Contentious article, leaving off many
valuable Cowboys, here's who the
writer asserts are "the 5 most impor-
tant Cowboys going into 2023," fol-
lowed with my replies to his asser-
tions:
https://thelandryhat.com/posts/5-most-important-cowboys-2023-season-including-surprise-player-prescott-pollard-gilmore/

5. WR Brandin Cooks - his career
peaked 2016-to-2018, he's never
been named to a pro bowl, & last
year he missed 4 games & tied his
lowest PFR AV of 5. Obviously, the
Cowboys top receiver remains Cee-
Dee Lamb, who should be in the
top 5.
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/CookBr00.htm
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/L/LambCe00.htm

4. CB Stephon Gilmore - his career
peaked 2018-2019, he's missed 21
starts in his last 3 seasons, his last
2 seasons he's matched his 2nd low-
est PFR AV of 5, his lowest being 3
in 2013. In most ways, Trevon Diggs
remains the Cowboys top corner
who should be in the top 5.
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/G/GilmSt00.htm
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/D/DiggTr00.htm

Sidenote: The best defensive player?
The Cowboys most valuable defen-
sive player, by far, is Micah Parsons,
who, next to Quarterback Prescott,
should be the most valuable player
on the 2023 team, near the top spot.
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/P/ParsMi00.htm

3. OT Tyler Smith - his rookie year he
had a decent PFR AV of 8, should im-
prove in 2023. However, Zack Martin
remains the Cowboys top offensive
lineman who should be in the top 5.
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SmitTy02.htm
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MartZa00.htm

2. RB Tony Pollard - topped out in 2022,
taking over lead RB duties as Zeke fad-
ed, hopefully will fully recover from his
devastating playoff injury vs 49ers which
the Cowboys couldn't recover from. This
year, maybe rookie Deuce Vaughn can pro-
vide a spark that the Cowboys didn't have
after Pollard was injured vs 49ers.
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/P/PollTo00.htm
https://www.google.com/search?q=shortest+NFL+draft+pick+in+2023
https://www.nfl.com/prospects/deuce-vaughn/32005641-5542-4979-415d-9403ea793f9b

Sidenote 2: I find it humorous the manner
in which Deuce's height is listed at 5' 5"
by many articles, & 5' 6" by many other
articles. Deuce's speed:
https://www.google.com/search?q=how+fast+is+deuce+vaughn
.... small in stature but large in performance.
He is extremely quick and has outstanding
speed. He has been clocked in the 40 at 4.44
and it shows on film.

1. QB Dak Prescott - inexplicable inter-
ceptionitis that for reasons unknown
he was unable to overcome in 2022,
the lowpoint in his career thus far, cri-
tical that he do so in 2023 in order for
the Cowboys to have a legitimate shot
at returning to the NFC Championship
game & Super Bowl.
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/P/PresDa01.htm

Sidenote 3: Another player worthy of
mention, DT Mazi Smith, being that
he's a rookie, hard to predict how fast
he'll adjust to the NFL game, but as
clearly shown in the following post,
it's critical for him to do so to fix the
Cowboys rush defense problems that
plagued them in 2022.
https://groups.google.com/g/alt.sports.football.pro.dallas-cowboys/c/hHOb6VABfeQ/m/F-7kq0CpAgAJ
https://www.nfl.com/prospects/mazi-smith/3200534d-4951-1850-a3da-289c89c7e5d4

Sidenote 4: Another important rookie,
TE Luke Schoonmaker, how fast will
he adapt to the NFL game? Either he
&/or Jake Ferguson needs to be at
least as effective as Dalton Schultz
in giving Dak Prescott a viable tight
end option on passing downs.
https://www.nfl.com/prospects/luke-schoonmaker/32005343-4847-1986-19e8-9065e5ea32c8
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/F/FergJa00.htm

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