Maturation, draft class whiffs sees Cowboys plummet in ESPNs under-25 ranking
Championship windows are not only hard to come by in the NFL, they’re incredibly short. Players age out of their prime, seemingly overnight, leaving front offices scrambling to find replacements as their roster ages. The only way to stay ahead of the curve is the draft, where young talent can be had for pennies on the dollar.
The stars acquired by the Dallas Cowboys in their most recent ballyhooed drafts are all grown up now, and according to ESPN the team ranks No. 24 when it comes to players on the roster age 25 and under.
2019 ranking: 11
Blue-chip players: Leighton Vander Esch, OLB; Connor Williams, LG; Michael Gallup, WR; CeeDee Lamb, WR
Notable graduated players: Maliek Collins, DT; Jaylon Smith, ILB; Ezekiel Elliott, RB; Chidobe Awuzie, CB; Xavier Woods, FS
The team’s 2019 draft class has not made the same immediate impact, but things could change for those players in 2020. Connor McGovern will return from a pectoral injury that cost him his rookie season, and he has the versatility to play either guard or center if any veteran Cowboys suffer injuries and if fourth-round rookie Tyler Biadasz needs time to develop. And running back Tony Pollard produced a starting-caliber 11.6% rushing DVOA in his rookie season and would allow the team to continue its typical rushing success if Elliott misses time. Day 2 selections from the past two seasons, Trysten Hill and Neville Gallimore, offer defensive tackle depth behind the aging Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe. And second- and fourth-round rookies Trevon Diggs and Reggie Robinson give the Cowboys a pair of bigger cornerback prospects to try to replace the departed free agent Jones.
It’s tough to argue anyone’s being left out. If anything, it’s a bit generous including Connor Williams as a blue-chip player in the Cowboys favor.
Considering the New York Giants rank No. 2 and have quarterback Daniel Jones included as a reason why, it all comes out in the wash. The Philadelphia Eagles are ranked No. 29, without a single blue-chip player under 25 on their roster.
Still, Dallas is one of nine teams with at least four top-end under-25 talent on their roster, but ranks last among them. In fact, the Cowboys rank behind six different teams with only one such player: the Houston Texans with Deshaun Watson, the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, the Miami Dolphins with Tua Tagovailoa, the Tennessee Titans with A.J. Brown, and the Cincinnati Bengals with Joe Burrow.
The team is starting to show its age. Using Football Outsiders snap-weighted age, which takes into account the players who are actually playing, the Cowboys were the sixth oldest team in the league last year after being the youngest team in the the league the year before.
Still, the Star in Frisco is not yet a retirement home as several players who brought that average up have moved on. Tight end Jason Witten is the biggest reason that Dallas aged in 2019 after his Monday Night Football stint in 2018. Travis Frederick’s retirement brings that average down some. Wide receiver Randall Cobb who has moved south to Houston will see his snaps taken by the rookie and first-round-pick CeeDee Lamb. Despite the rest of the roster being a year older, the Cowboys could still see a significant bounce back in this metric in 2020.
