Not much went right for the Dallas Cowboys in their Week 1 loss to the division rival New York Giants. While the game ended 28-20, the play on the field suggested the contest was never really that close.
With another divisional game on the schedule this Sunday against the Washington Commanders, Dallas will need to change some things to avoid falling to 0-2. With that thought in mind, today we look at two players the Cowboys should use more in Week 2.
1) TE Brevyn Spann-Ford
Last week the Cowboys made a fairly surprising move,
signing 26-year-old tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford to a three-year extension totaling $18M. Investing this kind of money in a young tight end shows the Cowboys believe he can be an impactful piece in their offense this year and beyond.
Spann-Ford saw limited opportunities in Week 1 against the Giants, playing just 13 offensive snaps, just eight of which ended up being pass plays. This week against the Commanders, Dallas needs to give Spann-Ford a more significant role and see if he can help out their offense.
Jake Ferguson has been cemented as Dallas TE1 for quite some time now, but the former Pro Bowler has been fairly unimpressive of late. Dating back to Week 6 of the 2024 season, Ferguson has averaged 7.2 Y/R with an average of 5.4 Y/Tgt over that 25-game span. Ferguson’s YAC skills and ability to make plays down the middle of the field have been missing for a while now, and it’s been evident.
While Spann-Ford is unproven, in his limited playing time he’s shown an ability to make an impact when given opportunities. On 20 career catches, Spann-Ford has averaged 9.6 Y/R. The 6’6 tight end has the same ability Ferguson once did to stretch the middle of the field and make teams worry about his big-play ability. Dallas needs to give the former undrafted free agent more opportunities on Sunday and see if he can bring a missing ingredient to their offense.
2) CB Cobie Durant
It may seem crazy to say, but at this point in time, Cobie Durant is without a doubt Dallas’ best cornerback on the roster. Throughout training camp, Durant shined time and time again, and that play carried into Week 1 against New York. The former Los Angeles Ram finished the game with a 77.2 Pro Football Focus coverage grade, allowing just one reception on three targets for 18 yards.
Last Sunday, Durant played 50 total defensive snaps, 26 of which came in pass coverage. The 28-year-old saw some of his snaps taken by second-year corner Shavon Revel Jr., who played 20 defensive snaps with nine coming in coverage. While Revel is certainly important to the Cowboys’ future, there is no world in which Dallas should be taking Durant off the field to give him snaps. If the Cowboys want to get Revel opportunities, they should be looking at taking snaps away from DaRon Bland instead of Durant.
As long as he is healthy, Cobie Durant needs to be on the field for every defensive snap Sunday against the Commanders.
