the linebacker corps, the depth at running back, plus a very intriguing rookie class. A realistic outcome would be to make the playoffs.

Brandon: The realistic outcome for the Cowboys in 2025 would be a Wild Card birth, or at least that should be the bare minimum. The team has three “blue chip” players: CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons, and Tyler Smith. Most championship teams have at least that, if not more. Brandon Aubrey could also be considered a blue-chip player and the best at his position.

Dak Prescott could be considered a blue-chip player, but there are not many NFL quarterbacks who are true blue-chip talents, so excluding him isn’t shocking. However, if Prescott returns to his MVP-like self that we saw in 2023, there could be something special brewing this season. However, some uncertainty about the team still makes it difficult to look beyond the divisional round at this point.

Many thanks to everyone for casting your vote and check back next week for the next edition and a fresh set of questions. Fill that comment section with your thoughts below.