Subscribe
Follow Us
The Dallas Cowboys are hoping to build off of a solid 2021 campaign. Although they ended up falling short in the postseason against the San Francisco 49ers, there's a lot of hope that Dallas has what it takes to emerge as one of the top teams in the weakened NFC.
Led by star quarterback Dak Prescott, Dallas has one of the deeper all around rosters in the league. They don't have a ton of glaring weaknesses currently, and that should help them excel this upcoming season. Of course, winning in the regular season and winning in the postseason are two different things; so far, the Cowboys haven't been able to do the latter.
The Cowboys deep roster has led to a lot of competition throughout training camp so far, and there are a couple of players in line for backup roles who are making a run for a starting job before the season starts. Let's take a look at two backups who could steal a starting job as the 2022 season approaches.
2 Cowboys backups who can steal a first-string job in 2022
2. Dorance Armstrong
Heading into the 2022 season, it seemed like Dante Fowler Jr. would be the starting defensive end across from DeMarcus Lawrence. However, as training camp has progressed, it doesn't look like that will be the case. Fowler has been passed by a couple of players on the depth chart throughout the summer, and it looks like Dorance Armstrong could end up with a starting role by the time the season starts.
Armstrong has primarily been used as a situational pass rusher throughout the first four seasons of his career, but it looks like his strong 2021 season may have helped him earn a starting job heading into the 2022 season. Armstrong played 56 percent of Dallas' defensive snaps last season, despite missing four games. He racked up a career high five sacks, and showed enough improvement in run defense to warrant more playing time.
Armstrong has some competition for the starting gig opposite Lawrence, with Tarell Basham and Sam Williams also joining Fowler in the conversation. All three guys have their own pros and cons, but it doesn't seem likely they will be able to pass Armstrong with preseason games officially in the books.
The Cowboys defensive end unit is deep, which has made it an interesting position battle to follow throughout the summer. But as the regular season nears, it looks like Armstrong may have the inside track to elevate himself to a full time starter. Fowler, Basham, and Williams may all stick around and fill in different roles, but Armstrong appears to have won the battle for now.
1. Tony Pollard
Throughout training camp, there have been rumblings that Ezekial Elliott's time with the Dallas Cowboys could be coming to an end. Given how good Tony Pollard has looked in relief of Elliott, and the fact that there is no more guaranteed money on Elliott's deal after the 2022 season, the Cowboys could have a plan to move on from Elliott if he struggles this season.
That plan begins with Pollard, who has emerged as an explosive change of pace behind Elliott over the past few seasons. Pollard put together the best season of his career in 2021 (130 CAR, 719 YDS, 2 TD, 39 REC, 337 YDS) and vastly outproduced Elliott on a touch-by-touch basis. Pollard's yards per carry compared to Elliott (5.5 to 4.2) is pretty telling, and it becomes even more evident on their yards per touch, which factors in both players work as a receiver as well as a runner (6.2 to 4.5).
Elliott's decline has been notable over the past few seasons, and now that Pollard has emerged as a feasible replacement for Elliott, it could prompt the Cowboys coaching staff to give a more even split of the carries between the two this season. Elliott remained valuable because of his ability to find the endzone last season (12 total touchdowns), but his per-carry numbers are worrying.
Pollard is going to play a bigger role in the offense because the Cowboys need pass-catching help after they lost Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson over the offseason. Pollard is a very solid receiver out of the backfield, so he should see more of the field regardless.
But even past that, it looks like Pollard is gaining on Elliott for Dallas' lead running back role. Pollard's solid stats are tough to ignore, and with Elliott potentially on his way out the door this offseason, it wouldn't be surprising to see Pollard have a bigger role in the offense moving forward. That could involve Pollard taking over the starting role from Elliott. It once seemed quite improbable, but it could end up happening as soon as this season.
