Dallas

Cowboys

Diggs tore his ACL in practice on September 21, costing him the remainder of the 2023 season. The Cowboys open camp on July 26, which would be 10 months removed from the injury and right in line with the typical rehabilitation window for ACL injuries amongst NFL players. Diggs recorded 11 interceptions in 2021 and remains a vital piece of the aggressive Cowboys secondary.

This only confirms previous reports that the team intended on declining the former third-overall draft pick’s fifth-year option. Cooper Rush served as the team’s backup quarterback a season ago and returns to the roster in 2024, making it likely Lance has another year of emergency quarterback duties while technically inactive ahead.

Jerry Jones’ favorite player reunites with the Cowboys after playing for the Patriots in 2023, functioning as New England’s lead back for the final month of the regular season. While Elliott’s yards per carry hit a career low (3.5) in 2023, his yards after contact per rush (2.54) remained respectable and in line with his career mark of 2.85. He’ll enter his ninth NFL season with a chance to lead the Dallas backfield, unless Rico Dowdle impresses coaches this summer after outplaying Tony Pollard last season. Elliott’s primary usage could come in the passing game.

Wilson was on the active roster at the end of last season but didn’t play a snap for the Cowboys in 2023. He was suspended last October for violating the league’s personal conduct policy regarding an arrest in August 2022 but is now back and ready to play. He totaled 38 tackles and two sacks in 2022 with the Panthers and has a 106 tackle season on his resumé from the 2021 season. With Leighton Vander Esch now retired, the Cowboys could benefit from added depth at the linebacker position. Wilson provides that depth, and has enough starting experience to potentially earn him a significant role in 2024.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport were first on the report, stating that the Cowboys and Elliott have agreed to terms on a deal pending a physical. The two sides parted ways last offseason as part of a cap-saving move that cleared $11 million for the Cowboys last offseason. Zeke would eventually land in New England, where he served as a lightly-used backup before turning into a PPR merchant Week 14 after Rhamondre Stevenson was sidelined with a high-ankle injury. Over the final five weeks of the season, Zeke rushed for 72-213-1, while adding another 27-159-2 through the air. He averaged a mere 3.5 YPC on the season, and at almost 29 years old, continues to look like a player who has hit the proverbial wall. Opportunities will be easy to come by in a Dallas backfield that currently features Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn, and Royce Freeman, but Zeke shouldn’t be viewed as a permanent solution to this backfield’s problems. With that said, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy stubbornly deploy him in a lead role early on.

After redshirting his first season at Minnesota in 2018, Spann-Ford (6’7/260) caught five passes over his next two seasons. He rotated into the starter role during the 2021 season, starting all 24 of his games in his last two seasons. Spann-Ford finished his six years at Minnesota with a 25-239-2 line for the 2023 season. Though he struggles with drops and physicality, Spann-Ford’s size can allow him to be a mismatch in the passing game. Similarly, he can be a big blocker for the run game. His combine numbers show a subpar athletic profile, running a 4.77 40-yard dash and jumping a 31.5-inch vertical, both bottom-two among participating tight ends. Spann-Ford’s size will be an asset at the NFL level, though he will need to get more physical to make up for a lack of athleticism.

Thomas (6'5/332) was a 2-star Offensive Tackle from Chalmette, Louisiana in the 2019 recruiting class, according to 247Sports. Having been underrecruited, Thomas resorted to his home state Ragin’ Cajuns. He finally earned the starting nod in 2022 and held down the Left Tackle spot for the last two years. Thomas is a plodder, in all the best and worst ways, at a 39th percentile height but a 91st percentile weight. When Thomas is able to latch onto a defender, there is rarely any recourse they can take to remove themselves from the situation. With plus grip strength and a strong core, Thomas can corkscrew defenders and gain momentum in his favor. However, Thomas’ ability to find and pounce on opponents leaves much to be desired. His processing skills are slower than ideal, though he is able to handle stunts when a defender is handed off to him. Defenders can often see his punches coming due to a slight hitch in his kick that foretells a punch. When he is in a phone booth, Thomas is adept at forcing adversaries out of commission, but he needs to avoid overcommitting with a lunge that misses more often than it hits. Ultimately, Thomas could be a long-term backup on a pro team that has the ability to slot in at multiple slots in the case of an injury, with the occasional jumbo package.

Carson (5’117/199) is a physical man-coverage corner with a harassing demeanor at the line of scrimmage and jolting hands that jam opposing wideouts in press coverage. He has good field awareness, is consistently peaking in the backfield and isn’t afraid to lay the heavy hit on the ball carrier. Primarily lining up outside, 521 of his 650 reps this year were on the boundary, Carson possesses notable ball hawking tendencies, having swatted away seven or more pass breaks up the last three seasons. Despite grading in the 72nd percentile or higher in coverage each of his four years at Wake Forest, he only recorded three interceptions. He displays advanced straight line speed which allows him to give space pre-snap and close quickly, but he can get turned around at the top of routes. He didn’t test at the Combine, but Carson flashes educated footwork and can get in and out of breaks with haste. He will take some bad angles in run support, which accounts for his 68th percentile PFF run grade in 2023.

A native of the Island of Oahu, Liufau (6'2/234) is the latest in a long line of Hawaiian-born players who went onto the NFL. He redshirted as a freshman in 2019 but managed to draw three starts in 10 games during the pandemic shortened season. He was set for a full-time starting role in 2021 when he sustained an ankle injury that cost him the entire campaign. Fortunately Liufau returned better than ever in 2022, racking up 95 tackles with 4 PBU with just 102 receiving yards allowed in coverage over the last two seasons. An 85.4 PFF cover grade ranked sixth overall among all Power Five linebackers while his 25 pressures ranked 15th among his P5 contemporaries. While he ran a solid 4.64s 40-yard dash (81st%) and 4.18s shuttle run (92nd%), his jumping and bench portions of Combine testing were sub-25th percentile marks for a 5.64 RAS. Liufau plays with a frenetic pace and is hungry to make plays, but is often left out of position in his run fits as a result. He profiles as a core special-teamer who rotates in defensively on passing downs.

Beebe (6’3/322) was recruited as a defensive tackle, but moved to the offensive side of the ball permanently shortly after arriving on KSU’s campus in 2019. He started seven games at right tackle in 2020, allowing three sacks and an elevated 3.3% pressure rate before sliding over to left tackle the following year. Beebe’s play improved substantially, slashing his pressure rate to 1.4% with zero sacks allowed. Despite locking down the blind side edge with a sterling 87.5 PFF pass block grade and 81st percentile run grade, Beebe was asked to change positions for a third-consecutive season. Now a left guard, Beebe once again thrived by posting the fourth-highest pass block grade (89.3) in the nation and decreasing his pressures allowed from 10-to-9 despite playing 64 more pass reps than the prior year. His blocking acumen reached its apex last season, with Beebe holding opponents to a microscopic 0.5% pressure rate despite logging 122 snaps between LT and RT. He received All-American recognition for the second consecutive season in addition to being named a finalist for both the Outland and Campbell Trophies. Beebe is versatile, athletic and smart enough to earn his Day 2 draft capital.