Dallas Cowboys Draft: Why a Pass-Catcher at Pick 10 Makes Sense

How another pass-catcher fits the Dallas Cowboys beyond 2021

While it may take a little maneuvering to fit a pass-catcher into the starting lineup in 2021, one only needs to let things organically develop to make him a fit in 2022. In fact, there’s a legitimate need in 2022 for another pass-catcher since Gallup and TE2 Dalton Schultz are both set to hit free agency.

To make it all even more palatable, we have an “out” in Amari Cooper’s contract after this year. Coop is slated to cost $22 million against the cap in 2022. Cutting him after this year would only result in a $6 million cap hit and free up $16 million in cap savings for Dallas to spend …wait for it…on defense.

As we’ve discussed in past articles, the Dallas Cowboys are far more proficient in drafting offense than they are defense. Even though they’ve used more of their top picks on defense, they have much less to show for it. Spending money on proven entities in free agency may be the smarter avenue to take for the defense.

If Dallas drafted a WR in 2021 and cut Cooper in 2022 (the only situation I’d feel comfortable cutting Coop), they’d have one of the cheapest WR units in the NFL for the next three years. They’d also probably have one of the best.

If Dallas drafted Pitts in 2021 they would have multiple routes to consider:

1. They could roll with base 21 personnel and have Pitts, Jarwin, Lamb, and Cooper as their main components.
2. They could trade Jarwin, saving $4.25 million, and go back to their traditional 11-personnel.
3. They could proactively extend Gallup here in 2021 (before his predicted breakout) and cut Cooper in 2022, offering a significant net savings and features a Gallup, Lamb, Pitts, Jarwin offense from 2022 to the foreseeable future.

Picking a pass-catcher keeps the Dallas Cowboys passing attack an elite unit down the road and keeps the window open and salaries low for the next four seasons. That’s a tremendous long-term benefit. Therefore picking a pass-catcher at 10 isn’t a luxury at all. It’s a savvy move.

And doing so invests in one of the highest paid positions on the field, ensuring costs are low throughout the rookie contract and allowing the Dallas Cowboys to invest the savings on defensive personnel instead.

But there’s more to consider…