Dallas City News

Every week, we take questions on X (Twitter) and Facebook about Dallas Cowboys players and other issues surrounding the team. So let’s get right into it.

“Whose going to be the RB1 in the Redzone this year?”

(@Fredflunk on Twitter)

Mike: As it’s stands the coaches are giving the Rico Dowdle every opportunity to grab the main role. His catch during Saturday’s training in the far corner was a beautiful play and it’s a bit of surprise to see him make highlight plays like that.

Regardless of that, however, the team is going to be playing a heavy rotation at the position in this committee backfield and there will be games where the lead back snaps will look confusing. If we take Week 1 as a good example, the Cowboys play Cleveland and that team is exceptional at creating pressure on opposing quarterbacks. That may see a lot more use of Ezekiel Elliott who is the much better blocking back in this running back corps.

Other games we may see more Royce Freeman who has been sneaky good so far in camp. All this means is Dowdle is the lead back generally, but game flow and opponent play will dictate who that lead back is on the day.

Dana: It currently looks as though Rico Dowdle is ahead of the pack when it comes to all-around RB. Before camp, it was thought that Ezekiel Elliott or Hunter Luepke would be used more in short yardage and redzone situations but after the first padded practice, it wouldn’t be surprising if Dowdle saw the majority of snaps in the redzone. He got some redzone work in and took advantage of his opportunities.

Now that does not mean that Elliott and Luepke will not be needed at all in those situations. Mike McCarthy has mentioned multiple times the importance of keeping the RBs fresh by rotating them and spreading the workload around. They should each get their share of the snaps, but don’t be surprised if Dowdle is used more often in the redzone.

“Listening to a lot about Mazi Smith ? Do you see him coming into his lane this year and becoming the guy he was at Michigan?”

(@Sean Twaddle on Facebook)

Mike: So far, Mazi Smith has been very impressive. He spent much of the offseason back in Michigan bulking up and working out and he looks more disruptive, and more importantly, he’s showing a much stronger anchor and holding the a-gaps to close down inside running lanes. Does this mean that’s it and we feel like that first-round draft capital is paid off? Absolutely not. But it’s an exciting step forward to what his potential is and what everyone’s expectations can be for him this season.

If we see Smith stacking positive practices in Oxnard and see some of that potential in preseason games, then we can raise the bar higher and get excited to see him in the regular season. The way this defense is set up, and the teams the Cowboys face this year, having a guy like Smith become a key contributor is huge for the team.

Dana: There needs to be significant improvement from Mazi Smith as a first-round draft pick in his second year. Smith knows this. Mike Zimmer knows this. His DL coach, Jeff Zgonina knows this. This season, Zimmer and Zgonina have come in with a plan to use schemes that work better for Smith and a plan for him to gain weight. It seems that Smith is excited for these changes as that is what he prefers as well, mentioning last week that he would like to be 310-315 pounds as opposed to 290.

So far in camp, there has been noticeable improvements from last season. He has been doing a great job going against the offensive line, getting a great jump off the ball, and stuffing lanes to help stop the run. If he continues on this trajectory, he should definitely feel more comfortable and prove why he was a first-round pick in 2023.

“Any news on the newly offered deals towards dak and ceedee? Which way they are leaning towards?”

(@Riley Braggington on Facebook)

Dana: The latest update from Jerry Jones according to Jon Machota of The Athletic is basically that “they are talking”. It seems like the Lamb contract may be a bit closer or at least the first priority, but Lamb’s and Prescott’s contract talks have both been back and forth. The front office has been pretty vocal about the desire to get both of these guys extended, but they have put themselves in a pretty tough spot where they need to do both in the same year with Micah Parsons’ coming up as well. Hopefully Lamb’s contract can get done in a few days/weeks, and Prescott’s can follow shortly after.

Be sure to check Blogging The Boys as well as @kenfigkowboy and @day_nuh_bee on X (Twitter) and also Facebook for the weekly post, asking for your questions to include in the weekly mailbag. Many thanks to everyone who send in your questions and votes.