Cowboys news: Dallas could still add O-line insurance through free agency

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Your Cowboys news and notes for Saturday is here.

2 free agents Cowboys should consider adding to trenches - Reid Hanson, Cowboys Wire

Dallas could use more bodies on both lines of scrimmage, but will they make a move?

David Bakhtiari, OT

A terrible knee injury late in 2020 ended all of that and Bakhtiari has undergone surgery after surgery in an effort to regain his once-elite status. Over the past three seasons he’s been great when he’s played. The problem is he’s only played 13 games.

Moving Smith from guard to LT isn’t an ideal solution if Guyton struggles. And there’s no telling if Waletzko or Richards would be better than a struggling Steele. Having a veteran like Bakhtiari available in relief would be far more comforting.

Bryan Mone, DT

Mone, 28, is also coming off a significant knee injury. When healthy, Mone is a perfect no-thrills defensive tackle capable of playing 2-gap from a 0- or 1-tech position. He doesn’t offer much by way of pass rush but he’s a strong run blocker and can occupy blockers consistently.

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Clustering all 32 NFL offenses from the 2023 season - Amelia Probst, PFF

PFF identifies a four-team cluster of explosive offenses that includes your Dallas Cowboys:

Cluster 2 contains the explosive offenses, both passing and rushing, in 2023. They marched down the field and often converted to a new set of downs, 32.4% of the time on average. These teams had the highest average offensive (88.4) and passing grades of the clusters (87.3).

• Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys earned the highest passing grade in the league last season (90.2). They were right behind the 49ers in conversion rate when passing, at 38.2%.

• Detroit Lions: The Lions placed right behind the 49ers in 2023 with an 88.2 offensive grade. They were a top-10 team in conversion rate when passing and running.

• Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins trailed only the Cowboys in passing grade in 2023 (89.7). When passing, they converted to a new set of downs at the third-highest rate (37.7%).

• San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers led the league in offensive grade (92.4) and EPA per play (0.16) in 2023. They also produced the highest first-down conversion rate on passing plays (41.2%).

And helming that explosive Cowboys offense is none other than the soon to be highest-paid player in the NFL.

Once one adjusts for drops (and other factors working against him), Lawrence's stats end up looking pretty good! https://t.co/ipGeo7eAa4 pic.twitter.com/iVC4m9VRGZ

— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) June 14, 2024

If Trevor Lawrence’s contract affects Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys have already lost - Michael Gehlken, DMN

Gehlken explains how paying Prescott market value while signing both CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons to extensions could be prohibitively expensive.

While a bit eye-opening, Lawrence’s extension did nothing to answer the most important questions affecting Prescott’s long-term future in Dallas. Will Prescott, who turns 31 in July, insist the Cowboys pay him full market value before his contract expires in March? If comfortable receiving less to stay in Dallas, how much less is he willing to accept?

Paying three players elite money on the same team simultaneously is extremely challenging under the NFL’s salary cap. The Cowboys would become the league’s only club to compensate three players at least $30 million per year.

To date, the trio own a 1-3 playoff record when more money was available to their teammates. After they were unable to sniff a conference championship game with more help, there is little logic in the Cowboys committing to a future that features less.

For that reason, the popular interpretation that Lawrence’s blockbuster contract Thursday is good for Prescott and bad for the Cowboys mistakenly assumes Prescott plans to milk the team for all he possibly can. If that is the case, then the Cowboys have already lost, all but bound to move on from Prescott, Lamb or Parsons, or else be doomed to a future in which the trio lacks a realistic, championship-caliber supporting cast.

NFL Rumors: Dak Prescott Contract Prioritized by Cowboys Before Parsons, Lamb Talks - Andrew Peters, Bleacher Report

Somebody has to blink; this is not a staring competition.

The Dallas Cowboys will reportedly prioritize reaching a contract extension with quarterback Dak Prescott before linebacker Micah Parsons and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said Friday on SportsCenter.

“You’ve got Dak Prescott. The Cowboys have a world of problems here financially with three players they have to sign—Micah Parsons, CeeDee Lamb as well—but the feeling around the league and sources I’ve talked to is that they want to start with Dak,” Fowler said. “They’ve put it on the table with Dak’s people that ‘Hey look, you’re a priority. We want to try to get something done.’ As far as hard dollars, not a lot of progress yet. I would describe their efforts so far as passive.”

When Dallas finds an extension for Prescott, it will likely have to be a big one considering the quarterback market over the past few years. The top quarterbacks in the NFL are making more than $50 million per year, including Trevor Lawrence who inked a five-year, $275 million contract this week.

Prescott is clearly one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, and his extension will need to reflect that.

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What's Up at EDGE? An influx of youth awaits - Nick Harris, DallasCowboys.com

With multiple veterans playing elsewhere this upcoming season, the Cowboys need their young edge rushers to produce.

What We Know: At this point, the Cowboys know that they are getting at least two dominant Pro Bowl-level talents in Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence. [...] Each has been reliable on the field over the course of the last three seasons (aside from Lawrence's injury in 2021) and all signs indicate that their high level of play will continue in 2024.

What We Don't Know: Young players will have to step up in the void of two departed pass rushers in Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler Jr., but who exactly will those guys be? Sam Williams is the prime contender to take those reps, and he has shown a special ability to rush the passer in his first two seasons. Power rushers such as Durrell Johnson, Viliami Fehoko Jr. and Tyrus Wheat could also factor into the equation, but who emerges from that group to be one of the lead rushers in the second rotation of defensive linemen may be something that will have to be determined in Oxnard or during the preseason.

One under-the-radar player who could be a star for each NFC team: Sam Williams poised for breakout year? - Cody Benjamin, CBSSports

CBSSports has a pretty good idea who that “lead rusher in the second rotation” will be.

Dallas Cowboys: DE Sam Williams

For a guy who received Defensive Rookie of the Year consideration in 2022, Williams often gets overshadowed by Micah Parsons and Co. But after combining for eight sacks, 15 tackles for loss and 16 quarterback hits in two NFL seasons, he could be primed for more with an expanded role.

Dallas Cowboys pre-training camp position breakdown series, looking at the backfield - RJ Ochoa, Blogging The Boys

The Cowboys running game is a little muddled at the moment.

Ezekiel Elliott

It is totally possible that the Cowboys identified Ezekiel Elliott as an option to bring in throughout the course of free agency after price points from other players did not strike their fancy. Maybe you believe that.

I’m far from a conspiracy theorist, but that the team so willingly let Tony Pollard leave to the Tennessee Titans and did not exactly jump at an opportunity to sign anyone else, coupled with the fact that they discussed Zeke several times in the lead up to the NFL draft where they did not draft a running back suggests that the code red (so to speak) was ordered in the early days of formulating the offseason plan. Zeke was always likely returning to The Star.

This is a fine move to be clear. Elliott is still a player who is capable of helping an NFL team. But it seems rather unlikely that he can be the peak/prime version of himself that led to people buying jerseys they were so excited to wear again with pride (before he switched jersey numbers from 21 to 15, another predictable thing).

Zeke’s year abroad with the New England Patriots went about how everybody thought it would after Dallas released him last offseason. He was fine and generally dependable but not explosive at all. Optimists have suggested that he “finished the season strong” but there is nothing to really suggest that.

Cowboys’ 3rd-round pick could thrive in contract year - Shane Taylor, Inside The Star

Chauncey Golston will have his best chance to be a contributor in 2024.

Golston isn’t the physical specimen you’d expect to play as an interior defender, but his quick first step and ability to make adjustments on the fly.

He could get the chance to become an every-down end. If that’s the case, he’s going to have to improve as a pass-rusher as he has 3.5 sacks in three years. But don’t be surprised if he remains in a hybrid role that sees him line up all over the D-line to find mismatches.

Mike Zimmer always gets the best out of his guys, and as long as Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence are lining up next to him, he could have his best year to date.

With the loss of some depth guys to the Washington Commanders, Golston could have a solid year.