Dallas City News

All in all, Week 1 went about as well as it could have for the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas’ 33-17 win over the Browns was a statement victory, and the Cowboys did some great things on both sides of the ball.

This week, the Cowboys host a New Orleans Saints team also coming off a dominating victory, defeating the Carolina Panthers 47-10 on Sunday.

Even though plenty of things went right, there’s always room for improvement. With that in mind, today we focus on two offensive players the Cowboys should use more this week against the Saints to continue their success.

Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

WR Jalen Brooks

After a very impressive training camp and preseason, wide receiver Jalen Brooks played just 13 offensive snaps on Sunday. The 24-year-old caught his only target of the day for an 18-yard, first-down reception.

We continually saw Brooks’ ability to make plays deep down the field during camp. The Cowboys could use this in their offense, and putting Brooks on the field more would give them a chance to take more downfield shots.

Jalen Tolbert, the receiver directly ahead of Brooks on the depth chart, played 42 offensive snaps on Sunday, catching just one pass for 12 yards. Tolbert also showed some promise during training camp, but he hasn’t done anything to earn almost 30 more offensive snaps than Brooks.

This week the Cowboys should look for more of a balance, giving Tolbert and Brooks an even amount of snaps.

Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

RB Rico Dowdle

While Ezekiel Elliott got the start, running back Rico Dowdle was still on the field for 44% (28 snaps) of Dallas’ offensive plays on Sunday. Dowdle finished the day with a rather unimpressive eight rushes for 26 yards, but the stats don’t tell the whole story.

Dowdle faced a stacked box (8+ defenders) on 62.5% of his carries on Sunday. Elliott saw a stacked box just 20% of the time. Some of this was related to Dowdle getting more carries in the second half when Dallas had a significant lead, but the Cowboys need to find a way to get him more chances in non-obvious running situations.

Dowdle is explosive and deserves to be on the field as much, if not more, than Elliott. This week against the Saints, Dallas should look to give Dowdle more reps early in the game.