Wow, last week was a heck of a start for the Dallas Cowboys, huh? Tuesday, the team made their first splash. They traded for Stephon Gilmore for a 5th-round pick.
As the weekend grew near, I noted the next thing I wanted to see this team do was get another wide receiver to play alongside CeeDee Lamb.
When I woke up on my birthday yesterday morning, I was scrolling through Twitter to find the news break that the Cowboys had traded for Houston Texans Wide Receiver Brandin Cooks.
The Cowboys are making WIN-NOW MOVES. They have traded for 29 Year old Brandin Cooks and 32 Year old Stephon Gilmore. Two established playmakers at their most important positions of need. Its an admission of the Amari Cooper trade mistake and a different approach this off-season.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) March 19, 2023
Right on cue!
I posted this past weekend that, for the first time in a long time, it felt like the Cowboys wanted to win.
With the two trades and re-signing of Donovan Wilson and Leighton Vander Esch, the team still has $10 million to play with.
Remember when we all freaked out that this team would have no money and wouldn’t make any moves?
I have never been happier to be wrong!
After looking at the team’s current state, after trading for their first and second most significant needs — cornerback and wide receiver — a move on the defensive line is the move they should make next.
The best thing about this going into this year’s NFL Draft is that we don’t have any MAJOR needs, as they addressed the two biggest ones in the first week of free agency.
We are still early into FA, but not a ton of huge holes for Dallas right now.
iDL, TE (?), and RB are their three biggest needs left.
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) March 19, 2023
The other thing they now need is a big body. Someone who can help stop the one glaring weakness of the Dan Quinn defense — stopping the run.
Johnathan Hankins was brought in to try and help anchor down the middle last season. The team has yet to re-sign him. I don’t think he will be re-signed because of his late-season injury. They made enough space to hold onto Hankins and someone like Carlos Watkins.
When diving into who is left in the free agent pool, the name that stands out is Calais Campbell. He was released from the Baltimore Ravens last week. He may be 36 years old, but could still give the Cowboys a solid year or two.
The team will most likely not look at him, but maybe someone else.
This could also be a position they look to address in the draft.
With the two other needs addressed via trade, this team can now look to add depth and spend the 26th overall pick in this year’s draft on the best defensive linemen left on the board.
Poona Ford is another name to keep an eye on.
He was a run-stuffer for the Seahawks last season. He finished the year with three sacks and 14 hurries. He is 5’11, and 310 pounds. Ford is a player I only knew a little about once I started looking into the best players available.
I have no idea what the price would be to bring him in, but I can only see him costing what the team has left, $10 million. This will be something I will keep an eye on until draft day.
Time to give credit to the Jones family for finally understanding what everyone has been saying since last season.
They needed another corner. They traded for a former Defensive Player of the Year two years ago.
They needed another wide receiver to play alongside CeeDee Lamb. They traded for Brandin Cooks.
And the Cowboys got both players for a great value. A total of two 5th-round picks and a 6th-round pick is all it took to get them.
It’s time to keep an eye on adding another interior defensive lineman. This is the last glaring weakness this team has, but I can’t tell you the last time I was this excited about an off-season.
