Lol, Tyrone Crawford. I actually like him more than most, but he's not picking up the slack from DLaw and he's going to be 30 this year. I'd actually be looking for his replacement so I could re-negotiate his contract next year.
Taco is a question mark and I'm probably one of the few people who've given him the benefit of the doubt on here. There is a not insignificant chance that he ends up being completely mediocre at best, and a bust at worse.
Who didn't like reading about Armstrong when barely any of us knew anything about him? I bet most of us were like, "sweet sleeper prospect!!", but let's be honest, anyone actually relying on him for their pass rush should be considered negligent.
The only way I let DLaw walk is, I can actually get a 1st for him, AND I have plans with a good chance of actually coming to fruition of beefing up the DL with savings. This includes a 1 year, 2 year, 3 year, and potential 5 year plan. Because if you're going to do it right, you're going to be potentially relying on short term contracts and possible older players to bridge the gaps in FA. This could actually be okay, but it requires some nuance and touch that I don't really think they're capable of in FA.
For instance, if we got a 1st, and signed a 3Tech, value older DE, and drafted well taking a DE/DT as BPA, hopefully getting some good BPA value on DL in this draft. We would really need to get decent value at our FA acquisitions. That would make or break us, and our "value purchases" in FA precedent is pretty bad.
So, while it could be possible, and hell, maybe even smart if you have a a bunch of statistics dudes who have street smarts and know exactly what the market rates and contract structures should be, I don't think we do. Nothing really in our past suggests we do. When's the last time we had a FA that actually ended up being good value? The DT Woods? Does that guy even count?
We have drafted well. We are not very good in FA.
The real odds are that Clark stays in Seattle, and Graham goes to another team. Or you're going to overpay for Graham to get him in Dallas. You could, but the "Hodor.. he's going to accept less than market value when teams have a ton of cap, just to play in Dallas crowd" are just on drugs. That's why FA now is the wild west nowadays and a juggling act. If you're going to overpay, which can even be smart in certain conditions, you better get value and have a multiyear plan that fuses together.
Taco and Armstrong are two hopefuls at this point. Crawford is probably right on the edge of value, with a limited lifespan at his current rate. Gregory has potential but could go up in a cloud of smoke. Collins is in his last year, and Woods looks good but he's limited.
When you objectively look at the situation, yikes. There is some potential here, but another year and this could be a very, very ugly situation. Especially if DLaw walks and we don't get anything for him, and sign older dudes to bridge contracts.
If it's me? The only real option is getting a first rounder in return, and I'd be using my resources in the Cowboys FO to figure relative contract #s to judge with some super nerds I have running analytics on FAs to hopefully get max value, signing 2-3 guys on the DL in his place.
That's really the only way I see us actually moving on, without being a cluster like the WR position was going into the season. I don't really trust us to get great value on one DL, much less 2-3. And relying on a bunch of question marks is a good way to waste a season, when for once you have a talented young team and look solid capwise.