The Dallas Cowboys most intense training camp battle

We try to predict which of the upcoming Dallas Cowboys’ camp battles will be the most intense

The Dallas Cowboys are currently in their pre-training camp phase with the organization releasing a video of their first non-virtual team meeting with new head coach Mike McCarthy on Sunday. Normal training camp activities will not get underway until Thursday, August 13.

In the meantime, we looked at some of the pending training camp battles set to take place later this month and into the next. Here’s our choice for the most intense battle for a starting role in 2020.

The Dallas Cowboys Training Camp Battle at Center

Despite the unexpected and sudden retirement of All-Pro center Travis Frederick this offseason, the Cowboys have found themselves in a fairly favorable position to replace the five-time Pro Bowler. The most obvious choice to step in for Frederick is veteran backup Joe Looney, who actually did that job starting 16 games in 2018 after Frederick was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.

Yet, the new coaching staff in Big D and specifically, new offensive line coach Joe Philbin, may have other plans. After all, the soon-to-be 30-year old Looney is on a one-year deal worth a base salary of $2.3 million per spotrac.com. He also received a mediocre overall grade of 55.1 from Pro Football Focus when he was the starting center two years ago.

The Cowboys also traded up to the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft to select Wisconsin center Tyler Biadasz. Last December, Biadasz was recognized as the nation’s most outstanding center in NCAA Division I College Football as the Rimington Trophy award winner. Still, a perceived regression in play following hip surgery concerned many of the draft analysts over at The Draft Network.

But for any Day Three rookie to ascend to a starting role Week One seems very unlikely considering the entire offseason training program has been forced to be virtual-only up to this point. The edge would likely go to Looney here, at least to start the season.

The other two contenders for the starting center role are Connor McGovern and Connor Williams. McGovern was a third-round selection in 2019 who played both guard and center at Penn State. Unfortunately, a pectoral injury sidelined him for his entire rookie season. McGovern figures to be in play for both the left guard and center position.

Williams was a second-round pick back in 2018 who has started 24 games at guard over the past two seasons. He’s the favorite to get the starting nod at left guard as experience will likely trump potential following this extremely stunted offseason. Still, McGovern and free-agent newcomer Cameron Erving could challenge Williams for that spot, although the latter might slot better as the team’s new swing tackle.

If the Dallas Cowboys opt to go in a different direction at left guard, Connor Williams could compete for the starting center position instead. Especially if new O-line coach Joe Philbin doesn’t like what he’s seeing from the other candidates in the coming weeks.