Jon Machota's 15 takeaways from the NFL Combine (all Cowboy related)
1. Tight end. Drafting a tight end as early as Pick 26 is more in play now than I thought when I left for Indianapolis. The top TEs in this draft class, according to draft expert Dane Brugler, are Michael Mayer (Notre Dame), Luke Musgrave (Oregon State), Darnell Washington (Georgia) and Dalton Kincaid (Utah). Dallas hasn’t drafted a tight end in the first round since David LaFleur in 1997 (Brugler has the Cowboys taking one in his latest mock draft). The Green Bay Packers never used a first- or second-round pick on tight end during Mike McCarthy’s time as their head coach. I still feel like cornerback is the most likely position addressed at 26, but tight end is definitely in play. Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot are good young players, but they won’t prevent Dallas from adding another talented youngster to the group, especially if that TE is the best player available. Dalton Schultz has been very productive over the past three years, but his time in Dallas appears to be over.
2. Still interested in keeping Ezekiel Elliott? The Cowboys said as much throughout the week, but I still have some doubts. The biggest reason being Elliott’s contract, which is scheduled to count $16.7 million against the cap for the 2023 season. And that’s with Tony Pollard getting the franchise tag, which will take up another $10 million against the cap. That’s just too much money to be tied up in the running back position. It’s likely either a significant pay cut for Elliott or the Cowboys choose to move on from him.
3. More on running back. The Cowboys have to be prepared for the future, so running back sounds like it will be in play at some point in the draft. That doesn’t necessarily mean the first round. The Cowboys have found players like Pollard in the fourth and DeMarco Murray in the third. If Dallas doesn’t draft a running back, the position group could be in some trouble next year at this time if Pollard isn’t re-signed and leaves in free agency. Yes, they could draft a running back next year, but they probably don’t want to be forced into that situation.
4. Latest on Tyron Smith. All signs point to him wanting to play another season. The question is, can the Cowboys afford to keep him at a $17.6 million cap hit? They say they can. I have my doubts. If Smith is making anywhere near that, the expectation has to be that he’s their starting left tackle. And that would mean Tyler Smith would be moving back to left guard. Tyler Smith is clearly the team’s left tackle of the future, but there would be a major hole at left guard if the Cowboys are unable to re-sign Connor McGovern. Look for interior offensive line help to also be on Dallas’ radar in this draft.
5. Interest in extending Dak Prescott’s contract. Not a huge surprise, but Stephen Jones didn’t try to avoid the topic when asked. When pressed for more details, he responded: “My bet is there’s not gonna be a lot said about it. We’ll wake up one day and it’ll be done.” Knowing how Prescott’s last contract extension was handled, it’s somewhat difficult to believe this one will be quickly finalized overnight. “We feel strongly about his future, and we’ll definitely build this thing around him,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said.
6. Offensive changes. We started to get some examples of how the offense could change with McCarthy calling offensive plays. Jerry Jones talked about certain plays having fewer reads for Prescott, with the goal being to reduce some risky throws, hopefully leading to fewer turnovers. McCarthy added that one of his main focuses as play caller will be reducing the number of hits on Prescott. The plan is to improve the efficiency of the run game, get the ball out quicker and have better protection up front. “If Dak Prescott plays in every game next year,” McCarthy said, “I feel like we’re gonna have a hell of a season.”
7. Differences between McCarthy and Kellen Moore. The Cowboys head coach praised the team’s former offensive coordinator on several occasions last week, noting how well Moore performed and how he improved each of his three seasons working with McCarthy. But the part that received the most attention was when McCarthy briefly explained their differences in offensive philosophy. “I’ve been where Kellen has been,” McCarthy said. “Kellen wants to light the scoreboard up. But I want to run the damn ball so I can rest my defense. I think when you’re a coordinator, you know, but you’re in charge of the offense. Being a head coach and being a play caller, you’re a little more in tune with (everything). I don’t desire to be the No. 1 offense in the league. I want to be the No. 1 team in the league with a number of wins and a championship. And if we gotta give up some production and take care of the ball better to get that, then that’s what we’ll do, because we have a really good defense.”
8. Looking to run more. Judging by the social media responses and TV hot takes to the above McCarthy quote, that wasn’t exactly what NFL experts and fans were hoping to hear. Is this a good idea? Do they have the right personnel to have more success on the ground? While the plan is to reduce the hits on Prescott, lower turnovers and give the defense more rest, will they score enough points? If it’s the difference in the Cowboys making a deep playoff run, McCarthy will be praised. If the offensive changes are a disaster, it could cost him his job.
9. Why Brian Schottenheimer as the new OC? It’s not a surprise that McCarthy chose someone he’s very comfortable with for such a critical offensive transition. But last week was the first time we were able to ask questions about the coaching staff changes. “We’re not throwing everything away,” McCarthy said. “We have a lot of good to build off of, No. 1 with our players. The concepts that have been established. It’s really our responsibility to make sure we’re clean and precise on the direction that we’re going, and he brings that experience and that knowledge to the workplace every day.”
10. Injury updates. Right tackle Terence Steele is ahead of schedule as he works his way back from the torn ACL he suffered in Week 14 against the Texans. The Cowboys expect Steele and Pollard to be ready by training camp. Steele could start camp on the physically unable to perform list. Pollard’s injury had no impact on Dallas giving him the franchise tag.
11. Big move coming? There was some chatter about that possibility early last week, but it doesn’t sound likely. Well, that comes down to your opinion of a “big move.” If it’s trading for a star wide receiver like Stefon Diggs, DeAndre Hopkins or Mike Evans, don’t order your customized jerseys just yet. If signing Odell Beckham Jr. is considered a big move, it sounds like that’s still very much on the table. “Don’t dismiss us doing something special with the right veteran free agent,” Jones said Friday night. “Any place. I would in a New York minute if I think that it fits a lot of what I’m sitting here talking about, if it fits more than a short-term situation for us.”
12. More on OBJ. Jones said he has the same interest in signing the 30-year-old wide receiver right now that he had during the season. Beckham sat out the entire 2022 season while recovering from a torn ACL. The Cowboys have to figure out where he is medically before they can make any type of contract offer. Jones said he has had indirect contact with Beckham multiple times this offseason, including a visit with Beckham’s mother at the NFL Honors awards last month.
13. Are Dak’s best years still ahead? Jerry Jones seems to think so. The Cowboys owner and general manager was hesitant to make the comparison at first, but then he went on to compare Prescott to seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady. “I think just as Brady became, in my mind, better and better and more impactful on how they won as he got into his career, I think Dak really has those qualities,” Jones said. “I think he can get better.” Prescott turns 30 in July. Brady won his first of three league MVPs at age 30. But Brady had also won three Super Bowls by his age 30 season.
14. Youth needing to step up. The Cowboys do not see the need to follow in the footsteps of the 2022 Philadelphia Eagles, 2021 Los Angeles Rams or the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers with aggressive free agency moves or trades to improve their chances of a Super Bowl run. Jerry Jones pointed to needing younger players to step up in their draft-and-develop program. He didn’t name specific players, but some he was probably referring to would be DE Sam Williams, LB Damone Clark, CB DaRond Bland, S Israel Mukuamu, OT Josh Ball, OT Matt Waletzko, TE Jake Ferguson, TE Peyton Hendershot and WR Jalen Tolbert.
15. Free agency progress? It didn’t sound like the Cowboys were close to getting any deals done after meeting with agents at the combine. Of Dallas’ 19 unrestricted free agents, Schultz, Leighton Vander Esch and Donovan Wilson are the most noteworthy. If those players aren’t willing to take a little less to stay in Dallas, they probably won’t be on the Cowboys’ roster in 2023. All signs point to free agency being more bargain shopping.
