Handing out midseason awards for the 2022 Dallas Cowboys

We are now in the bye week, and unfortunately, there is no Dallas Cowboys football to be played until next Sunday at Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers. This makes for a great time to look back at how the season has gone so far.

After an unappealing start to the year, where the team lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19-3, nobody would have thought the team would rattle off four straight wins. Yet, here we are. The team then went 2-1 thereafter and here we sit at 6-2.

Even after the offense lost Tyron Smith before the season, and then Dak Prescott in the season opener to a thumb injury, they still held their heads high and competed at a very high level. There are certain people on and around the team that especially deserve credit for making this happen.

Starting with the MVP, I will be handing out awards to players on the team similar to how the league does at the end of the season. There will be no repeat winners (sorry Micah) so others will get their chance.

Handing out midseason awards for the 2022 Dallas Cowboys

Most Valuable Player: Micah Parsons

There really was no other competition for this award, and that is not meant to be a shot at anyone else on the team. Micah Parsons is just so good at playing football. He is the heart and soul of this defense and, especially while Prescott has been out, this team.

Not only is Parsons the best player on the team at this point, be he has an argument to be one of the best in the league as a whole. Right now, he is the clear frontrunner for the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award, and he is taking over games.

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1586799216340238336

Going into the bye, No. 11 currently sits tied for third in the NFL in sacks with eight. He also has 39 pressures, which is good for second in the league and has recorded 36 tackles, nine tackles for loss, two pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery that was returned for a touchdown just this past week.

Parsons is a monster off the edge and can hold his own in coverage. He is the biggest reason this defense is elite and a reason why the team leads the NFL in sacks. Obviously, the rest of the group deserves their props for getting to the quarterback, but it’s no secret the Penn State product gets extra attention for just being on the field, opening opportunities for the other rushers.

Offensive Player of the Year: Tony Pollard

This was a race between Tony Pollard and CeeDee Lamb, but ultimately Pollard was given the award. Last week was just a slight reason why there needs to be more TP in this offense because, in reality, he’s been doing this all season and last season.

Last week, in Ezekiel Elliott’s absence, Pollard racked up 147 yards of total offense against the Chicago Bears on just 15 touches. The quick math there means that every time Pollard touched the football (14 times were rushes), he averaged an unbelievable 9.8 yards per touch.

The rightful RB1 not only had a great game last week but as I said before, he’s been doing this all season. Pollard currently leads the team in rushing yards with 506 and has also tallied 121 yards through the air on 12 catches. Also, for what it’s worth, PFF has him graded with a 90.1 offensive grade, which ranks third among all running backs.

He has a nose for the endzone, leading the team with five touchdowns this season, and has a chance to make something out of nothing every single play. He is a huge reason why this offense is taking a turn, and why the team was able to stay afloat while Prescott was out.

Defensive Player of the Year: Trevon Diggs

As I stated before, there will be no repeat winners for any awards. If that wasn’t the case, Parsons would be the winner of this. However, in this circumstance, it was actually a tough choice. Between players like Trevon Diggs, Dorance Armstrong, and DeMarcus Lawrence, Diggs ended up being the selection.

It may seem impossible to try to match what Diggs did last season. Eleven interceptions, the most recorded by a player in a season since 1981, show one elite part of Diggs’ game. However, despite him having “only” three interceptions so far this season (tied for sixth in the NFL), he has improved in terms of his stickiness and ability to lock down receivers more often.

Quarterbacks are starting to understand that they maybe shouldn’t throw toward No. 7. In 78 man-coverage snaps, Diggs has been targeted just 11 times. He’s sticking to his man a lot better and has improved from last season by not allowing huge plays as often.

Along with this, he is also one of the surest tacklers in the league. This season so far, Diggs has missed only two tackles. He also is among the league leaders in passes defended with 12, which is tied for first in the NFL with Sauce Gardner.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Tyler Smith

There weren’t many candidates for this award, however, there is certainly more competition for this one compared to the defensive side of the ball. Between Tyler Smith, Jake Ferguson, and Peyton Hendershot, Smith gets the nod for me.

Perhaps if the two rookie tight ends did a bit more with their opportunities while Dalton Schultz was out, they could’ve won this award. But, Smith not only has had to fill in for Tyron Smith at one of the league’s hardest positions to play, but he has done a solid job at it.

The first-round pick has struggled more as of late, however, he has had a good start to his career. Through 269 pass-blocking snaps, Smith has allowed 16 pressures and four sacks. It isn’t great, but it certainly could be a lot worse.

Some of Smith’s best work comes as a run blocker. He can be a mauler at the line, helping allow the running backs to have some space as they run toward the left side. In rushes between the left tackle and left guard, Cowboy running backs average 6.2 yards per carry with two first downs and a touchdown.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Sam Williams

Sam Williams was the obvious choice for the Defensive Rookie of the Year for me. The only other worthy candidate was DaRon Bland, who has actually been solid in his opportunities, but he hasn’t completely taken over a game like Williams has this season.

Williams, when given his chances, has become better and better as the year has progressed. Among rookie edge defenders this season, Williams has the highest defensive grade on PFF with an 80.2. He also has the highest pass-rush grade (84.8), and the second highest coverage (85.3) and tackling grades (78.0).

The most snaps he’s had in a game is just 26 against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 5. That week, Williams recorded three pressures, two tackles, and a pass breakup. His best game was by far against the Detroit Lions in Week 7. In just eight pass rush snaps, the second-round pick had two sacks, three run stops, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

He missed Week 8 due to injury, but he should return after the bye. I know this defensive line room is loaded, but Williams needs more snaps. He is a complete game wrecker at times off the edge and has shown that more and more as of late.

Most Improved Player: Donovan Wilson

Perhaps this was due to being behind Malik Hooker and Jayron Kearse on the depth chart last season, so he never got his chance to show what he could do in consistent snaps, but regardless, Donovan Wilson has been the most improved player for the Cowboys this season.

In 2020, Wilson had a sort of a breakout season. However, Kearse ended up with his job last season. Now, in 2022, in Kearse’s absence, Wilson has run with his opportunity. He currently leads the team in tackles with 59 but has made his biggest impact near the line of scrimmage.

In just 20 pass rush snaps, the safety has totaled nine pressures, three sacks, three hurries, and a forced fumble. He not only can get to the quarterback, but he also has 21 run stops which are top among NFL safeties.

Wilson has done a great just of doing what a safety should do — keeping everything in front of him. He has allowed a long catch of just 13 yards this year and 71 yards total. He has been a big reason why this defense has been as good as it has been, and with Kearse now back, the secondary has the potential to be very scary.

Coach of the Year: Dan Quinn

This may be more of a “is this really necessary?” kind of award because there are only three or four coaches that can really be chosen for this. However, this man deserves more props than almost any single player can garner.

Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has been nothing short of amazing since he stepped foot in The Star. After a horrid 2020 season, where the defense allowed the fifth-most points per game, Quinn came to the rescue, leading the defense to an incredible season last year where they lead the league in forced turnovers and allowed the seventh-fewest points per game.

Now, in 2022, the defense is still dominating its competition. They now lead the league in sacks by a considerable margin, sit sixth in forced turnovers, and have allowed the fourth-fewest total points in the league.

Quinn has completely turned this defense around. The players play with fire. They play for him, and they deserve a ton of credit for where the team is now. The Cowboys defensive coordinator will garner a lot of head coaching consideration over the coming offseason, and the Joneses should be willing to pay anything to keep this man in the building.

Grading the Cowboys offensive position groups midway through the 2022 season

This Cowboys offense has been inconsistent. Midway through, we wanted to hand out grades for each position group and special teams.