Dallas Cowboys: Are the Cowboys Going to be Fine?
After the first few days, the Dallas Cowboys have lost quite a bit in free agency, some say they will be fine. Will they be?
The Dallas Cowboys have lost J.J. Wilcox, Barry Church, Terrell McClain, Doug Free, Ronald Leary, and Jack Crawford. They still might lose Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr.
For all of this, they resigned Brice Butler and Terrance Williams. They also signed Nolan Carroll, Stephen Paea, and Demontre Moore. There is still a lot of rumors on bringing in Josh McCown as he is the only free agent to visit and not be signed officially. But, there is still some players floating around.
First, the Dallas Cowboys have said they don’t believe in spending in free agency. They believe in drafting well and resigning their own. If they mean what they say about resigning their own, then Morris Claiborne should at least be talked to. They still have Lance Dunbar, Darren McFadden, Kellen Moore, Mark Sanchez, Gavin Escobar, and Justin Durant as notable free agents. It looks as though the Cowboys will be fine letting some of them walk away.
The question is if the Dallas Cowboys will be fine.
Sure, the starting offense remains mostly in tact. Many feel that Collins and Green can fill in the two openings on the offensive line. If they can both stay healthy, then the answer is maybe. It is hard to know exactly if they are ready as both have not made a lot of plays due to being on the injury reports. This would mean the Cowboys could sign a tackle or a guard in either free agency or draft one. Either way, it is now a position that needs depth.
On defense, there is more cause for concern. While many are high on Frazier at safety and think Jeff Heath can be a full-time starter, there is plenty of reason for pause.
Frazier is young and with that youth comes mistakes. He hasn’t had a lot of experience and it would be a growing pain with him in the secondary. Jeff Heath has impressed some fans and coaches with his interception in the playoffs.
But to pump the brakes a little, he had come in on replacement, which means he was rested. His interception was also based on the scheme that allowed him to play zone. Heath still takes bad angles and is a liability in man coverage.
Safety and cornerback should be a reason for concern. There is not much depth or experience without Carr and/or Claiborne. There would only be a total of 12 years of experience in this defense between the remaining four corners, 9 of those years belonging to Orlando Scandrick.
This is a massive experience vacuum in the secondary. Bringing in a veteran would benefit not only the leadership of the corners but also give some experience to the corps. While Brown looks like he could be good, there is something to be said for experience. Sure, they brought in Carroll, but in this system, there is still need (and if we are fair, Carroll was part of a really bad secondary in Philadelphia).
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The pass rush at this point is not much improved, nor does there seem to be any reason at this point to think it will be any more or less productive than the last few years. This could mean the Dallas Cowboys target pass rush in the draft.
There are still some free agents out there, but cost, at this point, will be important. DeMarcus Ware could come back, only if he doesn’t ask for too much.
By all counts, there is a lot of holes on the Cowboys right now. One draft may not fill those needs if they are to stick to the draft and resign motto. Sure, they are still compiling compensatory picks and might be looking at 2018 and beyond. However, if that is the case, then they need to address the holes they have at some point.
Currently, it can be argued, the Cowboys need depth or starters at safety, cornerback, guard, tackle, tight end, running back, quarterback, linebacker, defensive end, defensive tackle, and depending on where you stand a number two wide receiver (we won’t get into if signing Williams and Butler back was the right thing).
Next: Dallas Cowboys Free Agency: Why Things Are Going Just Fine
In the 2017 draft, best case scenario would be to have 3-4 contributors that can help day one. Even if they get lucky and can get five players that can help out, there is a ton still in need. There is still a long way to go in the offseason, but there is some case for starting to worry about 2017 for the Cowboys.
They could still make some noise in free agency, trades, and in the draft, and none of us know how it will all turn out. But, there is some concern at this point. However, for 2018 and beyond, the Dallas Cowboys might be setting themselves up well.