Dallas Cowboys youth gives team options beyond its stars

With shrewd drafts and free agent gambles, the Dallas Cowboys have given themselves some youthful options if the stars do not re-sign.

Any one who follows football is aware that the Dallas Cowboys have four stars all wanting big money sooner rather than later. Quarterback Dak Prescott, running back Ezekiel Elliott, receiver Amari Cooper and cornerback Byron Jones are all awaiting new contracts. All four are handling the negotiation process in different ways.

Jones is barely making a word about his desires. Cooper seems to follow suit, with the occasional reference to it while Prescott takes the most questions day in and day out. Part of that is due to his position. Some of it is because of his popularity while some of it because Elliott is in Cabo instead of Frisco.

Of the four, only Prescott really has the Dallas Cowboys in a bind. That is, in large part, due to the Cowboys recent hits in the draft and bargain free agency deals. Without Prescott, Dallas might up a creek without a paddle. Neither Cooper Rush, nor Mike White is capable of leading this team to the playoffs.

The others? Well, maybe, just maybe, Dallas has in house answers for all of them. Rookie running back Tony Pollard has had a really productive preseason. In three games, he had 15 carries for 84 yards, while catching another three balls for 19 yards and one touchdown.

Is he even near the Zeke stratosphere? Probably not, but he looks like he would at least be capable of handling a full sized workload if push came to shove. At minimum, the Cowboys would still have a middle of the road rushing attack.

At receiver, Michael Gallup looks like he is ready to become a star. Behind him, Cedrick Wilson and Devin Smith have had amazing training camps. Cooper has not practiced in almost two weeks. Throw in Tavon Austin and Randall Cobb and the Cowboys would still have a legitimate receiving corps.

If you think the receiving corps is deep, wait til you see these defensive backs. Chidobe Awuzie, Anthony Brown and Jourdan Lewis have all had impressive camps while safety Xavier Woods looks to have taken the next step. Beyond those incumbents, rookie Donovan Wilson looks like a potential steal for a sixth round selection.

The prerogative would surely be for all four stars to sign deals and remain Dallas Cowboys for the next four to five years at minimum. If any of the four, outside of Prescott, decide that money is more important than anything else, the front office has at least done a decent job of having capable reserves at the ready.

Hopefully, the players named above can stay in their current roles, but a few are ready for the next level. Either way, it’s a good problem for the Dallas Cowboys to have.