Mike McCarthy is justifiably disappointed in how the season ended, but he also has every right to appreciate the trajectory of the Cowboys roster for 2023 — especially their draft successes
FRISCO, TX — No one within the Dallas Cowboys organization has or wants the luxury of self-pity and, in that spirit, they've spent the week having tough conversations about what the future will look like after a disappointing finish in the NFC Divisional Round against the San Francisco 49ers; but their eyes shift forward with justifiable optimism.
That's because they're not exactly entering anything remotely close to a rebuild, especially after winning 24 regular season games over the past two seasons and advancing past the first round this January (for the first time since 2018).
They've opted to part ways with several position coaches, but have successfully convinced defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to stay onboard — a whale of a keep — keeping arguably the best defensive mind in football in the building to help head coach Mike McCarthy make whatever tweaks are necessary to finally get over the divisional round hump.
And then there's the roster, of which the cupboard is anything but bare. So while McCarthy is still grieving what happened in Santa Clara on Sunday, he also takes pride in the team's trajectory after leading the Cowboys to another step forward in the playoffs.
"I'm excited about the future," he said on Thursday. "The players give me great confidence, excitement and energy. It's a championship program I feel like we're building. And there's a chance to take it to the next step. So that gives me a whole lot of peace, in particular, sitting with these guys [in the exit interviews]. It couldn't be more positive.
"Everybody felt we took a step for Year 4. But we're all definitely disappointed because we felt that we had the opportunity to get to where we wanted to get to [in Year 3]."
There is no shortage of free agency conversation to be had as it pertains to players like Tony Pollard, Dalton Schultz, Leighton Vander Esch, Donovan Wilson and many more, but seeing the instant impact and rapid development of the recent draft hauls keep the Cowboys grounded.
"Living in a draft-and-develop world, the one thing you gotta really look at is that second group — how much they improve in their third year," McCarthy said. "That rookie class, the second-year jump they think they're all gonna make, I have confidence that they will. So what's the value of that? Is it two free agents? Is it three free agents??
"Those are all realistic conversations, but there will be self-improvement within our roster. … I have great confidence in that. And I love these three draft classes. We do know we've got that going for us. And, just the number of guys who live here in Dallas is special.
"The majority of [our] guys live 5-10 minutes from here, and these guys are anxious to get back and get rolling — end of February or early March — so that's a great asset to have; and that all plays into that jump that I know we'll make internally."
A quick glance at the rookies acquired in 2022 lends heavily to McCarthy's point:
- Round 1: 24th-overall - Tyler Smith, OL (Tulsa)
- Round 2: 56th-overall - Sam Williams, EDGE (Ole Miss)
- Round 3: 88th-overall - Jalen Tolbert, WR (South Alabama)
- Round 4: 129th-overall - Jake Ferguson, TE (Wisconsin)
- Round 5: 155th-overall - Matt Waletzko, OT (North Dakota)
- Round 5: 167th-overall - DaRon Bland, CB (Fresno State)
- Round 5: 176th-overall - Damone Clark, LB (LSU)
And as if that weren't impressive enough, what the front office and scouting department were able to do in undrafted free agency is nothing short of a cherry on top.
- UNDRAFTED: Peyton Hendershot, TE (Indiana)
- UNDRAFTED: Markquese Bell, S (Florida A&M)
- UNDRAFTED: Dennis Houston, WR (Western Illinois)
- UNDRAFTED: Malik Davis, RB (Florida)
- UNDRAFTED: Alec Lindstrom, OL (Boston College)
"This [2022] draft class is the best of the three so, yeah, I'm extremely excited about the future," McCarthy added.
Bottom line: The hit rate on these acquisitions — in Year 1, no less — is jaw-dropping, and that's before factoring in the previous hauls that include Micah Parsons, CeeDee Lamb, Trevon Diggs, so forth and so on.
"Living in a draft-and-develop world, the one thing you gotta really look at is that second group — how much they improve in their third year," McCarthy said. "That rookie class, the second-year jump they think they're all gonna make, I have confidence that they will. So what's the value of that?
"Is it two free agents? Is it three free agents? Those are all realistic conversations, but there will be self-improvement within our roster. … I have great confidence in that. And I love these three draft classes.
"We do know we've got that going for us. And, just the number of guys who live here in Dallas is special. The majority of [our] guys live 5-10 minutes from here, and these guys are anxious to get back and get rolling — end of February or early March — so that's a great asset to have; and that all plays into that jump that I know we'll make internally."
What's that much more promising is not simply the fact the Cowboys have also addressed key positions of need via free agency, but they're improved hit rate in that arena as well.
It feels like forever ago when there was disappointment hanging in the air over how things fared with Dontari Poe and Gerald McCoy, instead seeing 2022 additions — i.e.., Jason Peters, Anthony Barr, Johnathan Hankins, T.Y. Hilton, Dante Fowler, KaVontae Turpin and Brett Maher — help generate wins where there may have otherwise been losses this season.
Should the Cowboys be disappointed in how the 2022 season ended? That's a rhetorical question. Of course they should be, and they are. But it's also true that, with the right tweaks, they can turn their concrete foundation into something very special.
The skyscraper simply needs three more floors.
