While head coach Mike McCarthy enters the 2024 NFL season on the hot seat, the Dallas Cowboys keep trying to put the pieces together and recently added to the defensive line. Also, they’re showing off their roster depth with two quality first-stringers in danger of losing starting jobs.
Among the players trying to maintain their status are starting center Brock Hoffman and receiver Jalen Tolbert. Hoffman is getting a serious push from rookie Cooper Beebe while Tolbert feels the heat from Jalen Brooks and KaVontae Turpin.
Cowboys C Cooper Beebe making noise
Beebe comes into the NFL well-decorated. His college resume includes winning Big 12 offensive lineman of the year twice. But he is making a position change, playing guard and tackle at Kansas State.
Cowboys offensive line coach Mike Solari said Beebe looks ready to make a serious run at playing time, according to dallascowboys.com.
“He has the flexibility and versatility, but we want him to focus on the center position,” Solari said. “You see his initial quickness and his ability to sustain the blocks, and the type of competitor he is. He's a smart football player and he’s another guy that has versatility. But we want him to lock into the center spot.”
Furthermore, Beebe has a nice preseason debut, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy told dallascowboys.com.
“I really like what Cooper did,” McCarthy said. “I thought he had quality snaps at center and guard. We're gonna give Cooper some opportunities here with the ones moving forward. He has earned that opportunity.”
But Hoffman isn’t going away quietly as a starter, and McCarthy said leadership is a key, according to dallascowboys.com.
“Brock's been an excellent leader with his responsibility,” McCarthy said. “I love his command. He has a great understanding of what we're doing and you have to have that as an anchor. It's his first real opportunity and he's done a good job so far.”
Cowboys’ offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said Hoffman is a tone-setter.
“The command of the offense and the discipline of the communication process,” Schottenheimer said. “This guy has mastered what we're trying to do from a declaration standpoint. Him being in that role right now, he's playing with a different confidence than he maybe had last year. He's very confident and he's doing an awesome job with everything we're asking him to do.”
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said Hoffman loves the game.
“It jumps out in the moment he starts the huddle,” Prescott said. “That's contagious. People feel that and then whether it's a run, a pass, he's got your back and I know he's got my back. And not just mine, the other 10 guys or whoever else stepped on the field with him.”
WR Jalen Tolbert getting a break from Lamb holdout
After finding himself locked in a battle for the No. 3 receiver spot, Tolbert has received a bit of a reprieve with Cee Dee Lamb’ holdout.
Prescott likes what he has seen so far from Tolbert, according to nfl.com.
“We had a great conversation about roles, about what individual roles that we have and what they (are) to the team,” Prescott said. “I remember he particularly lays out what he thinks his role was and I just told him, ‘Your role is to go show that you can be a No. 1 receiver. At minimal, a No. 2 receiver.' ”
To Tolbert’s credit, he took Prescott’s advice.
“He's approached this camp with that intensity, with that mindset and he's made exactly those kinda plays practice after practice,” Prescott said. “I know he's given me tons of confidence in him, and I know his confidence is growing and the play-callers have confidence in him to keep feeding him the ball.”
However, Jalen Brooks and KaVontae Turpin are charging hard. Drafted in the seventh round in 2023, Brooks made the roster last year and is having a good run this preseason. He had a 43-yard reception in the preseason game against the Rams.
Schottenheimer said Brooks has been working hard, according to athlonsports.com.
“I'm not going to say he's JT (Tolbert) a year ago, but it's that type of intentionality, work ethic like he'll be the last guy off that practice field, and football instincts are amazing,” Schottenheimer saids. “But his confidence is at a different stratosphere from where it was last year. That's usually what happens with young players that are talented, they learn how to work, how to be a little bit more intentional, what do I need to get better at and he's a guy that's certainly done that.”
As for Turpin, he said last year’s experience made him better off for this season, according to athlonsports.com.
“This is my second year with the offense, so I feel like I'm a veteran in offense now,” Turpin said. “So I'm just going out there playing fast. I ain't got to worry about too much, think too much. Basically, just read the defense and just go play football.”
Turpin totaled 11 rushing attempts for 110 yards and a touchdown last season. Also, he caught 12 passes for 127 yards and three touchdowns. Turpin played just 62 offensive snaps in his rookie season, but last year that rose to 140.
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