2020 Dallas Cowboys Offseason Plan

Team Needs:

  EDGE, TE, WR, S, CB, DL, LB

Available Draft Picks:

1.17, 2.51, 3.82, 4.123, 5.164, 5.179, 7.231

Starting Cap Space:

$73,983,128

Trades:

None

Restructures:

None

Cuts:

T Cameron Fleming (team option)

DT Tyrone Crawford to save $8,000,000

While Cameron Fleming was a suitable back-up and filled in nicely for La’el Collins when he needed to, paying over $5,000,000 for a backup is less than ideal, given the Cowboys incredibly rough cap situation. I feel bad for Tyrone Crawford because I love his versatility to move along the defensive line and his talent, but this is a business and the Cowboys need to cut costs to survive. With Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper needing new contracts, unfortunately Crawford is likely unable to stick around in Dallas.

Re-signings:

QB Dak Prescott for 5 years, $190,000,000 ($135M GTD)

WR Amari Cooper for 4 years, $78,000,000 ($65M GTD)

TE Blake Jarwin for 1 year, $3,278,000 (RFA)

K Kai Forbath for 2 years, $2,200,000 ($1.5M GTD)

DT Antwaun Woods for 1 year, $660,000 (ERFA)

Bringing back Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper were easy decisions to make even with their massive cap hits. The duo has excellent chemistry and have the potential to tear up the NFC East again next season. Blake Jarwin is slotted to take over the starting tight end role full-time this season and if what we saw last season was any indication, he could be a complete steal at $3,278,000. Kai Forbath was about as reliable as he could be last season; although he wasn’t called upon much, he deserves to be re-signed. Antwaun Woods was another easy decision to bring back. Woods is capable of playing valuable snaps and I would argue he’s much better than his current snap count suggests. He should get an opportunity to prove that this season.

Free Agent Signings:

DT Mike Daniels for 1 year, $4,250,000 ($2.5M GTD)

OL Oday Aboushi for 1 year, $2,100,000 ($1M GTD)

New Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy already has familiarity with Mike Daniels from their time spent together in Green Bay. Although Daniels had a rough season in Detroit, he could be looking to reconnect with McCarthy in Dallas to pump some life into his career again. Oday Aboushi is a solid Cameron Fleming replacement as a backup offensive lineman who can play multiple positions if he needs to.

Draft Results:

Pick 1.17 – CJ Henderson, CB, Florida

With Dallas letting Byron Jones walk in free agency, cornerback becomes an immediate need for the Cowboys. Drafting Henderson gives Dallas an athletic, versatile corner who lacks ball production, but that’ll be no different than what Dallas fans are already used to. Henderson should be able to step in as a starter immediately, especially given the weak receiving corps of the NFC East.

Pick 2.51 – Kyle Dugger, S/LB, Lenoir-Rhyne

Coming out of a small-school, it’s been no easy task for Kyle Dugger to get to this point, but he’s worked his way up to be a top-50 player. Positional value will kick slightly out of the top 50, though. An immediate starter on Day 2 is never a bad thing, especially when it fills a major need on the defensive side of the ball.

Pick 3.82 – Kenny Willekes, EDGE, Michigan State

Since the beginning of the year, people seemed to have soured a little bit on Kenny Willekes but he’s still a solid pick, especially if he’s not expected to start immediately. Willekes should thrive after a year on the bench, if he needs to start it won’t be ideal, but he’ll pick up valuable experience.

Pick 4.123 – Josiah Deguara, TE, Cincinnati

Josiah Degaura is someone who I think SHOULD be gone way before this, but people don’t seem to feel the same way. A tight end that can move around the formation, block, and catch passes could be huge as TE2 in Dallas, especially if he needs to become TE1 if Blake Jarwin doesn’t return following 2020.

Pick 5.164 – Grayland Arnold, DB, Baylor

Grayland Arnold is another player that I’m way higher on than everyone else. Arnold should be gone before the end of day two, but for whatever reason, he hasn’t gotten the respect he’s deserved. Dallas gets an absolute steal here who could move around the boundary, nickel, and safety spots. Arnold was an All-American according to Sports Illustrated’s votes and he would have been an All-American by mine too. I don’t know the reason for his lack of attention, but Dallas drafts an immediate low-level starter who’s going to develop in this secondary.

Pick 5.179 – Tyrie Cleveland, WR, Florida

The lesser-known of the Florida wide receivers, Tyrie Cleveland isn’t the route runner that Van Jefferson is but he could be a reliable depth contributor and kick returner if need be.

Pick 7.231 – Blake Ferguson, LS, LSU

With their last pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Cowboys address the long snapper position previously held by LP Ladouceur. As talented as Ladouceur is, the significantly cheaper long-term option for Dallas would be to draft a long snapper late to have four years and a very cheap rookie deal on the books.

Cap Space Spent on Re-signings:

$62,538,000

Cap Space Spent on Free Agents:

$6,350,000

Cap Space Spent on Draft Picks:

$7,162,427

Total Cap Remaining:

$8,270,201

Backfield

QB: Dak Prescott

RB: Ezekiel Elliott

Pass Catchers

WR: Amari Cooper

WR: Michael Gallup

Slot: Tyrie Cleveland/Devin Smith

TE1: Blake Jarwin

TE2: Josiah Deguara

Offensive Line

LT: Tyron Smith

LG: Connor Williams

C: Travis Frederick

RG: Zack Martin

RT: La’el Collins

Defensive Line

DE: Demarcus Lawrence

DT: Antwaun Woods

DT: Mike Daniels

DE: Kenny Willekes

Linebacker Starters

OLB: Leighton Vander Esch

ILB: Jaylon Smith

OLB: Kyle Dugger

Secondary Starters

CB: Chidobe Awuzie

CB: CJ Henderson

Nickel: Jourdan Lewis

S: Xavier Woods

S: Grayland Arnold

Special Teamers

K: Kai Forbath

P: Chris Jones

KOS: Kai Forbath

LS: Blake Ferguson

KR: Tony Pollard

PR: Tyrie Cleveland