Our latest Cowboys roundtable hits on remaining free agent targets
Every week, we gather the latest news about the Dallas Cowboys and seek our writer’s perspective on each headline. Welcome back to the roundtable. This week we have Jess Haynie, David Howman and Brian Martin.
Who are the top remaining free agents you hope the Cowboys target this year?
Make sure to follow the Blogging The Boys tracker and stay up to date with all the Cowboys deals that come through. And leave in the comments any players you hope Jerry Jones decides to put to paper.
Brian: DT Levi Onwuzurike, CB Asante Samuel Jr., WR Cooper Kupp, and re-signing DE DeMarcus Lawrence would be my top free agent targets for the Cowboys. All of these players would immediately fill a need and allow them to enter the draft without any glaring holes.
Howman: I’m really intrigued by Alex Cappa or Kevin Zeitler as short-term options at right guard, even after adding Robert Jones. Tyler Lockett or Cooper Kupp would be great additions at wide receiver to help ease the burden off of CeeDee Lamb.
Jess: I think it’s critical for Dallas to find their next WR2 through free agency. Waiting until the draft comes with a lot of risk, and I don’t know that this class features too many guys who’d be an immediate upgrade over Jalen Tolbert. That’s a limited pool and it forces you into potential reaches with your early picks. I don’t know the medical reports on veterans like Stefon Diggs and Amari Cooper, but I’d be happy with any of them as long as they’re expected to be at full capacity this season.
With the Cowboys restructuring contracts to free up money, what are your thoughts of free agency this year? Was the whole clearance just a formality?
The Cowboys restructured both Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb’s contracts which helped create an extra $56 million in cap revenue, with still more potential savings after the front office decides what to do with Zack Martin’s retirement allocation. So far we’ve seen some movement on the free agent market with signings of defensive tackle Solomon Thomas, defensive end Payton Turner, running back Javonte Williams, and offensive guard Robert Jones. Fans are still waiting for a big splash and so far it’s just been roster fills to cover the draft.
Brian: The Cowboys have the money to be big players in free agency, but based on their history of doing things I doubt that happens. I expect them to be bargain shoppers once again for the most part and maybe sign some mid-tier veterans.
Howman: My initial reaction to the restructures was that it was for Micah Parsons, but it sounds like they’re content to slow play those talks for now. Either way, the Cowboys don’t create cap space just to have it. If these moves aren’t precipitating a Parsons deal, I’m expecting some big moves (for Dallas, that is) once free agency continues.
Jess: They don’t need the cap space for a deal with Parsons. He already counts $24 million on his fifth-year option, so that would likely get worked down through salary-to-bonus conversion and other mechanisms on a long-term contract. Clearing cap space on Prescott’s deal only makes it harder to cut him later, so it would be pure stupidity to create that room and not use it to try to win now. We’ve already seen that they’re not completely breaking from being conservative, but I still expect more activity than in recent years.
Does the recent Osa Obdighizuwa signing, as well as the recent additions in free agency change the Dallas Cowboys’ plans at drafting defensive line this year?
Last week, Osa Odighizuwa signed a contract extension filling a huge need for the Dallas Cowboys defense. The Cowboys also made two signings to the defensive line this week with defensive tackle Solomon Thomas, and also defensive end Payton Turner who was drafted by the New Orleans Saints. The question now is how this will effect their draft plans and how early they will draft a defensive linemen in this year’s draft.
Brian: The simple answer is no. Osa Odighizuwa doesn’t change Dallas’ need for more help on the defensive line. Mazi Smith still hasn’t lived up to his first-round billing, so it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the Cowboys drafted another DT early with a premium pick in the Top 100.
Howman: It should. Osa Odighizuwa is the perfect 3-technique for Matt Eberflus, so he’s going to play a lot of snaps. The 1-technique simply isn’t as valuable in this scheme, and Mazi Smith was much better over the final stretch of this past season. They could add some depth behind those two, even beyond Solomon Thomas, but the interior of the defensive line is no longer a priority.
Jess: Like David, I think it changes the priority but I still expect there to be a DT in this draft class. Without Odighizuwa or a comparable free agent, it was arguably the top need and would need to be addressed in the first two rounds. Now, especially given the depth of this DT class, I think you can wait until Day 3 and still land a solid depth player with long-term developmental potential. Even after signing Solomon Thomas, they still need a true nose tackle.
