bbgun

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The NFL draft came and went and the Cowboys made a bunch of moves to improve the club.

But not everything is fixed just yet. Here are the 10 biggest post-draft issues the Cowboys face.

Weak wide receiving corps

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The Cowboys parted ways with their all-time leader in receiving touchdowns in Dez Bryant before the draft. Without a true No. 1 on the roster, the Cowboys will rely on a wide receiver by-committee approach.

Dallas signed Allen Hurns in free agency, and he will enter the season as the team's de-facto No. 1 receiver. Terrance Williams, who had zero touchdowns last season, remains on the roster as does Cole Beasley after a down season of his own. The Cowboys drafted Colorado State's Michael Gallup in Round 3 of the draft and also traded for former No. 8 pick Tavon Austin. Can Dallas survive with a relatively unproven group of wide receivers?

Still no safety

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The Cowboys enter next season with safety as one of their weaker positions. Byron Jones is moving to corner back and Dallas didn't address the position in the draft. It was thought that Dallas might trade up to take Florida State safety Derwin James, but the Cowboys stayed put at No. 19 to take linebacker Leighton Vander Esch.

The Cowboys have been connected to Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas ever since he told Jason Garrett to come get him. There was some thought that Dallas could trade for Thomas during the draft, but that never happened. Could a trade still happen? Possibly, but for now the Cowboys will roll with Jeff Heath and Xavier Woods as their top safeties.

Weak at defensive tackle

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Defensive tackle was also not addressed in the draft. The Cowboys have Tyrone Crawford and David Irving in the fold, but who knows what his future holds after a domestic violence incident earlier in April.

Who starts at tight end?

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The Cowboys have a major void a tight end after the sudden retirement of Jason Witten.

Geoff Swaim, Blake Jarwin, Rico Gathers and fourth-round pick Dalton Schultz are the only tight ends on the roster. Swaim is the only one with any real experience, with nine catches for 94 yards in three seasons with the team.

Inexperience at linebacker

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The Cowboys addressed one of their biggest needs by taking linebacker Leighton Vander Esch with 19th overall pick in the NFL draft. But Vander Esch doesn't change the fact the Cowboys are relatively inexperienced at the position, especially after losing Anthony Hitchens in free agency.

Sean Lee remains one of the game's best linebackers when he's healthy, but injuries have bitten him multiple times in the past. Vander Esch hasn't played in a NFL game yet and was only a starter for one year at Boise State. Jaylon Smith played in all 16 games, but it was virtually a rookie year for him after missing the 2016 season.

Rest of the NFC East got better

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The NFC East is always tough, but it seems like each team in the division got better.

The defending-champion Philadelphia Eagles are getting Carson Wentz back and have a new tight end in Dallas Goedert. The Giants got one of the best players in the draft in running back Saquon Barkley and have Odell Beckham Jr. returning from injury. The Redskins have a new quarterback in Alex Smith and also drafted running back Derrius Guice.

Dak-friendly enough?

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One of the Cowboys' goals this offseason was to make their offense more Dak-friendly to showcase the strengths of starting quarterback Dak Prescott.

Did they succeed? Allen Hurns and Tavon Austin add an element of speed to the Cowboys' offense and Connor Williams adds depth to the offensive line. Ezekiel Elliott should be available for all of next season barring injury.

But the Cowboys also lost Dez Bryant and Jason Witten. It remains to be seen if they did enough to replace those losses. Prescott struggled for the second half of last season while Elliott was serving a six-game suspension. He's got two more years on his rookie deal before the Cowboys decide whether to move forward with him as the face of their franchise.

Backup QB

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Prescott is the unquestioned starter at quarterback, but Dallas doesn't have much behind him. Cooper Rush is still on the roster after impressing the Cowboys last preseason and ascending to the team's primary backup. The Cowboys drafted Western Kentucky's Mike White in the fifth-round of this year's NFL draft.

Stephen Jones said the team doesn't expect to sign a veteran quarterback. Instead, the team will allow Rush and White to compete for the backup job behind Prescott. In the doomsday case that Prescott suffers an injury that keeps him out long-term, Rush or White likely won't inspire much confidence.

Hot seat for Garrett?

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Head coach Jason Garrett faces a pivotal season after missing the playoffs last year. SportsDay's Tim Cowlishaw even wrote that Garrett should be fired near the end of last season.

Garrett will return this season, as will coordinators Scott Linehan and Rod Marinelli. But does Garrett enter the season on the hot seat? Another disappointing year could mean the Cowboys will be in the market for a new head coach.

A very young secondary

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The Cowboys released veteran corner back and team captain Orlando Scandrick earlier in the offseason. Sean Lee, DeMarcus Lawrence and Tyrone Crawford remain the veteran leaders of the defense, but Scandrick's loss leaves a void of experience in the secondary.

The Cowboys' need to hope that corner backs Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis make big improvements in their second seasons, along with safety Xavier Woods. A career season from Byron Jones wouldn't hurt either. There's also Anthony Brown, who took a step back in his sophomore season last year.
 

theoneandonly

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I thought they were going to try and not include the 2016 COY as an issue they faced. Apparently like the rest of us, they are resigned to the FO.
 

NoMoRedJ

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If looking at that dynamic duo isnt depressing enough, just read the reminders of all the holes we have on the roster. 8 years into the great dynasty build and we mite be in worse shape than when the Red Fraud took over and started the Process.
 

Doomsday

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looking at that dynamic duo
A picture came into my head of the 60s TV Batman and Robin and I had to immediately admit that they actually have more credibility than these two buffoons. They're the dullard dunderheads.
 

bbgun

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Let's face it: WR and TE won't be able to be fixed till 2019. And that's assuming they sign/draft the right people.
 

NoMoRedJ

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Let's face it: WR and TE won't be able to be fixed till 2019. And that's assuming they sign/draft the right people.

Coaching wont be fixed before then either. Hopefully it can be fixed in 2019.
 

Scot

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Top ten pressing concerns facing the Cowboys in 2018

1. Owner/GM
2. Head Coach
3. OC
4. DC
5. WR
6. TE
7. Safety
8. LB
9. FO
10. QB
 

Scot

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So the total and complete NFL experience of our entire TE position group amounts to 9 catches for 94 yards and zero touchdowns?

My fucking god we are screwed!

I sure hope they can block on running downs. LOL
 

icup

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Top ten pressing concerns facing the Cowboys in 2018

1. Owner/GM
2. Head Coach
3. OC
4. DC
5. WR
6. TE
7. Safety
8. LB
9. FO
10. QB


DC - next one is prob already in the building

WR/Safety/LB - hopefully he is also already in the building at each position group

QB - jury is still out



Owner/GM/FO - its a waiting game to until stevie gets in the chair. will he do what is necessary and break up all of the nepotism???. i have my doubts. stevie's son already has a lifetime position carved out at the star waiting for him when he flames out in the CFL. same for any jones family member that is mildly interested in football/finance/marketing.......... id even bet that 20% of the janitors and concession workers are illegitimate jones kids. you know cuz jerry has such a big heart



Head Coach/OC - finding a good head coach is a needle in a haystack for most teams. its literally next to impossible for the cowboys. being a cowboy means jerry gets to be in the room and he also gets to talk. and if youre a man with self respect, a backbone and a couple of nuts between your legs, it will fucking suck there and youre giong to have a bad time
 

theoneandonly

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i have my doubts. stevie's son already has a lifetime position carved out at the star waiting for him when he flames out in the CFL.
You dont think he can carve out a Dieter Brock like career up there? Thats my hope. Anything that delays the inevitable.
 

Dustdevil

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I get it, but...

TE: Swaim is not bad, adequate. Gathers showed flashes of being a receiving TE in preseason. If he doesn't have to retire due to concussion issues, he might develop.

WR: I like Gallop. I like the other WR they drafted, too. We might be a year away at the position. Beasly is good when he's not being double-teamed / bracketed like he was all last season.

S: I really like Woods. Some of our CB's can play S in a pinch. I really think they will be aggressive in FA at this position. You really don't have to have a superstar at this position.

DL: They drafted a pass rusher that can move inside and traded for the kid from Oak.

Yes there's a lot of "if's' in the above, and odds are, you won't hit on all of them. But there are possible answers at those positions.
 

Doomsday

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I get it, but...

TE: Swaim is not bad, adequate. Gathers showed flashes of being a receiving TE in preseason. If he doesn't have to retire due to concussion issues, he might develop.

WR: I like Gallop. I like the other WR they drafted, too. We might be a year away at the position. Beasly is good when he's not being double-teamed / bracketed like he was all last season.

S: I really like Woods. Some of our CB's can play S in a pinch. I really think they will be aggressive in FA at this position. You really don't have to have a superstar at this position.

DL: They drafted a pass rusher that can move inside and traded for the kid from Oak.

Yes there's a lot of "if's' in the above, and odds are, you won't hit on all of them. But there are possible answers at those positions.

Plus it's not like we're the only team in this or similar situation, personnel-wise. It's a product of parity, free agency and the salary cap. The teams which annually do well, do so on the strength of their FO and their coaching. They simply make better personnel decisions and coach up marginal players better than we can ever hope to see.

And the above explains succinctly why we're a .500 ball club on average for the last 22 years and haven't so much as sniffed the Super Bowl in that time.
 

nickb

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Top ten pressing concerns facing the Cowboys in 2018

1. Owner/GM
2. Head Coach
3. OC
4. DC
5. WR
6. TE
7. Safety
8. LB
9. FO
10. QB

Owner/GM for all ten spots...
Until Jerra meets Al in the afterworld we are screwed...
 

Scot

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Jeruh and the entire Jones clan could die in a helicopter crash along with the entire front office tomorrow and we would still be fucked as long as Garrett is still the head coach

Yes Jeruh is the main problem, but he is by no means the only problem
 

Dodger12

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Jeruh and the entire Jones clan could die in a helicopter crash along with the entire front office tomorrow and we would still be fucked as long as Garrett is still the head coach

Yes Jeruh is the main problem, but he is by no means the only problem

Yeah.....but don't knock it. This would be a good start.
 
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Jeruh and the entire Jones clan could die in a helicopter crash along with the entire front office tomorrow and we would still be fucked as long as Garrett is still the head coach

Yes Jeruh is the main problem, but he is by no means the only problem

....

...you're just so full of shit!...yeah I said it!
 
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