2 offensive players who could take on surprisingly larger roles for the Cowboys in 2024

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.

Last season, Ferguson was promoted to TE1 and he delivered. It was as if Schultz never left as Ferguson caught 71 passes for 761 yards and five touchdowns. It rivaled Schultz’s best season as a pro in 2021. CeeDee Lamb and Ferguson were the only two Cowboys receivers over 100 targets last year. It’s clear the Cowboys made the right decision as Ferguson has already reached Schultz’s peak and he’s only halfway through his rookie deal.

This year: Jalen Brooks

After being taken in the seventh round of last year’s draft, there weren’t many expectations placed on the wide receiver from South Carolina. Buried behind Lamb, Brandin Cooks, Michael Gallup, Jalen Tolbert, and KaVontae Turpin, where would the rookie get any opportunities to see the field? But with no real receiving standing out after the big two, the Cowboys spread the love and the rookie Brooks got a small taste of action. He caught all six of his targets last year and at least got our attention.

This season the team is without Gallup so the WR3 spot is up for the taking. While everyone expects Tolbert to slide into that role, don’t be surprised if it’s the other Jalen who takes the larger step forward. Brooks is a utility knife guy as he does a little bit of everything. With value as a blocker and on special teams, he has that Noah Brown feel to him, but if he starts earning Dak Prescott’s trust, we could see him become more involved as a receiver as well. We’re all rooting for Tolbert to be that guy, but don’t sleep on Brooks.

THE “FINALLY HEALTHY” GUY

There may have been a time when we thought a player could be a strong contributor, but then multiple injuries caused them to disappear into irrelevance. And just when you have written them off, they finally put together a healthy season and remind us why we were excited in the first place.

Last year: Rico Dowdle

Everyone has always said if Dowdle could just stay healthy, he’d be a good addition to the running back room. It took four years to prove it, but they were right. After dealing with season-derailing injuries in 2021 (hip) and 2022 (ankle), Dowdle finally stayed on the field. He only had seven rushing attempts throughout his first three seasons in the league, but he rushed 89 times last year for 361 yards. He was the second fiddle to Tony Pollard in 2023.

This year: Josh Ball

You just get a sense that someone along the offensive line will step up and perform higher than expected. The lead candidate for this should be Brock Hoffman as he may be the team’s new starting center replacing Tyler Biadasz. While that could be the obvious choice, we’re going to think outside the box here and suggest that some good health could finally show up in year four for Josh Ball as it did for Dowdle.

Ball was selected in the fourth round back in 2021, but an ankle injury in his rookie season and a hip injury last year pushed him to injured reserve. He slid in the draft due to off-field issues, but the raw talent is there. If the Cowboys can get him working correctly, he could find himself as a viable interior offensive lineman reserve this season.