Nick Harris: Five players who must take the next step for the Cowboys

Four weeks into the season, the Dallas Cowboys have already seen their share of ups and downs. Demoralizing losses and near wire-to-wire victories coexisting has the verdict still out on just how good – or not good – the Cowboys will be in 2024.

Regardless, there have been a handful of players that have not played up to expectations in the team’s first quarter of its schedule. With the Cowboys resting on this NFL Sunday after playing on Thursday night, here are five players that could benefit from the extra time off to find an extra gear to provide more consistency to the team moving forward.

Brandin Cooks

Another season and another slow start for veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks. Through four games, Cooks has hauled in just nine receptions for 91 yards and has been a near non-factor in the team’s offense in critical moments.

The blame may not need to be entirely put on Cooks, though. On Thursday night, the veteran was asked to run difficult, physical routes outside the numbers that forced Cooks to have to put a body on his opposing cornerback which did not find any success. The majority of the routes that Cooks has been asked to run have been built for a pass-catching weapon with a bigger stature. With Cooks’ skillset, he needs to be isolated in space with opposing cornerbacks to maximize his speed across the middle of the field.

Last season, it was a similar start for Cooks. It wasn’t until a week nine explosion against the New York Giants when he posted 10 receptions for 173 yards and one touchdown until he found established footing in the offense.

Rico Dowdle

At least at this point, it seems as though Jerry Jones is content with riding it out with the offense’s current group of running backs. If that ends up being the case, Rico Dowdle has to find footing as an established ball-carrier that can consistently pick up positive yardage.

His game on Thursday night against the Giants was a good first step in that direction, rushing for 46 yards on 11 attempts and adding a 15-yard touchdown reception, but there is still a disconnect with his production and the offense’s overall success.

The running back-by-committee approach hasn’t built an identity and has not helped establish a rhythm in the Mike McCarthy offense in 2024. If it will ever, it will fall on the two legs of Rico Dowdle.

Mazi Smith

Players, coaches and Mazi Smith himself were ecstatic with the performance that he put forth on Thursday night. The second-year first-round pick finally played up to his draft value by accounting for three tackles and generating a mountain of push at the line of scrimmage and clogging running lanes. The result ended with the Cowboys rush defense allowing just 26 yards on the ground – the fewest allowed by any team in the NFL this season.

With that solid performance in hand, it’s hard to forget about the historically bad rush defense that the Cowboys put forth in the first three weeks and how Smith played a role in that. The urgency now turns to building on that elite performance against more sustainable rushing attacks in the Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions looming.

Smith may have finally found something after 20 career games, but his overall performance from the whole of his start to the 2024 season will need to improve if the Cowboys want to continue their success they had on Thursday against the run.

Marshawn Kneeland

The win against the Giants on Thursday came at a cost, as Micah Parsons (high ankle sprain) and DeMarcus Lawrence (foot sprain) are both expected to miss multiple games. With the edge group already down Sam Williams (torn ACL) for the season, the Cowboys will now turn to rookie second-round pick Marshawn Kneeland to carry the load in the meantime.

When the Cowboys used a second-round pick on a defensive end, it surprised many. Glaring needs at other positions were still on the board, but the confidence that the personnel department had in Kneeland was too overwhelming to pass up. That confidence will have to translate into productive play off the edge in the coming weeks for the Cowboys to continue having some sort of feel in the pass rush department and concealing the edges in the run game.

Even with Parsons and Lawrence, the Cowboys have combined for just eight sacks in four games. Kneeland along with Chauncey Golston, Tyrus Wheat and Carl Lawson will be asked to find more production in that department with limited experience in the league.

Ceedee Lamb in second halves

In the first halves of games, CeeDee Lamb has been just as advertised. He’s hauled in 17 receptions for 300 yards and two touchdowns, putting him on pace to lead the NFL in all three categories – if only he kept the same pace in the second half.

Following the halftime break, Lamb has combined for just three receptions for 16 yards in the team’s four second halves. In Cleveland, the game turned more toward Dallas running the ball to sustain a lead. Against New Orleans and against Baltimore, Lamb was nowhere to be found in two comeback attempts. In New York, Lamb connected with Prescott on the first drive of the third quarter and never saw another reception.

If Dallas wants to have the high flying offense it had a year ago down the stretch, Lamb has to be involved for all four quarters. When he is, he’s a top-three wide receiver in the entire NFL. When he’s not, offensive liabilities and weaknesses get exposed at exponential rates.

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