FRISCO — Of all the rookie minicamps the Dallas Cowboys have held over the years, this past weekend was one of them. This franchise held the lightest two-a-day workouts I’ve witnessed in Texas, but I can tell you that second-round pick Trysten Hill can dominate a tackling dummy. Hill appeared light on his feet while going through drills.
Cowboys wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal had his guys running routes without catching passes, which should be good practice for an offense built around Zeke Elliott. I can also tell you fourth-round pick Tony Pollard from Memphis is as quick as advertised. New offensive coordinator Kellen Moore even suggested a scenario in which Elliott and Pollard could share the field. I might pass out if that happens.
It was interesting to see the new offensive triumvirate of Jason Garrett, quarterbacks coach Jon Kitna and Moore working together. All three of them spent a good portion of their careers as backup quarterbacks, although Kitna started far more games than the other two. As my Doomsday Podcast colleague Ed Werder noted Saturday, Kitna has more of a presence about him than the youthful Moore. That’s how Werder ended up with a one-on-one interview with Moore while everyone else huddled around Kitna.
It quickly became apparent that Moore and the Cowboys can’t wait to see what Randall Cobb can accomplish in the slot. Last year at this time, Stephen Jones was talking about Tavon Austin having a big impact, but that didn’t materialize due to playcalling and injury. Cobb and Pollard are players who could provide this wrinkle-free offense with some personality. Moore didn’t reveal a lot, but he hinted the 2019 offense could be more unpredictable.
“I think we’ll probably be more multiple and have a little more variety in the way we play, with some up-tempo action,” Moore told Doomsday. “So much of this is we need to get out here together and get Randall involved in this. Things will progress from there.”
Moore has to walk a fine line because his mentor Scott Linehan just got run out of town for not being innovative enough on offense. Jerry Jones had asked Linehan to look around at what some of the top college offenses were doing, but he didn’t really bring much to the table until Amari Cooper showed up on the scene. Cooper helped save everyone except poor Linehan.
It’s still my belief Garrett will call the plays this season, but Moore will be allowed plenty of input. Someone has convinced Jerry and son Stephen that Moore is a great communicator. I haven’t heard this much praise since Jerry used to brag on Bill Parcells’ “people skills.”
One of Moore’s biggest offseason projects is cleaning up the Cowboys’ abysmal red-zone offense. The Cowboys were able to overcome being one of the worst red zone offenses in the league because they had an elite defense. And while the defense should be good again, the red zone has to be better next season.
“That’s one of the big things to clean up,” Moore said. “Things got a little better at the back end of the season. But we need to head down some different paths.”
Moore said there will come a time in December when the Cowboys may pound the ball with Elliott 35 times to win in the cold. But then he brought up the concept of multiple running backs.
“There’s no rule that says you can’t put two running backs on the field at the same time,” Moore said.
I literally thought the Cowboys did have a rule against this type of thing. For now, I’m just glad to hear the discussion.
I also had the opportunity to visit with third-round pick Connor McGovern out of Penn State on Saturday. He mentioned Friday that he wanted to immediately win a starting job, and he wasn’t backing down the next day. McGovern had a huge growth spurt his junior year in high school, and he ended up being coveted by every program except his dream school, Notre Dame. He told me he’s equally comfortable at both guard spots and center at this point. He might not start immediately, but the Cowboys found out with Travis Frederick’s situation in last season’s training camp how important it is to have depth.
“If I happen not to start, I’ll be ready at a moment’s notice,” McGovern told me.
The one setback over the weekend was seventh-round pick Mike Weber from Ohio State injuring his knee. Weber had injury issues in Columbus, but he was an explosive running back at times. He learned from Elliott early in his college career, and you know Elliott will do anything to help his former teammate. But if you’re suffering injuries during a jog-through, you won’t be around long.
The good news is the Cowboys have made changes to this offensive staff. Now, I’m ready to see this two-back look.