The Dallas Cowboys top five position battles of 2017
Potential Defensive End Candidates
Taco Charlton – 6’6″, 273 pounds
Taco was the 28th overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft for the Cowboys and is expected to come in and make an immediate impact as a pass rusher. He has an impressive frame, plays with a ton of strength, and fires off the ball much faster than you would expect a player of his size to be capable of moving.
The Cowboys project him to start out as a weak side defensive end but don’t be surprised if he winds up starting on the strong side and moving inside to defensive tackle in clear passing situations.
DeMarcus Lawrence – 6’3″, 265 pounds
Lawrence is recovering from his second back surgery and will hopefully be in playing shape at the start of training camp. While Lawrence has shown glimpses of the talent that Dallas saw in him when they traded up in the 2014 NFL Draft to select him early in the second round, he has had injury concerns as well as serving a four game suspension in 2016.
Lawrence is the most proven commodity at defensive end that the team has, although there have been reports of him putting on significant weight this offseason. If he’s in shape I expect him to claim either the left or right starting defensive end spot in a contract year.
Benson Mayowa – 6’3″, 240 pounds
Mayowa proved to be a valuable restricted free agent signing last offseason, leading the team with six sacks. Mayowa is a slender framed, speedy pass rusher that proved he is also capable of holding up in run defense on the weak side. At the worst, expect Mayowa to enter the game when the nickel defense is out there in clear passing situations.
Charles Tapper – 6’2″, 270 pounds
Tapper was a fourth round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft and was expected to come in and compete for a starting job at defensive end. For a player that weighs 270 pounds, he has shockingly quick feet and more burst than any pass rusher on the team.
It was unfortunate for both Tapper and the Cowboys that he was discovered to have been living with a spine injury that required surgery, causing him to miss his entire rookie season. Now that Tapper is healthy and working out, keep an eye on how he does in training camp because he could be a major impact player.
Damontre Moore– 6’5″, 250 pounds
Moore, a Dallas native and lifelong Cowboys fan, was signed this offseason as a potential steal with untapped upside. Moore has had what coaches called maturity issues and seemed to lack motivation in his time spent with the New York Giants.
Moore put some quality snaps on tape last season for the Seattle Seahawks before he broke his foot and was put on injured reserve. Based on pictures from offseason workouts he looks like he is in great shape and could be a dark horse player to come in and have a George Selvie type of season for the blue and silver.
David Irving – 6’7″, 273 pounds
Irving is a player that many fans look at and see a budding superstar. He made impressive impact plays against the Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season, but was inconsistent to say the least. He has excellent length and quickness and plays with good strength when motivated.
Irving seems to be most effective when he can be a rotational player because he lacks that consistent focus to be an every down player, but he should factor into the mix as a strong side end and as a defensive tackle.