Dallas Cowboys: Top 3 takeaways from the final episode of Hard Knocks

2. The cutdown period was anti-climactic

Traditionally, one of the hallmarks of Hard Knocks has been tracking players who are longshots to make the team’s final roster. Over the show’s 16 seasons the crew has excelled at tugging on viewers’ heartstrings and making you root for players, only have you watch them get cut in one of the last two episodes. This year that intrigue was virtually non-existent.

Throughout this season, Hard Knocks was sure to highlight players like running back JaQuan Hardy, quarterback Ben DiNucci, guard Isaac Alarcón, and edge rusher Azur Kamara. Each of these guys was easy to root for and none of them were locks to make the 53-man roster.

However, with cut downs happening prior to the last week’s episode, fans have already known the fate of each of these players for over a week. These moments aren’t as much about the ultimate outcome as they are the journey these players take, but it still felt a bit like already knowing the ending before you watch a movie.

That said, getting to sit in on the team’s player evaluations prior to cut downs was fascinating (and begged more than a few questions), and one of the best parts of the entire season was seeing Azur Kamara (and his mom) get the news that he made the Cowboys’ 53-man roster. However, the fact that we’ve had over a week to sit with these decisions and watch the roster evolve even more spoiled a bit of the intrigue it felt like Hard Knocks was building towards.