Normally, I caution all Cowboys fans to take a national media outlet’s rankings or analysis with a grain of salt.
The same is true with NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks’ list of the top 10 teams with the most talent on their roster. Rounding out his list, as the number 10 most talented team according to Brooks, are our Dallas Cowboys.
Despite a 4-12 season a year ago, Brooks is on board with most of Cowboys Nation’s optimism about the current roster. Obvious studs like Sean Lee and Dez Bryant obviously give the Cowboys a boost, but Brooks also cites the offensive line, Tony Romo, and returning stud cornerback Orlando Scandrick as top players.
I tend to agree with most of Brooks’ points for why the Cowboys are a top 10 talented team.
Offensively, we know just how scary they can be. There are a ton of weapons in the Cowboys’ arsenal which I cannot wait to see them deploy this fall.
Where they are jolted into the top 10, however, is on the defensive side of the ball. Scandrick will lead a hungry secondary unit which includes potential beast Byron Jones and eager corners in Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne.
Up front, Brooks lists defensive end Demarcus Lawrence as a “riser.” In other words, Lawrence finally started to come along during the second half of last season, and he may be ready to take the reigns as the number one pass rusher on this team consistently.
No, the defense doesn’t feature the quantity of “blue chips” that the offense does, but I think Brooks sees what a lot of hopeful Cowboys fans see; youth, potential, and upside.
The rest of the list features four of the Cowboys 2016 opponents, including the New York Giants who they will, of course, see twice.
I have to disagree with Brooks on his ranking of the Giants, however. There is no way in my mind that the Giants have a more “talented” roster than the Cowboys do. Especially not for the reasons which Brooks lists.
He names Janoris Jenkins as a “blue chip” on the Giants roster. Might I remind you what happened the last time that “blue chip” corner took on Dez Bryant?
I also have doubts about Jason Pierre-Paul and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie being on the “blue chips” list, but I digress.
The other three opponents listed, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals, will all be tough games for Dallas to win, especially considering they will have to travel to both Minnesota and Pittsburgh.
But if the Cowboys are truly a top 10 team, and a playoff team, they will be able to compete in all three of those games, and come out on top in at least two of them.
If you want to check out the full list of “most talented teams,” click the link below.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000664439/article/seahawks-steelers-panthers-headline-10-most-talented-teams
