The Dallas Cowboys are trying to follow an incredibly promising 2014 season by making even more noise in 2015.
The issues potentially keeping them from turning that beautiful dream into a reality though are, of course, numerous. Last season's leading rusher in the NFL, DeMarco Murray, defected to the rival Eagles in free agency and only the oft-injured Darren McFadden was signed to take his place. Dominant wide receiver Dez Bryant has been keeping himself away from offseason work thus far as he attempts to push his way to a new deal and while it's almost certain he'll report and play at some point, there has been talk that a holdout, potentially into the regular season, could be in the cards.
Add to that a defense that seemed to take on water as last year progressed and it's hard to envision the Cowboys and head coach Jason Garrett improving upon a 12-4 season, which culminated in a playoff victory over the Detroit Lions and saw the team fall just short of the NFC Championship Game.
No matter, says NFL.com's senior analyst Gil Brandt, because this new Cowboys team has something last year's squad didn't - depth.
"This is the best group of players on #Cowboys roster I have seen in a long time. Better depth at all positions," Brandt tweeted Tuesday afternoon.
While losing Murray was a significant blow considering his 2,200-yard contribution last year, Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones did do ample work to ensure the depth throughout the Dallas lineup would be better in 2015.
La'el Collins, a massive offensive tackle with first-round talent, was added after the 2015 NFL Draft to an already dominant offensive line group that boasts Pro Bowl-caliber players like Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin.
According to Brandt, Collins looks good and is likely to stick at guard for the foreseeable future.
"La'el Collins looks more like a guard than tackle. Very strong, has long arms."
The team also added safety/cornerback hybrid Byron Jones and defensive end Randy Gregory via the draft and troubled-but-talented defensive end Greg Hardy in free agency and are expecting the triumphant return of field general and middle linebacker Sean Lee, meaning a Cowboys defense that fell off toward the end of 2014 isn't likely to face the same sack-less issues this time around.
What it all amounts to in 2015 remains to be seen, but there's no doubting that, perhaps beyond running back, the Cowboys are a deeper team now than they were when they almost made their way past the Green Bay Packers and to the NFC Championship Game against the Seattle Seahawks just last year.
