NFL 2023: Intriguing position battles for each NFC East team this season
As NFL teams gear up for the start of their rookie mini camps and OTA’s coaches and their players are gearing up for the roster battles and potential lineup changes that will come from the new players arriving from the draft and undrafted free agency. The coaches will be excited to see how their new players look once they can get their hands on them, while the players welcome the competition but want to show they belong in this league and on their team’s roster.
In the NFC East, the majority of the positions have established players leading the way and players that aren’t in any danger of not making the final roster, but there are a few areas on each team that will have some intriguing position battles to determine possible starters and immediate backups on their rosters. Here are three of those potential battles for each NFC East team.
Dallas Cowboys Intriguing Position Battles for 2023 NFL season
Linebacker: Jabril Cox vs Devin Harper
The Cowboys front office and coaching staff had high hopes for Jabril Cox when they drafted him, unfortunately, injuries had stalled his development so much so that the Cowboys continued to draft linebackers. One of those linebackers Devin Harper is another player this coaching staff is high on and a player that has a similar game to Cox. The loss of Luke Gifford in free agency has now opened up a very important backup role in this linebacker group and with Micah Parsons, Leighton Vander Esch, and Damone Clark having clear roles on this team Cox and Harper are going to be battling it out for that last spot. Harper’s inexperience might hurt him, but Cox’s injury history isn’t going to help him either. Whichever player is able to stay healthy and carve out a clear role for themselves on special teams and have a firm understanding of defensive coordinator Dan Quinn’s scheme will take this position battle.
Kicker: Tristan Vizcaino vs Player to be signed
Arguably the biggest hole left on this roster has to be at kicker for the Cowboys and going into camp with just one is something that most teams aren’t willing to do at the start of camp. Whether it be to protect their main kicker or to create competition in order to field the best kicker on their roster. The Cowboys at this point haven’t made a decision on who their kicker is going to be but Vizcaino who has briefly kicked for other teams around the league shouldn’t be the only player basically trying out for them. Expect the Cowboys to sign another kicker once John Fassell gets his hands on Vizcaino and wants to see what else is out there. They could even trade for a kicker but this position battle will ultimately be settled in training camp and during the preseason.
Left Guard: Chuma Edoga vs Matt Farniok vs Asim Richards vs T.J. Bass vs Earl Bostick, Jr.
If the Cowboys truly want to field the best five offensive linemen this season then Tyler Smith at left tackle is the best option over Tyron Smith but that leaves the left guard spot open once again. The team did make moves to try and address the position signing Edoga and drafting Richards but they aren’t the only options for Dallas in this position battle. They have Farniok who’s another true guard/center and undrafted free agents Bass and Bostick Jr. While Farniok was drafted by the former offensive line coach he still has an experience edge over the rest of this group but one this the others have on him would be their athletic ability, meaning the ability to cut off pass rushers and get to the second level. This is going to be the most important position battle for the Cowboys this offseason, if they can figure out which of the players from this group best fits what they want at left guard they need to get them in there immediately in order to build a rapport with center Tyler Biadasz and left tackle, Tyler Smith.