Pros, Cons & Video: Cooper Rush vs. Garrett Gilbert

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Rather than giving Ben DiNucci his second NFL start, the Dallas Cowboys will give Cooper Rush or Garrett Gilbert their first NFL start. While neither has played much in the regular season, both have a lot more pro experience than DiNucci.

“I just felt with the opponent that we’re playing, we need some more experience at that position,” said coach Mike McCarthy.

The Dallas Cowboys host Pittsburgh in Week 9, with the Steelers favored by 13.5 points. It’s just the second time in franchise history they’re a double-digit home dog. According to ESPN, McCarthy hopes to pick between Rush/Gilbert before their Saturday practice.

Now, let me jump into McCarthy’s shoes for a minute and breakdown both candidates to become Dallas’ fourth starting QB this season.

Garrett Gilbert

Well, the first one is the storyline. This is a hometown kid who went to Lake Travis High School (the same as Baker Mayfield), then was a starter at Texas before finishing his career at Dallas’ main university, SMU. Another storyline is that his father was an NFL quarterback for a decade and played on five consecutive Super Bowl teams.

Gilbert also has the most experience of any Cowboys quarterback right now. He’s the oldest (29) and has been around the league since 2014 when he was drafted in the sixth round. He hasn’t started an NFL game but has taken NFL snaps in the last two seasons and was the best player in the short-lived AAF. Having said that, his experience — unlike Cooper Rush — hasn’t been in Kellen Moore‘s scheme, though he was briefly a teammate of Moore’s in Detroit.

As far as raw talent goes, he was a five-star recruit coming out of high school, then had an impressive pro day after college. He’s not a big shot taker but he’s tall with a decent touch and can make all the short/intermediate throws. He’s a low-ceiling, high-floor guy, in my opinion. Between 2018 and 2019, Gilbert played in seven preseason games for Carolina and Cleveland and threw ZERO picks in 98 pass attempts. On the flip side, he only averaged six yards per pass attempt.

All his preseason experience resonated with McCarthy, who noted them in his decision to sit DiNucci.

“Obviously, Garrett Gilbert has been here for a couple of weeks. He’s had a chance to play in preseason games. Just has more experience.”

-Mike McCarthy (via USA Today)

Gilbert isn’t a running quarterback but he’s mobile enough to scramble for first downs. On the mobile scale, he’s somewhere between Dak and Andy Dalton. Across those seven preseason appearances, he took just five sacks.

Considering the first two QBs taken in the 2014 NFL Draft were Blake Bortles and Johnny Manziel, it says a lot that Gilbert — the 14th and final QB taken in 2014 — is still in this league. He’s never been good enough to have his own team but he clearly has a good reputation in NFL circles and is competent enough to be a backup plan.

Garrett Gilbert Videos

You can watch a drive from the 2019 preseason:

And his AAF highlights:

Cooper Rush

Cooper Rush has been in the Dallas Cowboys building for most of his career after signing as an undrafted free agent in 2017. That’s a pro for him because he’s familiar with the team’s personnel and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. The two were even teammates in 2017, battling for the No. 2 job behind Dak Prescott. Rush eventually got the gig midseason, effectively ending Moore’s playing career and sending him down the coaching path. Long story long, they surely have a little better rapport than Gilbert and Moore.

Unfortunately, after serving as Dak’s backup for three seasons, Rush was waived when they brought Andy Dalton in and wasn’t the team’s first choice when Dak broke his ankle. Gilbert was signed on October 12th after the Dak injury; Rush was brought in off the Giants’ practice squad — where he was reunited with Garrett — after Dalton’s injury. So while Rush has more familiarity overall, most of it was under Jason Garrett. Gilbert has a three-week headstart on Rush in the McCarthy era.

Like Gilbert, Rush’s NFL experience is mostly in the preseason. Across three seasons with the Cowboys, he played in 11 of 12 preseason games.

Most Cowboys fans remember Coop’s 2017 preseason — it was epic. Yes, it took place when their o-line was revered and not compiled of UDFAs and fifth-rounders, but still. In four games, he was 38-of-51 for 398 yards, six touchdowns, and zero picks. He was so good the official NFL channel put together a highlight reel on YouTube — you can watch below.

Over the next two preseasons, he didn’t come close to his 2017 numbers, yet he was trusted enough to be QB2 and had writers comparing him to Tony Romo.

Rush plays with a ton of confidence and that’s something the team has been missing. And his familiarity should help with the leadership component; you’d assume there’s some trust already built. Like Gilbert, Coop isn’t a running quarterback but he’s also not Eli Manning or Philip Rivers. He moves around well inside the pocket but won’t have many designed runs called for him. Arm strength was a question mark coming out of Central Michigan but from what I’ve seen his strength/delivery is a bit Romo-ish.

Cooper Rush Videos

2017 preseason highlights:

Some 2019 preseason highlights:

Overall:

If you’re a Cowboys fan, you’re probably leaning toward Cooper Rush because of the familiarity. He feels more like the Cowboys QB. Let’s face it, at some point when Dak did something to piss you off over the last few years, you screamed at your TV asking for Rush to go in the game. It’s OK…it happens.

I’d say you’re right. Rush has the higher ceiling, I believe, and he’s thrown a zillion passes to nearly every weapon they have. CeeDee Lamb is really the only guy he hasn’t been around. Plus, he has to be more comfortable with Moore’s playbook after two full seasons.

Right now, the Cowboys are 2-6 — they’ve had safe ever since Dak went down and it’s pretty unwatchable. They need a wild card under center that can turn it loose and that’s Rush. He’s torn it up with some of these guys in the preseason and was an injury away from the job for a long time. He deserves the next crack at it. Why not roll the dice and see if Coop can go on a run like he did in 2017?

Either way, I agree with coach — these two guys are an upgrade over DiNucci.

Speaking of, DiNucci is #7 — what number will Cooper Rush rock?

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You can listen to former Cowboys Barry Church and Danny McCray debate Gilbert-Rush below!