The Dallas Cowboys have an identity. They are a power running team with a strong offensive line and they intend to pound the ball at their opponent to break their will. Defensively, they have lived and died by the philosophy that the best defense is a good offense. They believe that if they can keep their defense off of the field, they will improve by default. That is why they have invested so many 1st round picks on the offensive side of the ball. That is why Ezekiel Elliott was drafted ahead of Jalen Ramsey in 2016. This year, there is a widespread belief that the Cowboys will select an offensive lineman or a wide receiver with their 1st round pick in order address the regression that the offense experienced this past season. Is this a smart move?
The Cowboys have not only invested draft capital but they have also invested a lot of money into their offense. Last year they were still paying Tony Romo along with big contracts for Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, Jason Witten, and Dez Bryant. They signed Terrance Williams to a four year deal and they still have to finalize a long term deal with Zack Martin. Keep in mind that in 2 years they will need to lock up the contracts from the 2016 draft class. The amount of money given to Matthew Stafford, Matt Ryan and Jimmy Garoppolo will pale in comparison to what Dallas will have to pay Dak Prescott in an ever increasing quarterback market. In addition to that, surely after Le’Veon Bell, Todd Gurley and David Johnson sign contracts with their teams, the price Ezekiel Elliott will demand will be astronomical. How much more money can Dallas afford to spend on their offense?
The NFL of this era has become an offense first, quarterback driven, passing league. As a result, most of the money being paid out to players is on the offensive side of the ball. Historically of the 25 highest paid players in league history, only 5 are defensive players.** Of those same players, only 1 defensive player (Julius Peppers at #9) is among the top 10.** Perhaps it is not such a wise decision to invest so heavily on offense. Look around the rest of the league. Three of the final four teams this year possessed some of the leagues best talent on the defensive side of the ball. The last 10 Super Bowl winners (other than teams with future Hall of Famer’s Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees at QB) have been teams built with great defenses. With the current salary cap limitations and the over-inflated QB market, it seems as though the best and most affordable business model to build a championship team is to focus on defense.
Despite their best efforts, it appears that the Cowboys are using the wrong approach to build their team. So before the Cowboys enter the 2018 NFL draft, someone should remind Jerry Jones that the old adage “Defense wins Championships” is still true even in this offensive age.
*Photo by Themeplus https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode
** Cork Gaines BusinessInsider.com Feb 3, 2018 http://www.businessinsider.com/highest-paid-nfl-players-2017-2/#25-champ-bailey-cb-1028-million-1
https://cowboyscoffeetalk.com/2018-draft-a-mistake-for-cowboys-to-rule-out-drafting-a-one-technique-dt/
