Most have heard by now that the Dallas Cowboys claimed RT Jordan Mills from the Bears, who started 29 games for them since being selected in the 5th round of the 2013 NFL draft.
This move is more about the trust level with Darion Weems than anything else; something I projected in my roster evaluation of the Offensive Line.
Throughout Training Camp and the Preseason, Weems showed that he is not quite ready to handle the role of a Swing Tackle, he seemed to struggle at both positions and was not reliable in pass protection. Even when playing against third string players he struggled.
This does not mean the Cowboys have given up on his development, he just needs more time to work on his weaknesses.
Jordan Mills is a guy who could man the RT position and provide a “road grading” type of player with his run blocking. Which will leave Weems to concentrate at LT.
What this may eventually mean is the Cowboys may carry eight offensive linemen – instead of seven – on the game day 46. I could see them rolling with Mackenzy Bernadeau, Weems, and Mills as the active backups and La’el Collins being inactive the first few weeks. This is a very fluid situation as quite a few factors play into this.
Collins may eventually progress over Bernadeau, perhaps Mills shows he can backup at LT as well, maybe Weems, with the added competition, shows he can actually be the Swing Tackle. This week they may go with seven active if Mills does not become comfortable enough with the playbook by Sunday.
Either way, it would be nice to have an extra slot on game day for perhaps an extra Defensive Lineman at some point during the season.
Mills’ experience gives him an advantage over Weems at this point, making practices just a little bit more interesting for the Offensive Line coming up.
