Sweet 16: Cowboys offensive skill player roster prediction
By Riley Donald
Offensively, the Dallas Cowboys are loaded with talent on paper. Talent can put you in good spots, but you need depth to win games. The depth chart for the quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends will have a lot of the same names as the 2020 roster, but the 2021 season could show us some new faces.
For reference, I’ll include who was manning these spots for the opening roster of 2020 in comparison with some projections for the 2021 season. Last year the Cowboys carried 16 skill players week one and I will use that number here.
Quarterbacks
2020 (3): Dak Prescott, Andy Dalton, Ben DiNucci
2021 Prediction (3): Dak Prescott, Garrett Gilbert, Cooper Rush
Let’s start with the most important position on the field. It is looking more and more like this competition is sorting itself out. Dak Prescott should be backed up by Garrett Gilbert this season. Gilbert’s 2020 outing provided some confidence and he hasn’t done anything to lose the job.
Gilbert doesn’t need to be the guy who goes out and wins the game as Prescott does. But if it came down to it, he has the pieces around him to keep the Cowboys afloat if needed for a short stretch of the season.
The third-string quarterback is a little bit of a battle but ultimately, I would give this role to Cooper Rush. He has been in the system longer than Ben DiNucci and shows a little more polish and awareness. DiNucci is a valuable practice squad quarterback to emulate some athletic and mobile QBs the Cowboys will face, but that is where I would stash him.
Let’s hope we don’t need to see anyone behind Prescott play this year, aside from late a blowout win. The Dallas Cowboys’ success rides on this position.