Why Cowboys’ contention window isn’t as narrow as you might think

DALLAS — Father Time de-cleats all soccer gamers. With quarterback Dak Prescott set to show 29 years outdated on July 29 and working again Ezekiel Elliott on his technique to flip 27 on July 22, the Dallas Cowboys appear to be an older staff.

With only one playoff win amid three journeys to the postseason, the Prescott period hasn’t gotten it performed, and the extra time marches on means the window to win with this franchise quarterback is closing.

Trevor Sikkema from Professional Soccer Focus tallied his checklist of top-25 gamers beneath the age of 25, and the Cowboys are nicely represented on the checklist with three gamers. Linebacker Micah Parsons was No. 6. Receiver CeeDee Lamb was No. 17. Punctuating the checklist at No. 25 was cornerback Trevon Diggs.

The one different staff with as many gamers on the checklist because the Cowboys have been the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Solely Nick Bosa, Justin Herbert, Jonathan Taylor, Tristan Wirfs, and Justin Jefferson ranked forward of Parsons.

“Parsons was merely sensational in his rookie season,” Sikkema writes. “After a lot debate about what place he would play — defensive finish or off-ball linebacker — Parsons not solely performed each however thrived at every with an 87.6 total defensive grade and a 93.0 pass-rush grade. If you keep in mind that he opted out of his last season at Penn State and that 2021 was his first actual soccer motion in two years, it makes Parsons’ rookie marketing campaign much more spectacular.”

What the position of Parsons, Lamb, and Diggs signifies is that the Cowboys nonetheless have youthful, elite expertise on the roster, which explains why the membership did not make any splashes in free company and likewise took a safer strategy within the 2022 NFL draft.

With gifted youth coming into their very own, there was no must make the strikes the Philadelphia Eagles did in buying cornerback James Bradberry or receiver A.J. Brown; Dallas already has their elite cornerback in Diggs and productive wideout in Lamb.

For the following two seasons, as Diggs and Lamb end out their rookie contracts — with Lamb’s having a fifth-year possibility — the Cowboys can depend on their trio of top-25 gamers.

In fact, simply because a staff wasn’t represented on the top-25 beneath 25 checklist doesn’t suggest they’re unhealthy. In spite of everything, the Los Angeles Rams did not have any gamers make the checklist, however they’re coming off a Tremendous Bowl win. Veteran squads are simply as able to getting the job performed.

Nevertheless, the notion that the window is tightening for the Cowboys to win instantly is not pure veritas. As long as Parsons, Lamb, and Diggs are taking part in at excessive ranges, it needs to be sufficient of a lift so as to add to what Prescott and Elliott already do to maintain Dallas within the hunt.

Do you suppose the Cowboys are nonetheless constructed to final? Share your ideas with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.