With a new season creeping up on us, it won’t be long before we see some new players take on expanded roles for the Dallas Cowboys. It happens every year. Forecasting these surprise performances can be a little tricky as some of them we can see coming, but others come out of nowhere. Regardless, it’s still a fun exercise to play Nostradamus and try to predict some of the surprise contributions from players who have otherwise been rather quiet.
Many factors play into larger roles as sometimes it can be related to a new opportunity attributed to a vacated spot on the roster. Other times, a coaching change can introduce a new philosophy that fits another player better. And then sometimes, something just clicks and a player makes a sizable jump in ability to where it’s hard to keep him off the field. Today, we’ll look at two scenarios as we identify two offensive players who could sneakily take on larger roles in 2024.
THE “2ND YEAR PLAYER WITH A LARGER ROLE” GUY
This one has the most logical explanation. A player leaves and the “next man up” fills the void. In most cases, we already know which player will wear those shoes, but other times, it might be someone we didn’t see coming.
Last year: Jake Ferguson
After Dalton Schultz played out his rookie contract, the Cowboys were looking for a tight end. With no viable player on the roster, the team rented Schultz’s services for another year by slapping the franchise tag on him in 2022, buying them a little more time. That same year, they used their fourth-round draft pick to select Wisconsin tight end Jake Ferguson. Playing behind Schultz, Ferguson had a quiet 19 catches for 174 yards his rookie season, but he flashed enough for the Cowboys to feel comfortable moving on from Schultz.
