Despite the results, the Cowboys front office keeps trying to improve the team
Itâs been a bumpy season for the Dallas Cowboys. The team had big expectactions coming into the year, despite taking on a new coaching staff. The front office was very active this offseason adding several new players to the team. Even though they remained frugal in free agency, the were aggressive in other means, orchestrating seven trades that added veteran players to their team. Some of these deals took place before the draft, others happened in summer before the season started, and then a couple more occurred last week right before the trade deadline.
While the effectiveness of the moves will always be scrutinized, we can at least say the Cowboysâ front office is trying. Theyâre often accused of not doing all that much, but when you take a look at everything theyâve done, itâs quite a long list. Letâs run through what the Cowboys have done this past year to help improve this football team.
OFFENSE
Fixing their offensive line
Entering the new season, the Cowboys already had some good pieces along the offensive line. They have their All-Pro left guard, Tyler Smith, whoâs only 24 years old. They also drafted three offensive linemen last season, Tyler Guyton, Cooper Beebe, and Nathan Thomas. But that wasnât enough for the new offensive coaches, Klayton Adams and Conor Riley, who are both o-line specialists. They signed free agents Robert Jones, Saahdiq Charles, and Hakeem Adeniji. They also used their top draft resource on Alabama guard Tyler Booker.
The Cowboys werenât messing around with trying to improve their strength in the trenches, and itâs worked. Despite being hit with a multitude of injuries along the offensive line, the team has maintained strong depth, supported a solid rushing attack and have given Dak Prescott plenty of time to throw. The Cowboysâ offensive line ranks in the top 10 in both pass-block and run-block win rates.
Are you pleased with the effort they made to improve the offensive line?
Fixing their running game
The fact that Javonte Williams is playing so well creates the illusion that the Cowboys did a good job handling the running back group, but if we strictly go by effort, you might get some mixed reviews. Yes, the Cowboys added four new players into the mix with free agents Williams and Miles Sanders, and two draft picks in Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah, but outside of Williams, nobody has done much. Injuries have played a role as the free agent Sanders was averaging a career-high 5.9 yards per carry in the four games he played. Mind you, thatâs a small sample size, but the one-two combo of Williams and Sanders was working for them with Williams handling the bulk of the work.
Adding four new guys is something, but all of them were cheap resources. Both Williams ($3 million) and Sanders ($1.3 million) were bargain bin free agents, and both Blue (fifth-round) and Mafah (seventh-round) were Day 3 draft investments. Williamsâ success will distract us from how little the team invested in the running back room this season. He currently leads the NFC in rushing yards per game (80), coincidentally one yard ahead of former Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle.
Weâd be remiss to not mention the great job TE3 Brevyn Spann-Ford has done helping spring the running game. His blocking has been exceptional and exactly what the new coaches desire in their all-hands-on-deck blocking approach.
Are you pleased with the effort they made to improve the running game?
Getting Dak Prescott some help
In the past, the front office has taken steps to acquire wide receiving talent to help out CeeDee Lamb. Unfortunately, some of the things they have done havenât worked out according to plan. Whether itâs a belief in a young Jalen Tolbert, a recovering Michael Gallup, or an aging Brandin Cooks, far too many times, theyâve learned the hard way that what they did wasnât enough. And letâs not forget they overvalued the talent of Jonathan Mingo, trading a fourth-round pick for him at the trade deadline last year.
Luckily, the team realized more help was needed and traded a third-round pick for George Pickens. This addition has been huge. With Lamb out of action for a few games, Pickens stepped up and delivered. He is averaging 84 receiving yards per game so far this season and is on pace for 1,443 yards this season. If he reaches that, he would join Lamb and Hall of Famer Michael Irvin as the only Cowboysâ receivers with over 1,400 yards in a season.
Are you pleased with the effort they made to improve the passing attack?
DEFENSE
Trying to fix their run defense
Itâs been stated ad naseum that the front office wants to make a concerted effort to fix their run defense issues that has plagued them for years. They signed a run-stopping defensive end Solomon Thomas in free agency. And they acquired defensive tackle Kenny Clark in the Micah Parsons trade, with Clark being an integral piece to the deal going down. The Cowboys quickly learned that those guys werenât enough, resulting in the big trade for Quinnen Williams last week.
Williams is the best defensive tackle the Cowboys have had on their team in a long time. The team has struggled to handle this position in the past by adding one underwhelming solution after another. Whether it works or not, they are pulling out all the stops and attacking this area aggressively. Williams is a run-stopping beast. In fact, entering the Cowboys bye week, both he and Thomas were the only two defensive tackles in the league with a run-stopping win-rate above 45%. And now, these two are back together again.
Are you pleased with the effort they made to improve the run defense?
Mitigating the DeMarvion Overshown injury
The Cowboys have had some bad injury luck at the linebacker position over the last decade and a half. Their best player, Sean Lee, was awesome, but he had trouble staying healthy. Lee missed at least five games in six of his last nine years with the team. We all know about the big gamble that was Jaylon Smith, whose playing career was a giant risk before it began. Even Leighton Vander Esch, who started great with an All-Pro season, missed extension time in half of his six seasons as a pro before retiring early.
And their luck didnât get any better with their most recent draft star, DeMarvion Overshown. After a knee-injury ended his rookie year before the season began, he suffered another knee injury last year and has yet to play this season. Overshown has missed 30 of the possible 43 games (70%) over the last three seasons.
The team has tried to find solutions at linebacker until Overshown returns. They went out and traded for Kenneth Murray and signed free agent Jack Sanborn this offseason. They also drafted a young linebacker they are excited about in Shemar James. Unfortunately, the new guys combined with second-year player Marist Liufau have not provided the answers they were looking for, resulting in the recent trade for former Cincinnati Bengalsâ linebacker Logan Wilson.
Are you pleased with the effort they made to improve the linebacker position?
Expected the pass-rush to be better, but they still needed help
It was a foregone conclusion that after the team traded away Parsons that their edge rushing position group was going to be weaker. Not just that, but they lost their second-best edge rusher, DeMarcus Lawrence, in free agency. Despite the losses, the team team appeared rather deep at the position entering the new season. They signed free agent Dante Fowler, had a promising rookie in Donovan Ezeiruaku, and was impressed with preseason standout James Houston.
But even with some good options, the edge-rushing unit wasnât producing enough on the field, causing them to add veteran pass-rusher Jadeveon Clowney. Before the trade deadline, the team showed interest in Trey Hendrickson and Maxx Crosby, but nothing ever came of that. While they are still working things out, there are some reasons to be hopeful. Fowler is playing better, Clowney has been a force lately, and Ezeiruaku gets better with each new week. It should be interesting to see how this group plays alongside a revamped interior defensive line.
Are you pleased with the effort they made to improve the defensive end position?
Decimated with injuries in the secondary
The one area the Cowboys havenât done much to improve is the secondary. The team traded for Kaiir Elam back in March and then claimed Twikeze Bridges (from the Chargers) and Reddy Steward (from the Vikings) after they were released during final roster cuts. The team was hoping this would hold them over until reinforcements arrived as several players were recovering from injuries, including Caelen Carson, Josh Butler, and rookie Shavon Revel Jr.. Things got worse in the secondary when more guys got hurt. Veterans Malik Hooker, Donovan Wilson, and Trevon Diggs have all missed multiple games.
The good news is that the time is nearing for guys to return. Carson already made his season debut in the last game against Arizona. Revel Jr. is expected soon, and then hopefully Butler shortly after that. Hooker should also be returning soon. The secondary has been susceptible to giving up big plays this season and this group will likely be an area of concern for the remainder of the year as they piece together the best arrangement they can.
Are you pleased with the effort they made to improve the secondary?
