The Dallas Cowboys offseason promises to be a busy one for the front office. Not only does the team have to negotiate a long term deal with Dak Prescott, but they must also invest draft capital and free agent dollars towards significantly upgrading the defense. Accomplishing both of these things simultaneously will certainly make the Dallas Cowboys offseason challenging. With an abundance of positions in need of upgrade, which position should be considered the biggest priority for the front office to address?
CORNERBACK
The most popular answer to that question is cornerback. In 2020, the Dallas Cowboys offseason got off to a rough start when they decided to let star cornerback Byron Jones walk in free agency. Instead of replacing Jones with a capable starter the Cowboys bargain shopped in free agency for the likes of Daryl Worley, Maurice Canady, and Saivion Smith. They did draft Trevon Diggs in the second round who struggled at times but was a rare bright spot for the Cowboys defensively. Now starters Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis are unrestricted free agents so there is a good chance the Cowboys will be without one or both of them in 2021. The Cowboys may need to double dip at corner back in the draft but they would also be wise to invest in a veteran free agent leader with all the youth they have at the position. Former legion of boom member Richard Sherman will be a free agent after this season and could be a candidate to reunite with his former defensive coordinator in Seattle Dan Quinn. Sherman won’t come dirt cheap but he also will not demand the premium contract he did only a couple short years ago.
SAFETY
Every Dallas Cowboys offseason discussion sounds like a broken record when discussing the safety position. The Cowboys have not had an impactful safety on the roster in nearly 20 years and yet Jerry and Stephen Jones refuse to invest free agent dollars or premium draft capital on the position. The Cowboys notoriously passed up on 3 of the top safety prospects still available late in the 2nd round of the 2019 draft in favour of DT Trysten Hill. They were interested in, but were ultimately outbid on for the services of both Earl Thomas and Jamal Adams. The Cowboys may have been better off passing up on those guys but there was absolutely no excuse for the Cowboys failing to even make an effort to sign one of several free agent safeties that became available in recent years. Players such as Tyrann Mathieu, Eric Reid, and Tre Boston. Last year they at least made an attempt to upgrade at safety when the signed Ha Ha Clinton-Dix but he inexplicably couldn’t crack the final roster. Darian Thompson supposedly beat out Clinton-Dix but yet he was an absolute liability as a starter for the majority of the season. Starting free safety Xavier Woods never built upon the promise he showed early on in his career and he will be become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. The Cowboys may have stumbled upon a future star at strong safety in Donovan Wilson but they need a dynamic free safety to pair with him. The options in the draft are limited but a high profile free agent like Justin Simmons or a reclamation project like Malik Hooker could be the answer there.
LINEBACKER
It would be difficult to imagine that the linebacker position would be considered a major need for the Dallas Cowboys defense just two years ago but here we are. Jaylon Smith has played so poorly that there is real possibility the Cowboys could move on from him despite his big contract and the salary cap implications. Leighton Vander Esch burst unto the scene as a rookie in 2018 but injuries and below average play have plagued him the last two seasons. There is a very real possibility that linebacker could be near the top of the list for the Dallas Cowboys offseason needs.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
If there is one area of the Cowboys defense that is in need of a major upgrade it is the interior defensive line. Both Tyrone Crawford and Antwaun Woods are free agents and may not be in the Cowboys future plans. The Cowboys will have Trysten Hill and Neville Gallimore back next season. Both players flashed at times last year but still have to develop into more consistent and dominant players to make a real difference on the interior defensive line. This group was simply bullied all of last year which made it very easy for opposing teams to run against the Cowboys for a ton of yards. The lack of push up front also made life difficult for the pass rushers on the outside as well as the aforementioned linebackers. The Dallas Cowboys are in dire need of significant upgrades at defensive tackle. The draft offers very few difference makers. Christian Barmore from Alabama appears to be the best of the bunch but even he comes with concerns over lack of consistency. The Cowboys should look to continue to build their interior defensive line in the draft and they really need to target the 1 technique position and find some run stuffers. The draft alone will not fix this issue however, and free agency is a must for the Dallas Cowboys offseason upgrade plans. Dallas could try their luck with some of the dynamic but long in the tooth free agents. Ndamukong Suh will be available as well as Gerald McCoy who signed with Dallas last season but was released after suffering a season ending injury. Ideally, the Cowboys should look to target players like Dalvin Tomlinson or Johnathan Hankins who are a bit younger but effective against the run. Those players may not come at a premium because they do not play a premium position but they would provide a huge boost to the Dallas Cowboys defense.
In assessing all of these Dallas Cowboys offseason needs, it is clear to me that the biggest one of them all is the defensive tackle position. If the Dallas Cowboys can upgrade their interior defensive line, they will have an improved pass rush, better linebacker play, and they will make life much easier for their defensive backs. The Cowboys attempted to do this last season when they signed Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe but neither of those moves worked out. This year, they will have to invest a little more money and a lot more time to make sure they bring in guys that they can count on. If nothing else is done except upgrading the defensvie tackle position, the Dallas Cowboys offseason will be a success in my eyes. That is unless they fail to sign Dak Prescott of course.
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