With the Dallas Cowboys doing nothing in the 2024 free agent pool, this team will need the young players to step up this season.
If the Cowboys don't get production from any of the younger players on the roster, the season could all be over by the time they hit Thanksgiving.
That said, let's look at a few players who need to find their groove this season so the Cowboys have any chance of competing.
Jalen Tolbert
The first one is pretty clear: Jalen Tolbert outsnapped Michael Gallup a handful of times last season, and now, with him gone, he is the clear-cut No. 3 guy behind CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks.
Tolbert struggled his rookie season and didn't even dress, but maybe one game, if I remember correctly, he won't get a better chance to prove his worth than the opportunity he is about to get in 2024.
Tolbert was active for all 17 games last year.
He even started in six of them.
He was targeted 36 times, catching 22 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns.
In Tolbert's final two years at South Alabama, he gained 1,085 yards (64 catches) and 1,474 yards (82 catches) and had eight touchdowns each year.
We know he can play, and Dak Prescott will need him to step up to take some pressure off Lamb.
Mazi Smith
Look, guys, I still think he will be a bust, but boy, do the Cowboys need this dude to show up in 2024.
One sack, and only registered nine solo tackles as a nose tackle.
That is so bad.
He was supposed to be one of the strongest players in the draft, and it showed at his pro day and at the combine.
Yet he was dominated at the line of scrimmage every time you saw him last season.
Bringing in Mike Zimmer would help him, but he had just had shoulder surgery.
Let's hope he recovers and Zimmer can find a way to make him look like the player we all thought he would be after graduating from the University of Michigan.
T.J. Bass
If you have followed me on this site, you will know I love T.J. Bass.
I think he can be one of the Dallas Cowboys' next great offensive linemen.
If Dallas had to play a game tomorrow, you'd probably see Tyler Smith at left tackle and T.J. Bass at left guard.
The Cowboy's offensive line is brutal; they lost Tyron Smith and Tyler Biadasz.
Dallas will use its first-round pick on an offensive lineman, but Bass was really good in the playing time he got last year.
Bass started 34 straight games in college throughout three seasons for the Oregon Ducks.
He played over 2,000 snaps and earned first-team all-Pac-12 honors from the coaches in 2021 and 2022.
He logged 894 offensive snaps, 879 at left tackle, and seven at left guard.
For the other eight, he appeared at tight end.
It only gets better.
Bass was the ONLY player to be named Pac-12 offensive lineman of the week multiple times, yet he went undrafted. The Cowboys need to not play around with him because he can be a very solid player on the line for them.
These players are just three of the many that will need to have a good 2024, but with the Cowboys not being able to do much in free agency because Jerry Jones won't do what he needs to do to free up money, they will depend on a few of these players.
I hate that we are banking on these players to have a good 2024 because of what they lost, but nothing will change until this team gives up power and hires a real GM.
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