Dallas Cowboys: Choose Rolando McClain, Not Myles Jack
By Reid Hanson
Injuries, suspensions, and disappointing play aside, the Dallas Cowboys should re-sign Rolando McClain rather than draft Myles Jack.
Noting his poor play, suspensions, and injury history, all while pleading to re-sign, smacks of sarcasm but I assure you, as backhanded as it sounds (and was intended), re-signing McClain could very well save the Dallas Cowboys from making a bigger mistake – like drafting Myles Jack #4 overall.
Let’s be clear, Myles Jack is a nice player. Great maybe. But unless he’s the second coming of Ray Lewis or Mike Singletary, it’s a tough pick to make at #4 overall. The linebacker position is a demanding position that allows great opportunity for playmaking, as well as injury.
And it’s that propensity for injury that’s the biggest concern…
The best LB in the NFL these days is usually considered to be Carolina Panthers ‘backer, Luke Kuechly. Kuechly, 6’3” 238lbs, is built the part. He’s both big and agile. And while he hasn’t missed many football games, he still has had his share of concussion issues.
Concussions come with the territory at LB. Both Sean Lee and Rolando McClain have had numerous concussions as Dallas Cowboys. Even with their laundry lists of other injuries, it’s very likely it will be the concussions that end their respective careers.
Pre-mature retirements are on the rise – and for good reason. The CTE (Chronic Tramatic Encephalopathy) concern is growing by the day and we can expect chronically concussed players to continue to step away from the game at an early age.
That’s one of the primary reasons linebackers have been devalued in recent years. It’s not that the LB is an unimportant position, it’s quite the contrary; it’s that it’s too damn hard to stay on the field. The LB has become the RB of the defense. Injuries are high and the head-lowering nature of the position makes them all concussion prone.
The career-span is too short to invest heavily into the LB position. There are exceptions to the rule of course, but I’m not sure Myles Jack is that exception. At 6’1” 240lbs, Miles Jack is built stoutly but he already has a significant knee injury to consider. That isn’t a deal-breaker but at #4 it needs to be a factor.
Keep in mind, Myles Jack isn’t even the best LB in this draft. Jaylon Smith is widely thought of as the best LB in the draft and if it wasn’t for a catastrophic knee injury, he would be drafted before Jack. Now, he’s likely to fall into the second round. It’s hard to ignore that even if he sits out the entire 2016 season, he will soon be the best LB from this class once again making the Jack investment highly questionable.
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Perhaps the most important factor in all of this is that great LBs are found outside of the 1st round on a regular basis. Pro Football Focus has Kuechly and Anthony Barr as the top two LBs in the NFL. Both are admittedly high 1st round picks. But after them are respectively Sean Lee, Jerrell Freeman, Jamie Collins, and K.J. Wright.
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Wright was drafted in the 4th round of the 2011 Draft, Collins was drafted 2nd round of the 2013 Draft, Freeman was an undrafted free agent. Sean Lee, as we all know, fell to the 2nd round because of a knee injury. Great linebackers are found pretty frequently after the first round. Given the short career span and week-to-week reliability issues, using a top-5 pick on a LB is a high cost to pay – even if you know he’s going to be a star.
For the Cowboys, a player like Miles Jack fits best at MIKE since Sean Lee already has the WILL locked down. MIKE LBs in Rod Marinelli’s system are important as both a run-stopper as well as a pass-defender. As a run-stopper, he often has sole gap responsibility and against the pass he alternates between different zone coverages as well as occasional man coverage. It’s not an easy position to play but I think Miles Jack could do it and probably do it well.
But I still don’t’ want him at that cost.
When motivated, Rolando McClain plays the position perfectly. The problem is that he isn’t always motivated. I’ve repeatedly stated my feelings for what the Cowboys should do with McClain this offseason (let him walk). But now, being threatened with Miles Jack, I recant.
Rolando McClain is highly flawed. He has a substantial injury history, off-the-field legal question marks, and he’s in the NFL’s substance abuse program. On top of all of that, he rated as one of the NFL’s worst run-stoppers at LB last season.
But knowing how good he is in coverage and how good he can be at run-stopping when properly motivated, I say re-sign him to an incentive-laden deal. The more games and the more tackles then the more money.
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Obviously the specifics matter when re-signing a player like McClain. Don’t re-sign him at all costs. The Cowboys must protect themselves. But avoid the temptation to invest in Myles Jack. The MIKE and SAM still must be addressed in this April’s draft but wait until after the first round for that.