Dallas City News

Ezekiel Elliott opens up about Cowboys’ reunion – Patrik Walker, Dallascowboys.com

Elliott talks about his return to Dallas.

His lone year away from Dallas was spent with the New England Patriots as No. 15 in 2023, but he picked up his former No. 21 in his reunion with the Cowboys, presumably sticking with it going forward.

“It feels great to be home,” said the former two-time NFL rushing champ. “I definitely missed being here. I missed this building. I missed Cowboys’ nation. I’m definitely excited and ready to get this thing going.”

Things look wildly different this time around in the running backs room for Elliott, however.

Tony Pollard now plays for the Tennessee Titans and Rico Dowdle having ascended to being his complementary back — along with Deuce Vaughn, Hunter Luepke, Snoop Conner and Royce Freeman all being names that weren’t present when Elliott was leading the locker room as recently as the 2022 season.

“It’s definitely good to see TP get paid,” said Elliott. “He’s a tremendous back who’s had a hell of a career. I’m excited for him and his family. … It’ll definitely be different. Talking about the explosiveness Tony brings to the room.”

That’s where Dowdle comes into play though, and Elliott is very familiar with Dowdle’s style of play from their several seasons together prior to 2023.

“Rico definitely had a great year last year — finally got his health together,” Elliott said. “He was able to showcase his ability. He runs the ball superhard, and that’s something I love about his game. It’ll be fun to play with Rico [again] this year.”

Cowboys Trade Proposal Adds ‘Low-Risk, High-Reward’ DL to Fix Run Defense – Matt Lombardo, Heavy.com

The Dallas Cowboys could use one more big body in the middle of their defense.

Given that Dallas waited until the seventh round to take a true defensive tackle, Auburn’s Justin Rogers, with the No. 244 overall selection, perhaps the Cowboys could look to pull off a trade for a veteran run-stuffer before the regular season kicks off this fall.

NFL analyst Dustin Mosher suggests Cleveland Browns‘ defensive lineman Maurice Hurst could be an ideal trade target to watch for the Cowboys.

“The Cleveland Browns’ defensive tackle room is extremely deep,” Mosher writes. ‘And Maurice Hurst could be a salary-cap casualty. Hurst is an older player, but he’s a solid rotational player who can penetrate the backfield.

“The Cowboys could use more depth on their defensive line, and Hurst could be a low-risk, high-reward acquisition. If he thrives in a rotational role, the Cowboys add an interior pass rusher. If he cannot carve out a role, they can easily move on.”

If nothing else, Hurst could provide veteran stability to a young group while contributing quality snaps in obvious run-downs.

The Cowboys draft class has mixed reviews, high and low.

Overall Dallas Cowboys grade: C+

This draft went about how most people expected. The Cowboys got a potential Tyron Smith replacement in the first round, added front seven help and got depth on the offensive line. This draft might not have huge immediate returns for the Cowboys, but they made some strong dice rolls on future starters. The team sits in limbo as Jerry Jones decides what he wants to do next with his franchise, making this an important draft for the Cowboys to nail.

Favorite pick: Cooper Beebe, OL, Kansas State (73rd overall)

Beebe did it all for Kansas State. He flipped between guard and tackle — sometimes in the same game. He doesn’t have the best balance, but he has the athleticism to get to the second level and generally has good eyes in pass protection. Beebe has starter potential, which is great to find in the third round.

Least favorite pick: Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma (29th overall)

Guyton has infinite upside at offensive tackle, but he’s pretty raw as things stand now. He might have a lower floor than some other offensive tackles on the board, but the Cowboys needed to spend this pick on a tackle. It might not be pretty in 2024. Guyton can be special in this league. He’s just going to need a bit of a long leash.

Cowboys sign WR Tyron Billy-Johnson – Josh Alper, PFT

The front office added another wide receiver to the mix who spent time with the team last offseason.

Wide receiver Tyron Billy-Johnson is back with the Cowboys.

Billy-Johnson spent last season on the team’s practice squad and visited with them on Monday. The Cowboys announced Billy-Johnson’s return to the roster on Tuesday.

Billy-Johnson’s last regular season action came during the 2022 season. He had one catch for eight yards in two appearances for the Texans and he also played in two games for the Raiders.

There have also been regular season appearances with the Jaguars and Chargers. Billy-Johnson had 20 catches for 398 yards and three touchdowns with the Chargers in 2020.

In addition to his receiver work, Billy-Johnson has seen time as a returner while bouncing around the league.

Two Cowboys late-rounders get some love from ESPN.

Caelen Carson, CB: The Wake Forest scheme called for Carson to play a good amount of off-man coverage, which shined a light on two areas that I was drawn to in his game: He has a very good trigger to drive back to the ball from his backpedal and the discipline to not bite on double moves. Carson didn’t have standout on-ball production, as he was without an interception over the past two seasons, but he’s disruptive when the ball is in his area.

Nathan Thomas, OT: Thomas started 26 games at Louisiana, playing every snap at left tackle. But he has positional flexibility to play at guard — and that might be his better home at the NFL level. Thomas’ standout trait is his power; when he is able to get his hands on a defender, it’s over.