It's no secret that the Dallas Cowboys were one of the biggest disappointments of the 2024 NFL regular season.
After three consecutive 12-win seasons, America's Team went just 7-10 this past year, marking just the second time the franchise failed to finish with a winning record since 2015, the only other instance coming in 2020, which was also the last time Dallas failed to reach the NFL Playoffs.
Now, to be fair, the Cowboys dealt with a plethora of injuries this past season. And we're not talking low-level guys here, as several high-profile players and key contributors hit the shelf at one point or another, some of whom were lost for the entire year before the season even hit the halfway mark, a list that, of course, includes franchise quarterback Dak Prescott.
But it's not as if Prescott was playing great football before suffering the hamstring injury that cost him his season, throwing eight interceptions in the eight games in which he did appear, which is just one fewer than he threw during the entire 2023 season.
That said, however, you won't find Prescott listed among those listed below, as we're limiting this to only those who played at least 10 games. Trust us; if we included every disappointing Cowboys player in 2024 here, you'd be reading for quite a while.
Ezekiel Elliott, RB
Before officially getting into this first entry, Jerry Jones deserves to be on this list of disappointing Cowboys from an overall standpoint, as his failure to improve this team during the 2024 offseason played a massive role in the frustrations this franchise faced.
One of those disappointing moves, of course, was bringing back Ezekiel Elliott instead of pursuing one of the many running backs who were available in free agency, including Derrick Henry.
There was a glimmer of hope that Zeke could at least bring some sort of production to the Dallas rushing attack, as he had a solid enough 2023 campaign with the New England Patriots.
But that glimmer faded quickly, as Elliott was a mere shell of the player he was during his first run with the Cowboys, rushing for just 226 yards on 74 carries before being released ahead of Week 18.
Tyler Guyton, OT
The Cowboys traded back in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, swapping selections with the Detroit Lions to get an extra pick in the third round.
With several holes to fill on the offensive line, Dallas used those picks to select tackle Tyler Guyton at No. 29 overall and center Cooper Beebe at No. 73. But while Beebe proved to be a solid pick, the same can't be said for Guyton at this point.
Benched for Chuma Edoga and Asim Richards at different points during the year, Guyton ended his first professional season with an overall PFF grade of 49.4, the worst of any Dallas offensive lineman and good for just 73rd among 81 eligible tackles.
Jake Ferguson, TE
After a so-so rookie campaign in 2022, tight end Jake Ferguson had a breakout season for Dallas in 2023, catching 71 passes for 761 yards with five touchdowns to earn a trip to the Pro Bowl.
He also recorded 10 catches for 93 yards with three touchdowns in the Cowboys' postseason loss to the Green Bay Packers.
In 2024, however, Ferguson fell well short of expectations, catching 59 passes for 494 yards with zero touchdowns. Sure, the Wisconsin product missed three games, but that doesn't change the fact that his average yards per catch dipped from 10.7 to 8.4.
That might not seem significant, but that's a fairly big drop, which is perhaps why Luke Schoonmaker saw a few more snaps as the season progressed.
Mazi Smith, DT
After making three starts as a rookie in 2023, first-round pick Mazi Smith started all 17 games for the Cowboys in 2024.
But that didn't make much difference, as the former Michigan Wolverine recorded the same three QB hits and one sack he did in his first season.
Of the 124 interior defenders to meet the minimum snaps required for a PFF grade for the regular season, Smith ranked an abysmal 123rd with an overall rating of 34.8. That's obviously not what you want from a guy taken 26th overall just two years ago.
Trevon Diggs, CB
After missing all but two games of the 2023 season with a torn ACL, Trevon Diggs surprisingly started the 2024 campaign on the active roster and got right back to business with an interception in the Cowboys' Week 1 win over the Cleveland Browns.
But that was as good as it was going to get for the two-time Pro Bowler.
Diggs recorded just one more interception the rest of the season, which meant nothing as it came in the Cowboys' 34-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 10.
The 2021 First-Team All-Pro was eventually shut down for the year with another knee injury after appearing in just 11 games and ended his season with a 56.6 overall PFF grade, ranking 90th among 116 eligible cornerbacks.