While the rest of us try to recover from a long holiday weekend, the Dallas Cowboys have three players hoping to bounce back from disappointing 2023 seasons.
(RB) Ezekiel Elliott
After being released by the Cowboys last offseason, the third-leading rusher in franchise history spent 2023 in New England while establishing career lows with 642 rushing yards, three touchdowns and just 3.5 yards per carry.
To be fair, Elliott wasn’t expected to do much with the Patriots. The same can’t be said for a “win-now” Cowboys team looking to become the first back-to-back champion of the NFC East since Eagles did it 20 years ago
Unlike in past seasons, Elliott won’t have to share carries with Tony Pollard now that his former teammate signed a three-year, $21.75M contract with the Tennessee Titans. Aside from little-used running backs like Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn, his biggest competition for touches could actually be Royce Freeman, a seven-year veteran with 10 career touchdowns.
Like it or not, Elliott will see plenty of work in 2024. If he can find the form that got him 876 yards and 12 touchdowns two years prior, the Cowboys offense will be fine.
(LB) DeMarvion Overshown
Overshown played safety in college but the Cowboys drafted him to play linebacker in 2023. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL before the start of the regular season and was placed on injured reserve.
He spent the year working with Cowboys rehab specialist Britt Brown and claims to have added 12-13 pounds of lean mass.
“I feel so much more powerful. I’m so much stronger. I feel like I have gotten faster,” Overshown told Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I feel and look like a linebacker now."
With added size and a year to prepare, “DeeMo” has a great chance to bounce back in 2024.
(DT) Mazi Smith
Smith was seen as an excellent run-stopper with power and quickness needed to rush the passer when the team took him 26th-overall in last year’s draft. But he played poorly, recording 13 tackles and a single sack. He saw the field for just 26% percent of the team’s defensive snaps.
To be fair, Smith wasn’t suited to play in Dan Quinn’s system. After playing at 337 pounds in college, he dropped to under 300 pounds to fit the former coordinator’s attacking style. New defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer, hopes to put Smith in better positions.
"He lost a lot of weight when he got here," Zimmer told reporters. "He was trying to be an attacking 3-technique to get up the field. We're gonna probably play blocks a little bit more, and try not to get reached so linebackers know where they're supposed to fit.”
In other words, the new coach wants Smith to get back to his old ways. If he does, there’s no reason he can’t bounce back next season.
