Offensive position breakdown: How the Dallas Cowboys have gotten better at every single position

The upcoming season will be an intriguing one for the Dallas Cowboys as fans anxiously await to see if their beloved football team can regroup and make a strong run this year. For them to do so, it's going to have to mean the return of that potent offense as they attempt to cover up many of the holes the team still has on the defensive side of the ball. But the team is in luck because there are a lot of reasons to feel good about this Cowboys offense. Today, I'll take a look at each offensive position group, and determine if the Cowboys have gotten better, worse, or stayed relatively the same since last season.

QUARTERBACK = much better

Here's why: Do we have to even say it? The return of Dak Prescott is the single most impactful event the team will see this year. He was playing at a high level prior to getting hurt last year, and he's the one player that makes the offense hum. Prescott has been firing on all cylinders of late as he has recently demonstrated that he can be quite impressive in the passing game. Over his last 25 games, Prescott has passed for over 400 yards seven different times. Just as reference, that is more times than Tony Romo, Troy Aikman, and Roger Staubach have had for their entire careers....COMBINED!

Garrett Gilbert enters the year as the team's primary backup. While he's nowhere as seasoned as veteran Andy Dalton, he wasn't all that bad in what we saw in a limited capacity last year. Even Ben DiNucci will have a lot more to build on in year two. Yes, he was atrocious last year, but you're likely going to get similar results from any late-round rookie quarterback who was just thrown to the wolves.

RUNNING BACK = better

Here's why: The team did nothing to bolster this position group as it once again will be Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard handling the the load, and Zeke will come in with another year of mileage on that body. So, how is it that they've gotten better? Well, this one is more from the changes in circumstances. With better health at quarterback and the offensive line, there should be less attention given to stopping the run game. Additionally, more positive game scripts this season should present more effective running situations this year. Finally, Zeke has looked great in camp and we are still hoping to see Pollard utilized more in the passing game.

All these things collectively should make for a strong rushing attack for the Cowboys in 2021.

WIDE RECEIVER = better

Here's why: The Cowboys didn't make any big changes at wide receiver. They re-signed Cedrick Wilson to a one year deal, meaning all four of their top receivers will be back this season. While the names are the same, the overall danger of this group is greater due to the return of Prescott.

Amari Cooper is going to do Amari Cooper things. He'll go about his business and quietly have another 1,000+ yard season. That's just what he does. CeeDee Lamb might be a different story. He's looked fantastic in camp, and he could be in line for a breakout sophomore season. Michael Gallup is in a contract year, so you better believe he'll be looking to put up some impressive numbers to boost up his asking price come free agency.

Even Wilson, who doesn't get very many targets is capable of making big plays as he had 107 yards receiving and two touchdowns in Week 3 against Seattle last year. And the Cowboys also added Stanford rookie Semi Fehoko, who may not get much action this year, but he'll be a nice player to keep in their pocket for the future.

TIGHT END = better

Here's why: Believe it or not, the Cowboys tight end group is pretty rock solid. They did lose the underrated veteran Blake Bell to the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency, but they replenished him veteran blocking specialist Jeremy Sprinkle, formerly of the Washington Football Team. While those guys are just depth players, the real gains for this group come from Blake Jarwin and Dalton Schultz. Jarwin will return after suffereing a season-ending knee injury in Week 1 of last year. He will give the team the dynamic pass-catching tight end they've been missing since Jason Witten's younger days. And while Jarwin's return gets all the buzz, Schultz has proven he's a very reliable contributor in both the running and passing game. He's looked sharp in champ as he just continues to get better and better. Regardless of how this group shapes out, this duo is going to a very nice tandem at the tight end position.

TACKLE = much better

Here's why: I'm guessing this one isn't all that hard to figure out considering both the team's starting tackles are returning from injury. Tyron Smith missed all but two games, and La'el Collins never even saw the field last year, so getting those two back will be huge in protecting Prescott. Not only that, but the team signed veteran tackle Ty Nsekhe to compete for their swing tackle position.

The team also has a couple of past undrafted free agents in Brandon Knight and Terence Steele in their pocket, who collectively started 23 games for the Cowboys last year. While there were some cringe moments from those two a year ago, they both now trickle down the depth chart and suddenly become very solid reserves to add to this position group.

La'el Collins says he'll protect Dak Prescott "at all costs."@dannyphantom24 / Twitter

GUARD = better

Here's why: Having a healthy Zack Martin is cause for celebration by itself, and his chances of spending more time at right guard increase even more if the team isn't forced to slide him outside to handle deficiencies at tackle. Throw in the continuous improvement of Connor Williams (who is coming off a good season) in a contract year, and suddenly the starting guard positions look pretty stout.

The team also has some very good reserves as 2019 third-round pick Conner McGovern tries to crack the starting lineup. And while Joe Looney is gone, the Cowboys have couple young tackles in Knight and rookie Josh Ball who are going to fight for reps any way they can, even if it means moving inside. All in all, the team has quality starters, and solid depth at the guard position.

CENTER = better

Here is why: The loss of Looney might make you lean towards you declaring this position group a little weaker or even a push, but there are a couple factors here that should make this unit slightly better. The most notable is the healthy return of second-year player Tyler Biadasz. The Cowboys traded up in last year's draft to get him, and we started to see why when he was thrust into action early last year due to injuries along the offensive line. Biadasz graded out as a top three center in each of this three seasons in college, even his redshirt freshmen season where he started all 14 games receiving All-Big Ten honors. And prior to his midseason injury, he had the best run-blocking win rate of all centers in the NFL. Not just rookie centers, but ALL centers. While we won't pronounce him as the next best thing along the offensive line until he proves it, there are good reasons to be excited.

As for depth, the team has some position flex players who can fill in at center, starting with McGovern who is chomping at the bit to get back into that interior line after making eight starts a year ago.

Check in with us later as I'll go through each position group on the defensive side of the ball as well.

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