Dallas Cowboys: 4 breakout players to re-sign before it’s too late

Players the Dallas Cowboys should re-sign

Connor Williams

Age: 24

Connor Williams is quite the polarizing figure these days. Shoot, he’s been polarizing since his rookie season. The former second round pick came to Dallas as a converted left tackle. Asked to play guard, Williams has used his quickness and athleticism to bring a different brand of play to the Dallas Cowboys interior.

Cowboys fans, used to the plodding mauler type at guard, weren’t so receptive to his style of play. As such, he routinely became a whipping boy of the Cowboys O-line. But non-Cowboys fans aren’t nearly as critical of Williams. Through an unbiased lens, Williams has been one of the best guards in the NFL. PFF rated him as the 16th guard in the NFL last year.

Keep in mind, they watch and grade every guard in the NFL. They compare him to others around the league and I got news for ya, the rest of the league isn’t looking so good.

Cowboys fans spoiled by Pro Bowl line play for years, sometimes don’t realize what the rest of the NFL deals with. Finding O-linemen isn’t easy and most teams would kill for a guy like Williams. As such, he’s expected to be a very hot commodity next year in free agency.

So why would he re-sign now, before his stock explodes?

Well, I honestly don’t think he would. But his age may be working in Dallas’ favor. Williams just turned 24 years old. He’s basically hitting free agency at the age Zack Martin left college. Williams is abnormally young and has a chance to pull in two or even three more contracts. It’s feasible that he wants to continue to work with this All-Star O-line for 2-3 more years. He’d further build his value in a comfortable setting, and still be able to hit free agency in his prime.