While the Dallas Cowboys draft class has gotten rave reviews, one area they didn't address was the interior of the offensive line, which Football Outsiders has pegged as the team's biggest question mark headed into off-season workouts:
In a nutshell, the Cowboys have three starting spots open, and the four players fighting for them include two former seventh-rounders (Bill Nagy and Mackenzy Bernadeau) and two players who weren't drafted (Nate Livings and Phil Costa). The Cowboys cut Kyle Kosier and opted not to re-sign Montrae Holland, which meant neither starting guard from last year would return. They also chose not to re-sign Derrick Dockery, a key backup who saw action in eight games. The Cowboys did very well in most of our offensive line metrics, but in Power Situations (third and fourth down with two or fewer yards to go, or goal-to-go situations with two or fewer yards to go) they ranked just 23rd in the NFL.
While they may be the most anonymous starters on the entire roster, the interior of the offensive line is crucial in terms of protecting Tony Romo and opening up holes for the Dallas running backs.
New offensive line coach Bill Callahan has a reputation for working wonders with "the Big Uglies" and he'll certainly have his work cut out for him to get them ready for the 2012 season.
For more coverage of the Cowboys off-season, stay tuned to the SB Nation Dallas storystream as well as Blogging The Boys.