If this is what Jerry Jones meant when he suggested the Dallas Cowboys would go “all-in” last offseason, maybe they would have been better off sitting out a second consecutive free agency period.
While the Cowboys struck quickly to take care of their own, extending game-wrecking defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa on a four-year contract worth $80 million, some of Dallas’ other moves have been real head-scratchers.
So far, Dallas has already acquired three former first-round picks, including signing defensive lineman Solomon Thomas, trading for Kaiir Elam, and adding linebacker Kenneth Murray in a trade with the Tennessee Titans.
Dallas Cowboys Panned for Free Agency Plan
It’s one thing to bank on the potential of one former first-round selection, but the Cowboys have gone all in on players who never lived up to their pre-draft hype.
Pro Football Focus’ Mason Cameron ripped into the Cowboys for a strategy he suggests is misguided.
“Dallas cleared significant cap space by restructuring Dak Prescott‘s and CeeDee Lamb‘s deals,” Cameron writes for PFF. “But didn’t make a splash in free agency, ultimately sitting on the vast majority of the cap space cleared. The front office targeted five former first-round additions, of which only Dante Fowler Jr. has produced a 70.0-plus single-season PFF overall grade with at least 200 snaps, and that came back in 2019.
“While it’s not uncommon for a change of scenery to rejuvenate a player’s once-promising career, adding numerous players who have struggled to find their footing in the NFL is a risk that most teams would shudder at the thought of.”
The Cowboys have significant ground to make up on both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders in the NFC East, but whether bets on past draft disappointments pay off could determine if Dallas’ NFC Championship Game drought ends anytime soon.
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