FRISCO, Texas – The NFL has evolved. Gone are the days of downhill, smash-mouth football. Teams around the league are transitioning from the traditional base 4-3 defense and 21 personnel on offense. Defenses have adapted to counteract a pass-centric, 11 personnel world that has ascended on the gridiron. Strongside linebackers have become nearly obsolete as defenses have switched to predominately nickel packages, adding speed to the secondary. In today’s space-oriented game, multi-faceted players that were once overlooked are now a premium.
Rosters are being built to put weapons on the field in various roles, with the value of a versatile chess piece rising in the past decade. In previous years, coaches relied on specialists as opposed to hybrids. The professionals who mastered their craft with little regard or need for split duties. The term “position flex” on scouting reports often had a negative connotation, used as a scapegoat for a player that does not excel at one thing and is overall raw.
However, 49ers’ do-it-all Deebo Samuel has broken the stigma and redefined his position. He has reversed the narrative and been the catalyst in providing a fresh lens on uncharted territory: the wide-back. With the build of a running back and the ball skills of a receiver, Samuel has led the Niners’ offense to new heights. From his fearlessness between the tackles to jaw-dropping contested catches – he breaks the conventional mold. Defenses mostly play percentages, attempting to constrict everything into quarters. With Samuel’s ability to line up everywhere, it opens the field and adds more stress on the opposition.
Despite his highlight-worthy plays that have transformed San Francisco’s offensive attack, there will likely be hesitation to utilize skill players in the same wide-back role. There is only one Deebo Samuel. He is in a world of his own and trying to compare others to the multi-positional superstar would be doing him a disservice, understating the rarity of his talent. No player in the league can be an exact replica of Samuel, but Dallas has the capability of leveraging the versatile threat of CeeDee Lamb and Tony Pollard in an expanded role to ignite the offense.
Putting the football in the hands of a team’s playmakers is the obvious objective for an offensive coordinator, but a harsh reality that has eluded the Cowboys. Dallas’ offense left much to be desired in 2021, as Kellen Moore’s unit sputtered during the second half of the season. Opponents paralyzed Dak Prescott and co. with shell coverage, raising incessant questions on play-calling and underutilization of skill players. One of the most incriminating contributors – the usage of Pollard and Lamb.
When asked if he would like to be used in a Deebo Samuel-type role during the week of Super Bowl festivities, Lamb responded, “Yes. Most definitely.”
Let’s pump the breaks.
How Cowboys should view CeeDee Lamb’s potential
At 6’2”, 198 pounds, Lamb does not have the physical characteristics to be a battering-ram style runner through tackles like Samuel on a semi-consistent basis, but he should be employed more from all four receiver positions. During the 2021 season for Dallas, Lamb played 13 snaps out of the backfield, 320 from the slot, 606 split out wide and 46 as a punt returner. The Oklahoma product possesses exceptional ball skills with outstanding concentration and body control to adjust to the ball in flight.
“CeeDee is going to create yardage after the catch through his shake,” an NFC scout told D210SPORTS. “He is very light-footed. He’s got the jitter; he has got the quickness. He has got the speed. Whereas Deebo [Samuel], he’s got a little jitter, but you better get a full body on him, otherwise you will not get him down. He has got more play strength than CeeDee and he really has 16, 17 extra pounds of muscle. Especially in his lower half.”
What resulted in Lamb’s lack of movement along the formation? With Michael Gallup sidelined for a portion of the season with a calf injury, Lamb was predominately lined up on the outside as Cedrick Wilson moved into the slot. Due to the Cowboys’ inability to establish the run game down the stretch, opposing defenses predominately used a two-high shell or Cover 4. Dallas should have been able to exploit the middle of the field on intermediate/underneath routes, but a lack of creativity hindered the unit. Employing Lamb over the middle of the field with his run after catch ability could have spearheaded an otherwise lackluster output. Whether a curl, a dig route, or a comeback, Lamb has momentum-shifting potential to impact the game on any given play. In the wild-card loss, San Francisco predominately rushed four, which resulted in single coverage on Lamb for most of the game on the outside. In a one-on-one scenario with one of the club’s best receivers, he should be trusted to win the matchup most of the time. However, Lamb who had more than 1,100 yards on the season, finished the playoff defeat with one catch for 21 yards on five targets.
“His lateral quickness is where he wins,” an NFC scout said. “As a receiver, his body control is special. He can track and adjust outside of his frame as well as anybody. He does have after the catch ability and that is why he returns punts. He can play all positions. He can play inside; he can play outside and just from a pure receiver standpoint it makes you difficult to defend. CeeDee has that versatility where his skillset can win inside the slot, he can win outside on the perimeter. He can win at the first level of the pass game, the quarter routes, he can win on intermediate routes. He has enough speed to go vertical on you, too. His body control when that ball is in the air, pretty special.”
With hopeful aspirations entering Year 3, a potential versatile role awaits Lamb, and too, for No. 20.
How Cowboys should view Tony Pollard’s potential
It is time for Pollard to have a larger, Deebo-type role. The 24-year-old averaged just 11 touches per game on offense over the course of the 2021 season, despite averaging 5.5 yards per carry. The Cowboys were 8-1 when Pollard had 10-plus carries. In 2021, Pollard played 339 snaps out of the backfield, 30 from the slot, 24 split out wide at receiver, 68 as a kick returner and 38 in punt coverage.
However, instead of being employed as a do-everything skill player, he was primarily a change-of-pace runner to complement Ezekiel Elliott. Like Samuel for the 49ers, Pollard would be dangerous on jet sweep options. He could be used on dumps, wheels, bubble screens and on intermediate routes. He was embraced as a gadget player at Memphis, tasked with duties in the return game, running the football, receiver, and blocking from multiple roles along the line. Dallas needs to make use of the swiss army knife.
With Pollard’s slash-running style, he can get to the second level in a hurry with aberrant acceleration. He does a tremendous job finding openings with his burst to the corner and outside runs with linemen pulling needs to become more of a staple in the Cowboys’ offense to benefit his shiftiness in space. Pollard has room for improvement as a blocker and pass catcher but has earned a heavier workload. His ability to hit top-speed almost instantaneously is rare.
“Tony’s high-end trait and what jumps off the film is that burst,” an NFC scout stated to D210SPORTS. “When he sticks his foot in the ground and wants to get north-south, he is like a bullet coming out of a gun. It is special. With that, it is hard to get a clean shot. On a guy like that from a defensive standpoint. You are going to see guys ricochet off his lower body. He has so much burst and momentum.”
“He has very good receiving ability — but I always say — for a running back. You could split out Deebo Samuel every snap all game because he is a receiver first. And then Tony to me is a running back first. He could ascend as a receiver but there is such a technical aspect and detail to route running that Tony has from a running back standpoint, but he is not a Cooper Kupp or a Deebo Samuel or a CeeDee Lamb. However, Tony’s versatility is so beneficial. He can do it all: run between the tackles, he is effective on outside runs and I think he is a great short and intermediate route runner. Maybe tailored more towards the short side, the option routes. Then out of the backfield: the free release where you are sitting in zone or breaking out vs man if it’s inside leverage, or you are breaking on an angle route across the middle if it is outside leverage.”
Despite his talent, Pollard managed just six touches in the wild-card loss to San Francisco, an astonishing underrepresentation of the team’s most explosive back. What is worse than being underutilized, Pollard’s workload diminishes when the Cowboys face a deficit or tied game. He often finds himself on the sidelines in moments that dictate the outcome. Yet, he outperformed Elliott in nearly every statistical category: yards per attempt, yards after contact per attempt, missed tackles forced, 15-plus yard runs, yards per route run, yards per reception and yards after the catch per reception.
In looking back over the 2021 season, many elements contributed to the demise of the Dallas offense, once heralded as the best in the league. A microcosm of the downfall? Not putting the ball in the hands of the team’s proven playmakers. Neither Pollard nor Lamb’s skillsets were maximized to have success in Moore’ offense. With a new season on the horizon, it is imperative that utilization of both weapons be assessed to optimize the efficiency of the Cowboys’ offense in 2022.
