(Dallas wasn't a very good oline last year)

Then why did they finish the year 10th overall?

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(Dallas wasn't a very good oline last year)

Then why did they finish the year 10th overall?

Zeke missed 6 games as well.  Frederick, Martin and Smith, horrible.  I wish our oline was that bad.

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(Dallas wasn't a very good oline last year)

Then why did they finish the year 10th overall?

I don't know what you mean by 10th overall...but here's my defense.

"The Dallas Cowboys' offensive line reached fabled levels of greatness during the 2016 season, lifting then-rookie runner Ezekiel Elliott to the NFL's rushing title. Yet, after offseason personnel losses at right tackle and left guard, the 2017 version of the Cowboys' front five came into the season with far more questions than the previous year's dominance would suggest. As the year wore on and the news cycle hammered the storylines of Elliott's suspension and Dak Prescott's sophomore slump, it appears the NFL world at large forgot to notice that the unit that once anchored this team was no longer a true trump card. The Cowboys allowed a pressure on 28.6 percent of Prescott's dropbacks, the 12th-highest rate in the league. They took an even steeper decline as run blockers. Elliott averaged a whopping 0.6 yards before defenders closed within a yard of him in 2016, more than doubling up the league average. However, Cowboys running backs averaged just 0.2 YGBC in 2017, ranking 20th on the year. When you realize that Dallas received high-level play over a full 16 games from just two players (center Travis Frederick and right guard Zack Martin) after a year in which the whole starting five fired on all cylinders, their offensive issues become far less surprising."

Looks like they were 20th in both to me.

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I think the question is just referring to them coming out of college as a prospect. As a prospect, Barkley to me seems like the best. He needs to chill out on those hurdles on defenders because he will land on IR quickly if he continues it at the high rate he does. I find NFL.com's grades for draft prospects interesting so I gave it a look. There comparisons sometimes get out of hand, but here's what they had for the three.

Barkley- 7.45, comparison- Barry Sanders
Fournette- 6.8, Bo Jackson
Zeke- 7.09, Edge James

For Barkley I don't see the insane elusiveness Barry had so I think that's a stretch, but he is very elusive nonetheless and runs with power. There really isn't anything the guy can't do. Honestly, he kind of reminds me of Fred Taylor.

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Then why did they finish the year 10th overall?

I don't know what you mean by 10th overall...but here's my defense.

"The Dallas Cowboys' offensive line reached fabled levels of greatness during the 2016 season, lifting then-rookie runner Ezekiel Elliott to the NFL's rushing title. Yet, after offseason personnel losses at right tackle and left guard, the 2017 version of the Cowboys' front five came into the season with far more questions than the previous year's dominance would suggest. As the year wore on and the news cycle hammered the storylines of Elliott's suspension and Dak Prescott's sophomore slump, it appears the NFL world at large forgot to notice that the unit that once anchored this team was no longer a true trump card. The Cowboys allowed a pressure on 28.6 percent of Prescott's dropbacks, the 12th-highest rate in the league. They took an even steeper decline as run blockers. Elliott averaged a whopping 0.6 yards before defenders closed within a yard of him in 2016, more than doubling up the league average. However, Cowboys running backs averaged just 0.2 YGBC in 2017, ranking 20th on the year. When you realize that Dallas received high-level play over a full 16 games from just two players (center Travis Frederick and right guard Zack Martin) after a year in which the whole starting five fired on all cylinders, their offensive issues become far less surprising."

Looks like they were 20th in both to me.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ol

https://www.profootballfocus.com/nfl/pla...artin/8651

https://www.profootballfocus.com/nfl/pla...erick/7812

A few elite players and Tyron Smith who is one of the better tackles in the league in his own right. Collins wasnt very good but Cooper is better than Cann.

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I hadn't seen how great the metrics were for Barkley's pass blocking and receiving until yesterday so I would like to officially amend my list to Barkley > Zeke > Fournette. Top 2 are still quite close though, Fournette isn't in the same class.

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