LOC SHORT: Can the Dallas Cowboys' Young Offensive Line DOMINATE During 2026 Season?

Summary

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Locked On Cowboys – "Can the Dallas Cowboys' Young Offensive Line DOMINATE During 2026 Season?"

Hosts: Marcus Mosher & Landon McCool
Date: February 18, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode tackles the Dallas Cowboys' most pressing roster needs heading into 2026 free agency, focusing especially on the potential of the young offensive line to become a dominant force. The hosts weigh in on whether the current investments need to be bolstered further or if it's time for the existing talent to step up. The discussion also pivots to the team's defensive needs, particularly an unsettled secondary, and debates the path forward.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Biggest Offensive Need: The Young Offensive Line

[01:35–05:58]

• Landon McCool's Core Argument:
  • The most critical need is for the young, heavily invested offensive line to actualize its potential, not to acquire more outside assets.
  • Players like Tyler Booker, Cooper Beebe, and Tyler Smith are expected to take notable steps forward with another offseason under O-line coaches Connor Riley and Clayton Adams.
  • Emphasis on improvement through development vs. further resource allocation.

"I think the biggest thing that the Cowboys offense needs to do is that the young offensive line needs to take a step this off season."
— Landon McCool [02:27]

• Cites strong performances elsewhere (Dak Prescott, George Pickens, CeeDee Lamb), reinforcing the notion that O-line growth will be the deciding factor for further offensive improvement.

• Notes that the Cowboys have made abundant investments at the position; it’s now time for the players and coaching to unlock that potential.

• Marcus Mosher Adds:

  • Running back is a need, but would be solved by a solid O-line:

    "If you fix the offensive line… it’s not going to matter really who you have back there at running back… they're all going to be fine."
    — Marcus Mosher [04:00]

  • Stresses the need for health and consistency among young linemen:

    • Tyler Guyton, Tyler Smith, and others missed significant time with injuries in the previous season.
    • The group needs to field a consistent, healthy lineup in 2026.

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2. Development Over Acquisition

[04:52–05:58]

• Landon highlights the infrastructure set for growth:
  • Connor Riley growing in his NFL coaching role.
  • Clayton Adams regarded as a "bright spot" working with the unit.
  • Players working with Duke Manyweather’s OL training program in Dallas.

"It's time for the production to actually kind of show itself. It's time for the rubber to meet the road and for them to... lean on their offensive line as a key weapon in this offense." — Landon McCool [05:42]

• Reiterates: The team must see on-field returns on their investment. The time for "potential" is over—2026 must be about real, sustained performance.

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3. Biggest Defensive Need: Secondary Uncertainty

[08:49–12:37]

• Secondary (Cornerback) Is the Clear Need:
  • Marcus and Landon agree that, while there are arguments for “edge” and even “defensive tackle,” the secondary, specifically cornerback, requires immediate attention.
  • Issues cited:
    • Thin depth beyond Daron Bland (whose health is now a concern after foot surgery).
    • Uncertainty surrounding development of others like Savion Ravel.
    • Room’s best hope may be internal improvements under new defensive coordinator Christian Parker, but proven, starting-caliber additions are needed.

"There are no corners that are going to be on the market in April that are going to help you if you had to play a game... early on. So, like, they need to go out and get probably at least one starting caliber cornerback in free agency." — Marcus Mosher [10:44]

• Edge and Depth:
  • Edge “numbers aren’t great,” but it’s possible to find serviceable rotational players late in free agency (as with Jadeveon Clowney types).
  • Defensive tackle is a rare position of strength and doesn’t require immediate upgrade.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Landon on investing in growth vs. more assets:

  "You’ve already made the investments. You need to see those investments mature a little bit and... live up to the potential you had hoped to see."
  [03:13]

• Marcus on running backs being less important than OL play:

  "You can’t continue to invest more resources and assets... At some point these guys just need to play better and play as a unit."
  [04:15]

• On cornerback urgency:

  "Even then, if it’s name your veteran… I still have questions because there’s just so many unknowns with that group. It’s why it’s my number one need by far right now."
  — Marcus Mosher [11:23]

• On Savion Ravel’s development:

  "I just think you can’t count on him right now as part of this… just kind of let him do his own thing, hopefully improve… if he ends up there, fantastic. But he’s got so much development that you still need to kind of do."
  — Landon McCool [11:43]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Offensive Line as Top Priority

  • [02:27–05:58]
    Discussion on the need for the young O-line to develop and stay healthy

• Defensive Needs – CB vs. Edge

  • [08:49–11:43]
    Comparison of defensive roster needs, with a focus on secondary

• On Savion Ravel, Depth, and Approach

  • [11:43–12:37]
    Caution around counting on developmental players at cornerback

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Takeaways & Tone

• The hosts are pragmatic: high expectations for in-house development rather than more spending, highlighting belief in both the coaching staff and existing talent.
• Urgency for defensive upgrades is highest in the secondary, especially at cornerback; the hosts advise fans to be prepared for more additions and possible draft focus there.
• The tone is analytical yet optimistic—rooted in the belief that a healthy, maturing offensive line could push the ceiling of the Cowboys’ 2026 campaign, while the defense needs active fortification.

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Transcript

[Marcus Moer]

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[Marcus Moer]

Games, the Dallas Cowboys have some big needs going into free agency. We'll tell you how they might try to address them next.

[Tyler Rowland]

You are Locked On Cowboy, your daily Dallas Cowboys podcast, part of the Locked.

[Marcus Moer]

On Podcast network your team every day. Welcome back to the Locked on Cowboys podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast network your team every day. We'd like to thank you for making us the number one sports podcast network and today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Use your profit boost on an MBA future and and get entered for your chance to win a trip to the NBA Finals. So play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Welcome back. I am your host, Marcus Moer. He is Lana McCool and on today's show we are answering Charlie Irons question of what's the Cowboys biggest needs on offense and defense going into free agency. And let's start on offense. L if you had to pinpoint one need, what would you say it is?

[Lanen McCool]

I think the spirit of the questioner's question was to kind of try to point to specific players or things that you know, the Cowboys should go get. But to me, I think the biggest thing that the Cowboys offense needs to do is that the young offensive line needs to take a step this off season. Right? We've invested a lot in this offensive line. Obviously we've invested a lot in a lot of different areas of this offense. But. But to me I think you've gotten incredible Performances out of Dak Prescott. Last year, you saw George Pickens play the best year of his, of his career. I think CD Lamb with a healthy year has another incredible season. I, I think those are things that feel pretty, pretty locked in just, you know, outside of the random injury stuff. Knock on wood, right. I think where but you, but you can't just rest on your laurels. You have to find a way to improve every single year. And I think the area where the improve come in is in year two of Connor Riley and Clayton Adams working with a very heavily invested in young offensive line and, and, and, and improving and, and getting better and seeing Tyler Booker take a step, see Cooper BB take a step, see maybe Tyler Smith, you know, going back to a little bit of form as he kind of had a little bit of a down year with injuries and some other stuff. I, I just think that you've got a lot invested in there already. You've already made the investments. You need to see those investments mature a little bit and, and kind of live up to the potential that you, you had hoped to see. If you're going to see this offense take another step.

[Marcus Moer]

Yeah, and I was going to say their biggest need is running back, but if you fix the offensive line or the offensive line plays better, it's not going to matter really who you have back there at running back, whether it's Malik Davis or Jaden Blue or Javante Williams, they're all going to be fine. You're right. Like they just need these guys to play better and you can't, I mean, at least in my opinion, you can't continue to invest more resources and assets into this offensive line. At some point these guys just need to play better and play as a unit. And I think we saw flashes of it last year, but now it's need to be, it needs to be consistent and honestly, these guys need to stay healthy. Tyler Guyton missed a ton of time with injuries. Tyler Smith, as you mentioned, missed some time with injuries. Tyler Booker had a high ankle sprain early in the year. Cooper Bibi had a high ankle sprain. You've got to get these guys healthy and playing better football.

[Lanen McCool]

Yeah, and I think you've got all the, the, I don't think you have to squint to see it. You know, like, I think I, I, I think it's going to happen because I think you've got the right pieces in place, you've invested in the right kind of guys. I hate to bring that phrase back into the, the.

[Marcus Moer]

Jason Garrett. Yeah, go ahead.

[Lanen McCool]

So sorry. So sorry. I think you've got two offensive really like and Connor Riley who's kind of getting his second. His, his feet underneath him a little bit as an NFL coach. And then obviously you've Clayton Adams is one of the bright spots at this team. Having him work with this group and then having all of them, you know, working with, with Duke Merriweather and, and his ol training program in Dallas. I, I think there's lots of positivity and opportunity for them to take that next step and I think that they will. But we need to see it like we, we've seen a lot of, oh, you know, potential. We, we talked a lot about it. We. It's time for, for the, the production to actually kind of show itself. It's time for the rubber to meet the motive and for them to kind of be able to lean on their offensive line as a, as a key weapon in this offense.

[Marcus Moer]

All right, so let's talk about their biggest need on defense because they have a lot more defined needs and just a lot more needs on that side of the ball. What's the biggest. We'll get to that next. This episode is brought to you by TurboTax. Tax season doesn't have to take over your Life this year. TurboTax is making it easier than ever to just hand things off and move on with your day. With TurboTax Full Service, you can have your taxes done for you by a trusted local expert, start to finish, without the stress or the guesswork. Instead of spending hours trying to figure out forms, you can meet with a local expert in person or connect online and you can just upload all of your documents because they handle everything from W2s to self employed forms and they work to get you every deduction possible. It is a huge time saver and it gives you real peace of mind knowing that an expert is handling it all. So for a limited time only, you can have your taxes done by a local TurboTax expert for just $150 all in. If a TurboTax expert didn't file for you last year, just file by February 28, take taxes off your plate and get back to your life. Visit turbotax.com local to book your appointment today. This episode is brought to you by fanduel. Did you ever want to experience the NBA Finals live and in person? Well, now is your shot. FanDuel is giving you the chance to turn that dream into a reality with their NBA sweepstakes. Here's how it works. Use your profit boost on Any NBA future and you'll automatically be entered for a shot to win an NBA Finals trip for two. That's right. That includes everything. Flights, tickets, the whole experience. I love betting on futures this time of year. We're past the NBA All Star break. The action is really heating up and it adds some more excitement to every game. So visit FanDuel.com to get started and use your profit boost on an NBA future and get entered for your chance to win a trip to the NBA Finals. So play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Welcome back to the Lockdown Cowboys podcast. We'd like to thank you for making us your first listen every single day. The off season doesn't exist for the everyday or club. You can get every episode of the show ad free. Head over to locked on cowboys.supercast.com or hit the link in the show notes to learn more. All right, Lane, let's talk about the defensive side of the ball. I think it's the secondary that's the biggest issue going into the off season. What say you?

[Lanen McCool]

We need defensive tackles immediately.

[Marcus Moer]

No, I'm just kidding.

[Lanen McCool]

It's the one spot where you don't need. Right. Like, and honestly, I, I think any answer that you gave outside of defensive tackle, I think would be an acceptable one. I think you can make it a strong argument for it. I, I think that I tend to go towards cornerback and edge simply because those are the two more valuable of the. Of the three spots specifically that you really need. And, and I think that corner, to.

[Tyler Rowland]

Me.

[Lanen McCool]

I, I think it probably is more of, of. Of the need. Right? Because I think with edge you've gotta, you've got a player that you feel really solid about, who's a young up and cominging player. You don't have numbers. Obviously the cupboard is extremely bare. Like I think Houston, but yeah, you do have James Houston and obviously as a raku, but, but outside of that, like that's really all you've got in a cornerback. I think, you know, you can make an argument that, I mean, bland is, is. We don't know what bland situation is. And then outside of that, you don't have anything else that you really can hang your hat at. You have some guys that you hope maybe can play better football under Christian Parker and I think that that will happen and I think that that's something that the Cowboys maybe can rely on for the depth aspect of this, of this class. Like the fifth and sixth corners, like maybe they've got those guys on their roster already. But as far as cornerbacks two through four, I feel like they still very much got to figure that out and so. And against cornerback, one is not, you know, is not very well established.

[Marcus Moer]

Right.

[Lanen McCool]

We don't know how Bland's going to come off of the, this foot surgery. So I think that, I think the answer is probably cornerback as we speak about it because you can kind of cobble together the edge room. The numbers aren't great, but you also have good defensive tackle help to help you with the pass rush element a little bit. You've got really nothing to kind of help you in the cornerback room.

[Marcus Moer]

And, and you need numbers and edge is the one spot that you can pick up guys basically throughout the offseason and get adequate play. Like Jadevian Clown is a perfect example. There's guys every year that sign in August that don't want to be part of training camps. They come in and they give you, I don't want to say starter quality play, but like good rotational play. That's not the case for corners. Like there are no corners that are going to be on the market in April that are going to help you if you had to play a game, you know, early on. So like they need to go out and get probably at least one starting caliber cornerback in free agency. I would love for that, for them to draft one early in the 2026 NFL Draft. And even then, if it's name your veteran. With Mansoor Delaine, with Duron Bland and Savon Ravel, I still have questions because there's just so many unknowns with that group. It's why it's my number one need by far right now.

[Lanen McCool]

Yeah. And I think with Ravel it's like you just can't. We talked about this before. I just think you can't count on him right now as part of this. Like, I think he's obviously under contract and there is obviously potential for him to be a starter next year for sure. I mean he's a third round, he's a third round pick and they, they thought highly of him. But I just don't think you should, you should count on him right now. I think you should just kind of let him do his own thing, hope, hopefully improve and maybe you get into OTAs, you open them up and it's a fun surprise that hey, this guy can actually be a starter or a heavy rotational guy. Fantastic. But he's got so much development that you still need to kind of do. You're changing defensive coordina, which you know is going to mix things up even further. I think you just have to team build with the thought process that he's not necessarily part of that conversation in the top three and if he ends up there, fantastic.

[Marcus Moer]

That is it for today's show. We want to thank you for making Locked on Cowboys your first listed every single day. If you'd ever miss an episode, the Everydayer Club is built for you. Get locked on Cowboys ad free members only, discord access and so much more. And for those of you on video, we can send you the first ever 24.7national NBA YouTube channel and on audio, make your second listen the locked on NFL Draft podcast. Follow Lanen on Twitter @mccoolbcb. I'm @Marcus Underscore Moser. We'll see you right back here tomorrow.

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[Lanen McCool]

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