Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images The Cowboys have a decision to make about Damone Clark. Entering his fourth NFL season and the final year of his rookie contract, Damone Clark has taken a backseat to other more recently added linebackers in Dallas. Could this trend go so far in 2025 as to push him off the Cowboys’ roster completely? A fifth-round pick in the 2022 draft, Clark felt like one of the bright spots of that class a couple of years ago. After quickly establishing his potential as a rookie, Clark started all 17 games in 2023. But after Dallas signed veteran Eric Kendricks and drafted Marist Liufau last spring, plus got DeMarvion Overshown back from injury, Clark’s involvement plummeted to just 18% of the defensive snaps in 2024. The fall in playing time, plus a ballooning fourth-year cap hit, prompted Pro Football Network to name Clark as Dallas’ top candidate to be a salary cap casualty this offseason. Largely due to his 2023 playing time, Clark is expected to count roughly $3.4 million against the cap after Proven Performance Escalators. And with less than $100k in dead money left on the contract, Dallas can clear nearly the entire amount off their books if Clark is released. From a financial standpoint, it sounds highly logical. While it’s not a huge chunk of cap space, $3 million is still worth more in other pursuits than to keep Clark around as a barely-playing backup and special teamer. But that’s where this gets a little sticky as his role in 2025 isn’t so certain. Kendricks is set to become a free agent again and one of the key things that brought him to Dallas, Mike Zimmer, won’t be back as defensive coordinator. While Kendricks could still work well in Matt Eberflus’s scheme, will he want to come back? He did well enough last year that other teams may want his veteran leadership and create a market. What’s worse, Overshown’s significant knee injury last year is expected to keep him out for at least a portion of next season. You could see Dallas riding comfortably into 2025 with Overshown and Liufau as their top-two linebackers but they won’t have that luxury. So for a least the first part of the year, Liufau may need a new fellow starter. Barring some surprising surge from a down-roster prospect like Brock Mogensen, or new options in the next free agent and rookie crops, Clark is the next man up at linebacker. But he has to get to training camp to compete for snaps and that cap hit is obviously going to be tough for Dallas to swallow given how last season went. Clark’s saving grace may be Eberflus’ arrival. Depending on what the new DC is looking for in his linebackers, perhaps Clark’s value to the team will rise from where Zimmer’s one year took it. But again, Clark’s best opportunity to impress Eberflus wouldn’t be until camp. So it really comes down to whether or not the Cowboys are willing to carry that cap number through the offseason and give him that chance. While not offering the highest potential cap relief of guys like Terence Steele and Donovan Wilson, Damone Clark’s far lesser role in 2024 would make him an easier cut. But given the Cowboys’ uncertainty at linebacker, will they pull that trigger or at least give Clark a chance to earn his way back onto the roster this year?

Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images Our mock draft database is here. In our inaugural mock draft database of the season, we take a peek at 25 different mock drafts published over the last two weeks to see whether we can get a better feeling for the early names mocked to the Cowboys. As it currently stands, 22 of the 25 mocks are projecting the Cowboys to take either RB Ashton Jeanty (13 mocks) or WR Luther Burden (9). If you were locked in on an offensive or defensive lineman, you may have to start rethinking your position. Then again, it’s still January, and a lot of things can still happen. When we did a similar exercise in 2020, 29 of the 32 mocks at the time were projecting the Cowboys to take a defensive player, but the Cowboys ultimately ended up drafting WR CeeDee Lamb. The table below lists the 25 mocks by their publication date and shows which player is mocked to the Cowboys. Mock Draft Player Position College Last Updated NFL Spin Zone (Scataglia) Luther Burden WR Missouri 1.26 CBS (Edwards) Luther Burden WR Missouri 1.25 NFL (Jeremiah) Ashton Jeanty RB Boise State 1.25 PFN (Cannata) James Pearce Edge Tennessee 1.25 CBS (Trapasso) Tyler Warren TE Penn State 1.24 Walter Football (Campbell) Luther Burden WR Missouri 1.24 PFN (Tate) Ashton Jeanty RB Boise State 1.24 Athlon Sports (Easterling) Luther Burden WR Missouri 1.23 NBCSports Boston (Perry) Ashton Jeanty RB Boise State 1.23 NFL Spin Zone (Bedinger) Ashton Jeanty RB Boise State 1.23 Draft Countdown (Menendez) Ashton Jeanty RB Boise State 1.22 Draftwire (Popejoy) Ashton Jeanty RB Boise State 1.22 ESPN (Kiper) Luther Burden WR Missouri 1.22 SB Nation (Acosta) Luther Burden WR Missouri 1.22 SI (Flick) Ashton Jeanty RB Boise State 1.22 Sporting News (Iyer) Ashton Jeanty RB Boise State 1.22 33rd Team (Crabbs) Ashton Jeanty RB Boise State 1.20 Drafttek (Staff) Ashton Jeanty RB Boise State 1.20 PFN (Miller) Tyler Warren TE Penn State 1.20 USAToday (Middlehurst) Luther Burden WR Missouri 1.20 Draft Network (Johnstone) Ashton Jeanty RB Boise State 1.19 Draftwire (Risdon) Ashton Jeanty RB Boise State 1.17 Foxsports (McIntyre) Luther Burden WR Missouri 1.17 SD Union Tribune (Brown) Ashton Jeanty RB Boise State 1.17 The Athletic (Brugler) Luther Burden WR Missouri 1.15 25 mocks are obviously a lot to take in, so here’s simplified summary: Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State: 13 mocks Luther Burden, WR, Missouri: 9 mocks Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State: 2 mocks James Pearce, Edge, Tennessee: 1 mock With such a “limited” set of prospects, you might be wondering where some of the other prospects not mentioned above were ranked in these mocks, and whether they might be available at pick 12 for the Dallas Cowboys. You could look up the player ranking on your favorite big board, you could make up your own ranking, and you could even use a consensus big board for such a player ranking. Or we could look at the average draft position for the key offensive prospects (WRs, Tackles, RB, TE) based on the 25 mocks above, and how often they were available at pick 12, which is exactly what you see in the table below. Avg. POS Player POS Available atNo. 12 7.1 Tetairoa McMillan WR 8% 9.6 Will Campbell OT/OG 20% 13.0 Kelvin Banks OT/OG 48% 19.8 Josh Simmons OT 72% 13.5 Luther Burden WR 76% 13.7 Ashton Jeanty RB 80% 15.0 Tyler Warren TE 92% 20.4 Emeka Egbuka WR 100% Within the narrow confines of this list, that gives the Cowboys three main options, all of them based on the way the 25 mocks collectively predict the first round will play out, with the big caveat that it’s January and there’s still a long way to go to the draft. Option 1: Sit tight for Burden or Jeanty There’s only one mock that has both Burden and Jeanty gone at #12, which gives the Cowboys a 96% of getting one of the two players. And in the case both are gone, maybe one of the top tackles drops to #12 and could be an enticing alternative. Option 2: Go defense. In the unlikely event that both Burden and Jeanty are gone and there’s an early run on offensive linemen, there are bound to be defensive blue chip players pushed out of the top 10. Option 3: Trade down for Jeanty. Five mocks (20%) have Jeanty drafted before the Cowboys are on the clock and 13 mocks (52%) have the Cowboys picking Jeanty at 12. But seven mocks (28%) have Jeanty dropping past the Cowboys, and it looks like it would be a long fall for Jeanty if the Cowboys don’t grab him. Five mocks have him falling all the way to #20 (Broncos), one has him falling to #22 (Chargers) and the last one to #26 (Rams). Would it make sense for the Cowboys to drop to e.g. #16 (Arizona) and possibly secure an extra second-round pick in the process? At 16, they’d still have a 96% of getting WR Emeka Egbuka out of Ohio State or a falling offensive lineman. What would be your choice right now? Tell us in the poll or in the comments below.

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images Brian Schottenheimer is going to need to seriously fix the Dallas Cowboys run game. A long, long time ago in a galaxy not so far away, the Dallas Cowboys were good at running the football. Whether it was DeMarco Murray or Ezekiel Elliott, the offense featured a fierce rushing attack as “establishing the run” became one of Jason Garrett’s biggest mantras. From 2013 to 2021, the Cowboys finished in the top eight in rushing yards per attempt seven times. But somewhere along the line, the Cowboys run game lost its way. They have progressively gotten worse in three straight seasons, finishing in the bottom half all three years. Last year, the Cowboys finished 30th in the league in yards per attempt. Running the ball well is no longer their thing. Here is how the team has ranked over the last 10 years. On the surface, this doesn’t bode well for Brian Schottenheimer. As much as Mike McCarthy complained about the offense lacking balance under Kellen Moore’s play-calling, he and Schottenheimer made things even worse in the ground attack. Meanwhile, Moore is part of the Philadelphia Eagles top-rushing offense. While that’s a snapshot view of what’s been going on, there’s a lot more to unpack. For starters, McCarthy has been the team’s play-caller these past two seasons. It’s unclear how much control of the Cowboys rushing attack Schottenheimer had during this time. It’s also unclear how much of the team’s run struggles had to do with coaching or other factors. Let’s lay out some numbers. As we stated, the McCarthenheimer run game was yucky, culminating in one of the worst outputs we’ve seen from this team in a long time. But both McCarthy and Schottenheimer weren’t bad at this before arriving in Dallas. Did you know that McCarthy’s Green Bay Packers finished in the top seven in rushing yards per attempt during his last three seasons as their head coach? And Schottenheimer’s Seattle Seahawks finished in the top 10 in rushing yards per attempt his last three seasons where he was calling plays. There’s evidence to show that both coaches can be efficient running the ball, so why did they struggle so immensely with the Cowboys? A big part of it is the Cowboys didn’t have adequate resources to sustain a strong ground attack. Since showing up in Dallas, McCarthy has constantly had to deal with an offensive line that has gradually fallen apart. All three of the team’s All-Pro offensive linemen took turns fading. Travis Frederick retired the year McCarthy took over so immediately they had to find a new center. Tyron Smith struggled to stay healthy and every snap he played felt like he was playing on borrowed time. And even the great Zack Martin has shown that Father Time is undefeated as his play eventually wilted. While this slow remodel was necessary, it hasn’t been pretty. Don’t even look at all the players who logged snaps along the offensive line in 2020 because it’s wicked nasty. That season, the offensive line was manned by three rookies and a couple of low-cost free agents. Over time, resources have been added but getting them up to speed came with a price, and that price has been the team’s ground attack. This season alone featured a heavy dose of Tyler Guyton, Cooper Beebe, Brock Hoffman, T.J. Bass, and Asim Richards. All of these guys are 25 years or younger and have limited playing experience. That’s going to be a challenge. But it’s not just the offensive line that’s been the issue. The Cowboys only had one viable running back on the roster, Rico Dowdle. For whatever reason, the front office thought they could get by using Dowdle with a worn-out Ezekiel Elliott and an undersized Deuce Vaughn. The offensive line showed improvement and this group will get better with more continuity from their younger players, but the Cowboys must address their running back situation this offseason if they expect to right this ship. It doesn’t mean they should use their first-round pick on Ashton Jeanty. McCarthy had success running the ball with Aaron Jones (fifth round) and Schottenheimer had success with Chris Carson (seventh round). But it does mean they need to make some type of effort to get a couple of good options in the backfield or else they’ll continue to have problems. The Cowboys’ recent run-game struggles paint a pretty good picture of what not to do. And to be clear, McCarthenheimer deserves blame too. Why it took so long to use Dowdle more will be a mystery we might never fully understand. But the front office needs to do a better job helping their coaches. Hopefully, the team will have a better plan to help their new head coach get back to running the ball effectively and create better opportunities for Dak Prescott and this offense.

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images Notable headlines surrounding America’s team. With interviews underway, Brian Schottenheimer’s Cowboys coaching staff is taking shape – Calvin Watkins, DMN Watkins with the rundown of the key names we know so far. Many reports had the Cowboys expected to interview Bears secondary coach Andre Curtis for their defensive coordinator position. The team will also interview former Bears coach Matt Eberflus for the same slot this upcoming week. And ESPN reported on Sunday that the Cowboys have requested to interview Dolphins outside linebackers coach Ryan Crow for the defensive coordinator position. Falcons tight ends coach Kevin Koger will interview for the Cowboys offensive coordinator role. A pair of assistant special team coaches, Chris Banjo (Broncos) and Carlos Polk (Bears), will interview for the vacant special teams coordinator post. Once the coordinators are hired, the team will move forward in hiring position coaches. A name of interest is Bears interim offensive coordinator Chris Beatty as a possible wide receivers coach. Brian Schottenheimer and the Cowboys: 5 priorities as he begins big new role – Saad Youssuf, The Athletic Figuring out his staff is an obvious priority, but Schotty’s ability to get the front office to give him the players he needs my be the one most critical to his long-term success. 1. Build the coaching staff This is Schottenheimer’s most important thing. He is a first-time NFL head coach and hasn’t had to deal with most that comes in that role in his two-plus decades as an assistant coach and coordinator. Even more comes with the role when you’re the head coach of the Cowboys. All of that will be much easier to navigate if there’s a quality staff in place. Mike McCarthy is one of Schottenheimer’s mentors and his approach to a coaching staff structure is a good place to start. McCarthy was more offensively-inclined, so he always made sure the defensive coordinator was experienced, preferably someone who had been a head coach. Matt Eberflus is a frontrunner for that role and would check those boxes. Plus, there are multiple position coaches on offense and defense. Schottenheimer needs to ensure that those hires match up with his vision and message. 3. Hash out personnel preferences with front office Schottenheimer needs to identify the roster’s most glaring holes. Obviously, there are players locked into roles due to contract status and the fact remains that Dallas’ front office doesn’t seem too intent on changing its lackadaisical approach to free agency. Still, the front office does take the coach’s opinion into serious consideration when adding players through free agency or the draft. It’s important for Schottenheimer to ensure that the communication is on point as the calendar enters the player evaluation phase — from draft prospects or veterans who could be options when free agency begins in less than two months. Report: Cowboys Eying Cardinals Coach as OC – Donnie Druin, SI.com Another name to add to the mix. Arizona Cardinals offensive line coach Klayton Adams is reportedly a name to watch for the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive coordinator position, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. “The Cowboys hired Brian Schottenheimer as their head coach on Friday, and Cardinals offensive line coach Klayton Adams is a name to watch for offensive coordinator in Dallas,” Jones reported ahead of Sunday’s AFC Championship Game between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs. Check out our tracker for all the interviews, rumors and news about Brian Schottenheimer’s coaching staff. Jerry Jones has specific reasons for choosing Brian Schottenheimer- Mario Herrera Jr, Inside The Star Good to know, Jerry. He has hired yet another “yes” man to patrol the sidelines, and he has his reasons for doing so. The Upper Hand As I mentioned above, Jerry and Stephen Jones value business over all. To them, the Dallas Cowboys are a for-profit business and the bottom line is king, no matter how it affects the product on the field. That’s why they choose coaches like Brian Schottenheimer. They choose selfish comfort over a coach who would be best for the team. Instead of a coach who can challenge people to change the way things have been for 30 years, they choose a coach who will do whatever they say. Schottenheimer didn’t draw interest from any other teams, so he didn’t have a strong leg to stand on when negotiating the terms of the deal. If he doesn’t call plays, the Cowboys can just blame his coordinators when the team doesn’t perform well. On top of controlling all aspects of the contract, they also don’t have to pay him as much as other coaches are making. They use his inexperience as a reason to warrant less than market value. NFL Mock Draft: 3-round Cowboys projection after hiring Brian Schottenheimer- Rucker Haringey, FanSided Unfortunately, it’s mock draft season. Round 1, Pick 12: OT Kelvin Banks Jr. (Texas) Admittedly, fan reaction in Dallas will be ugly if they pass on Jeanty in favor of Kelvin Banks Jr. with the No. 12 overall pick. The reality is that the Cowboys need to find a replacement for free agent Zack Martin at right guard if they want to run the ball effectively next season. Banks Jr. played left tackle during his collegiate career at Texas but he profiles as a player who will kick inside at the next level. He has good hand strength and agile feet which help him stymie opposing pass rushers at the point of attack. The Cowboys will be more interested in the speed he shows on pulls and second-level blocks as traits that can help unlock their ground game. Some fans might question the value of taking a guard with such a premium pick but Banks Jr. can be an immediate starter for the Cowboys. Getting that kind of certainty at a position of need makes taking a guard at 12 a smart move by Jerry Jones and his front office.

Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images We are tracking everything you need to know about head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s staff with the Dallas Cowboys. The Dallas Cowboys officially hired Brian Schottenheimer to be the 10th head coach in franchise history on Friday night. Monday morning will be the press conference to introduce Schottenheimer to the world, but many Cowboys fans have been preparing for this reality for the past week now. Schotty has been the team’s offensive coordinator for the last two seasons and on the staff for the last three in general, but running a team is a very different thing. Time will tell who joins his staff and whether or not the group includes the likes of Jason Witten, DeMarco Murray and/or Tashard Choice as rumors have suggested. Whoever ultimately outfits the staff, we will be tracking it all with updates in this post. A reminder that the most recent updates will be placed at the very top. Last Updated: Sunday, January 26th at 7:25pm ET Staff Rumors, Reports and Information The Cowboys reportedly requested to interview Miami outside linebackers coach Ryan Crow regarding the team’s defensive coordinator position. It was reported on Sunday that Mike Zimmer will not be back with the team in 2025. The Cowboys will reportedly interview Carlos Polk for the special teams coordinator position. Dallas requested an interview with Atlanta tight ends coach Kevin Koger for their offensive coordinator role. On Sunday it was reported by ESPN that the Cowboys interviewed Andre Curtis, the secondary coach for the Chicago Bears, for their defensive coordinator position. The Cowboys are reportedly set to interview Denver Broncos special teams staffer Chris Banjo for their special teams coordinator position. Specifically, Banjo has been Denver’s assistant special teams coach for the past two years. NFL Network’s Jane Slater reported that Jason Witten may not be a part of the staff after all. There was some confusion on whether or not Eberflus had officially been hired, but it was noted late Friday night that he was only a candidate. Matt Eberflus is a name to watch for a potential defensive coordinator hire. There had previously been speculation that this could go to Robert Saleh, but he is headed back to the San Francisco 49ers.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images It is safe to say that most Dallas Cowboys fans will be rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. The Philadelphia Eagles won the NFC Championship Game on Sunday afternoon and did so against the Washington Commanders. Watching it was not very fun in any sort of way for Dallas Cowboys fans as the winning Eagles punched their ticket to Super Bowl LIX. If you are anything like me you knew that whoever won that game… you were going to be rooting for the AFC-winning team whoever it was between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills. Philadelphia and Washington are bitter rivals of the Cowboys, so imagining either one of them lifting the Lombardi Trophy is among the worst possible outcomes. After a thriller of a game, the Chiefs are headed to their fourth Super Bowl in six years and third straight. The artists formerly known as the Dallas Texans are back in the big game. Super Bowl LIX will mark the 7th time that Cowboys fans have had to watch a division rival play for it all since Dallas last did so themselves: Super Bowl XXXV: Baltimore Ravens defeat New York Giants Super Bowl XXXXIX: New England Patriots defeat Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl XLII: New York Giants defeat New England Patriots Super Bowl XLVI: New York Giants defeat New England Patriots Super Bowl LII: Philadelphia Eagles defeat New England Patriots Super Bowl LVII: Kansas City Chiefs defeat Philadelphia Eagles If you were rooting against the NFC East teams in each of these games, as you should have been, then you are an even .500 to date. It is time for the proverbial rubber match, so to speak. I’ve long held the belief that there is no wrong way to be a fan and therefore what you choose to do and how you choose to root is ultimately up to you. Maybe you have a reason for rooting for an NFC East team in the past or the Eagles in the present. Everyone’s fan journey is different. But as far as my two cents are concerned there is absolutely no world in which I want to see any NFC East team win it all. Funny enough, odds are you have rooted for the Chiefs in each of their three Super Bowl victories to date as they have faced the San Francisco 49ers twice and obviously the Eagles once. If they are victorious again, for what would be a historic three straight titles, they will have won all four of their championships against San Francisco and Philadelphia. Go Chiefs.