(I’d love to make a case for the 6’5”, 227 lbs, 4.48 40 time Hakeem Butler, but since the Cowboys haven’t shown any interest that I’m aware of, I’ll keep the conversation about my other pet cat, Deebo Samuel.)
Deebo, the player
For me, debating players isn’t all that interesting. You’ll either agree with me that Deebo is a very good receiver, or you won’t. There won’t be anything I can show or tell you that will change your mind. That’s why I find philosophical debates to be far more entertaining. But for reference, just know I’m high on Deebo because his hands are great, he has the body control to make contested catches, he’s a solid route runner with explosive football speed, he’s very difficult to bring down after the catch, and he plays with a dawg mentality.
Receiver vs Safety
Right off the bat, I know the first holdup for many people is the need at safety. I don’t believe Jeff Heath should be a starter either, but to keep it in perspective, the safety position didn’t cost the team any games last year, receiver consistently was. The Cooper trade obviously did a great deal to alleviate the issue, but the offense still had its share of putrid performances even after he arrived.
Before Cooper:
8 @ Carolina
20 vs New York
13 @ Seattle
16 vs Houston
17 @ Washington
After Cooper:
14 vs Tennessee
22 @ Atlanta
13 vs New Orleans
0 @ Indianapolis
22 @ Los Angeles
Offense vs Defense
So, which unit has more pressing needs, offense or defense? The general consensus among the fans and around the league last year was Dallas had one of the best defenses in the NFL, top five to many, and they were carrying the offense for a great majority of the season. Even in the seven games they lost, the defense still held the opponents to 16, 24, 19 (OT), 20, 28, 23, and 30 points. An average offense would have won at least four of those.
Dallas’ Offense:
22nd in PTS/G
22nd in YDS/G
23rd in PYDS/G
10th in RYDS/G
Dallas’ Defense:
6th in PTS/G
7th in YDS/G
13th PYDS/G
5th in RYDS/G
“Defense Wins Championships”
Last year, the defense was top 10, the offense was bottom 10. Those numbers look even uglier with context as we’re in an offensive-driven league. We’re in the era of elite QB play and explosive, dynamic offenses. Defenses winning championships has become the very rare exception, not the rule. Look at the Broncos, Bucs and Ravens. It’s not a coincidence that the truly elite defenses that do win a championship once every blue moon are never again serious contenders after that. It goes completely upagainst the grain to rely on your defense. In today’s NFL, it behooves you to overload your QB with weapons and make your offense as dangerous as possible. It’s as easy as asking yourself, do you feel more comfortable betting on the Bears, Ravens or Jaguars to win the Super Bowl, or you taking the Chiefs, Rams or Patriots to win it all? I want Dallas in that last group of teams.
Drafting a “slot receiver” at 58
For the sake of argument, let’s say Cooper & Gallup never suffer an injury, nor need a breather, and our coaches are small minded enough to limit Deebo to only being a slot receiver...he’s still worth the pick. Beasley’s jump in production with Dak at QB just shows how important the position is to him. The problem Beasley presented is he was a very limited player. He didn’t offer much of anything past his handful of underneath routes. What he did do, he did well, but he wasn’t explosive enough to attack the field on deep or intermediate routes, and he wasn’t physical enough to make contested catches or lineup on the outside. If defenses wanted to key in on him, it was fairly easy to take him away. You wouldn’t have that problem with Deebo. He adds an explosive element to the middle of the field that not only drastically helps the passing game, but the run as well. It would be almost impossible to stack the box against Zeke because defenses would have to respect Deebo. Many fans have been begging for that from the TE position but a dynamic slot receiver would have the same effect. Our offense would instantly be a lot less predictable and uncreative on that alone. And as an added bonus, Deebo can just as easily play the outside if need be. If you wanted to move Cooper or Gallup to the slot, you’d have no problem doing so. We weren’t able to do that with Beasley.
Randall Cobb & Tavon Austin
Drafting Deebo instantly makes Tavon expendable. He’d even replace him as the returner and be much better suited for the jet sweeps they still want to run. It’s Cobb that offers a lot of what Deebo does, but he’s a stop-gap player. He’ll almost certainly be gone next season. It’s more than likely Deebo wouldn’t see a lot of playing time to start the year, but I’d expect him to eventually take over as the starter just as Gallup did to Hurns. At the very least, we’d have the receiver position solidified for years to come with Cooper, Gallup and Samuel, and if you’re of the belief that receivers take a year or more to acclimate themselves to the NFL, that’s the ideal situation for you.
BPA
If Deebo for some reason makes it to 58, I don’t think there should be any hesitation from the front office to take him. He would in all likelihood be the best player available and would eventually silence a lot of our long-term criticisms towards the offense. But for those completely against the idea, you’ll probably be relieved to know I don’t at all expect the team to go this direction. I think the pick will almost certainly be a safety, probably Thornhill. I would just go a different direction is all. My 2¢ ✌️
