With a new season approaching, it won’t be long before we see some new players take on expanded roles for the Dallas Cowboys.
Forecasting these surprise performances can be a little tricky because some of them we can see coming, while others come out of nowhere.
Regardless, it’s still a fun exercise to play Nostradamus and try to predict some of the surprise contributions from players who have otherwise been rather quiet.
Sometimes, something simply clicks, and a player’s talent skyrockets to the point where it’s difficult to keep him off the field. Today, we’ll look at two scenarios to find two offensive players who could unexpectedly take on larger roles in 2024.
THE “2ND YEAR PLAYER WITH A LARGER ROLE”
GUY This one provides the most plausible explanation. A player leaves, and the “next man up” fills the hole.
In most circumstances, we know who will wear the shoes, but it might also be someone we didn’t expect.
Last year: Jake Ferguson After Dalton Schultz completed his rookie contract, the Cowboys were looking for a tight end.
With no viable player on the roster, the organization rented Schultz’s services for another year by attaching the franchise tag to him in 2022, giving them a little extra time. The same year, they drafted Wisconsin tight end Jake Ferguson in the fourth round.
Ferguson had a quiet rookie season, catching 19 passes for 174 yards, but he impressed enough for the Cowboys to feel confident in moving on from Schultz.
Last season, Ferguson was promoted to TE1 and he delivered.
It was as if Schultz never left as Ferguson caught 71 passes for 761 yards and five touchdowns. It rivaled Schultz’s best season as a pro in 2021. CeeDee Lamb and Ferguson were the only two Cowboys receivers over 100 targets last year.
It’s clear the Cowboys made the right decision as Ferguson has already reached Schultz’s peak and he’s only halfway through his rookie deal.
This year: Jalen Brooks After being taken in the seventh round of last year’s draft, there weren’t many expectations placed on the wide receiver from South Carolina.
Buried behind Lamb, Brandin Cooks, Michael Gallup, Jalen Tolbert, and KaVontae Turpin, where would the rookie get any opportunities to see the field? But with no real receiving standing out after the big two, the Cowboys spread the love and the rookie Brooks got a small taste of action.
He caught all six of his targets last year and at least got our attention.
This season, the team is without Gallup, so the WR3 spot is up for grabs.
While everyone expects Tolbert to slide into that role, don’t be surprised if the other Jalen takes the larger step forward. Brooks is a utility knife guy who does a little bit of everything.
With value as a blocker and on special teams, he has that Noah Brown feel to him, but if he starts earning Dak Prescott’s trust, we could see him become more involved as a receiver as well.
Last year, Rico Dowdle Everyone has said that if Dowdle could stay healthy, he’d be a valuable addition to the running back room. It took four years to establish it, but they were correct. Dowdle was finally able to play after suffering season-ending injuries in 2021 (hip) and 2022 (ankle).
He had only seven rushing attempts in his first three seasons in the league, but he ran 89 times for 361 yards last year. In 2023, he played second fiddle to Tony Pollard.
This year, Josh Ball You just have a feeling that someone on the offensive line will rise up and play better than expected.
Brock Hoffman, who could replace Tyler Biadasz as the team’s starting center, should be the leading candidate for this position. While it may seem like the obvious answer, we’re going to look outside the box and argue that Josh Ball’s superb health may finally show up in year four, just like Dowdle did.
Ball was selected in the fourth round in 2021, but an ankle issue in his rookie season and a hip injury last year landed him on injured reserve. He dropped in the draft because of off-field concerns, but the raw potential is there.
If the Cowboys can get him to work properly, he could be a valuable inside offensive lineman reserve this season.