Dallas Cowboys: 4 potential first-time Pro Bowlers in 2020

Here are four Dallas Cowboys who may earn their first Pro Bowl nominations in 2020.

The Dallas Cowboys enter the upcoming season with sky-high expectations. Despite coming off a mediocre 8-8 record without a playoff berth last year, several offseason changes have Super Bowl-level hype surrounding America’s Team once again.

If the Cowboys are going to reach the pinnacle of their sport this upcoming season, they’ll need to get a few great performances from some of their more unheralded players. Here are four Cowboys who we think could potentially be first-time Pro Bowlers in 2020.

La’el Collins, RT

For the past couple of years, starting right tackle La’el Collins has been right on the edge of being Pro Bowl-worthy. In 2019, Collins posted his best season yet recording a stellar overall grade of 86.0 from Pro Football Focus. The 26-year old appears to be primed to finally take his place alongside his perennial peers, seven-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith and six-time Pro Bowl right guard Zack Martin.

Xavier Woods, S

Fans have been waiting three years for safety Xavier Woods to turn the corner in his career. And it would make perfect sense that the former 2017 sixth-rounder would be motivated to field his best performance yet entering the final year of his rookie contract in Dallas.

With an almost entirely new defensive coaching staff in place, Woods will have to once again prove himself this summer. But this could also be his final chance to prove the Cowboys right for having so much faith in him as a starter for the past two years. Having a Pro Bowl season at safety in 2020 would certainly do that.

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Michael Gallup, WR

The maturation of former third-round wide receiver Michael Gallup isn’t being talked about enough. With all the attention on fellow wideout Amari Cooper, quarterback Dak Prescott, and the team’s various other star players, Gallup quietly racked up a stellar stat-line of 66 receptions for 1,107 yards and six touchdowns, doubling his production from his rookie season.

The presence of first-round rookie receiver CeeDee Lamb could dip into Gallup’s production in 2020. But if the Cowboys’ offense gets even more pass-happy under new offensive-minded head coach Mike McCarthy, then there should be plenty of targets to go around. And if opposing defenses decide to focus on Cooper and Lamb, Gallup should see plenty of favorable coverages.

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Blake Jarwin, TE

This may seem like a long shot right now, but what better way to fill a future Hall of Famer’s shoes than by posting a Pro Bowl season as his replacement?

Tight end Blake Jarwin has flashed this kind of potential before, racking up a seven reception, 119-yard, three-touchdown performance in the final regular-season game of 2018 against the New York Giants. That was just prior to Jason Witten’s return from retirement last year.

With Witten now in Las Vegas, Jarwin is the clear favorite to start in his place in Dallas. And his new four-year, $24.25 million deal that he signed back in March means the Cowboys have earmarked him as their starting tight end for the foreseeable future.