Cowboys Relying Much Less On Free Agents Than You Might Think

[waving monkey]

One of the concepts I kept hearing and reading about during draft season was "building through the draft"; how important it is, how it's the key to success in the NFL, how dynasties are built off it and so on.

So I asked myself the question, is 'building through the draft' still a relevant concept today, or is it more or less a relic from pre-free-agency days? And what's the alternative to building through the draft, "building through free agency"?


On a whim, I decided to look at the 15 top cap hits on the 2016 Cowboys roster. And much to my surprise, I found that only two of the top 15 Cowboys players (as measured by their 2016 cap hit) joined the Cowboys as free agents after playing for another NFL team. Here's an overview:


Rank Player POS Cap Hit
1 Tony Romo QB 20.8
2 Dez Bryant WR 13.0
3 Brandon Carr CB 10.7
4 Jason Witten TE 8.6
5 Orlando Scandrick CB 7.8
6 Tyron Smith LT 6.8
7 Sean Lee LB 6.0
8 Doug Free RT 5.5
9 Barry Church S 4.8
10 Ezekiel Elliott RB 4.5
11 Tyrone Crawford DT 4.4
12 Rolando McClain LB 3.4
13 Cole Beasley WR 3.4
14 Dan Bailey K 3.3
15 Morris Claiborne CB 2.7
Total 105.5

link/http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2016...much-less-on-free-agents-than-you-might-think

 

[dallasdave]

One of the concepts I kept hearing and reading about during draft season was "building through the draft"; how important it is, how it's the key to success in the NFL, how dynasties are built off it and so on.

So I asked myself the question, is 'building through the draft' still a relevant concept today, or is it more or less a relic from pre-free-agency days? And what's the alternative to building through the draft, "building through free agency"?


On a whim, I decided to look at the 15 top cap hits on the 2016 Cowboys roster. And much to my surprise, I found that only two of the top 15 Cowboys players (as measured by their 2016 cap hit) joined the Cowboys as free agents after playing for another NFL team. Here's an overview:


Rank Player POS Cap Hit
1 Tony Romo QB 20.8
2 Dez Bryant WR 13.0
3 Brandon Carr CB 10.7
4 Jason Witten TE 8.6
5 Orlando Scandrick CB 7.8
6 Tyron Smith LT 6.8
7 Sean Lee LB 6.0
8 Doug Free RT 5.5
9 Barry Church S 4.8
10 Ezekiel Elliott RB 4.5
11 Tyrone Crawford DT 4.4
12 Rolando McClain LB 3.4
13 Cole Beasley WR 3.4
14 Dan Bailey K 3.3
15 Morris Claiborne CB 2.7
Total 105.5

link/http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2016...much-less-on-free-agents-than-you-might-think

Thanks for the info !!

 

[waldoputty]

that is great, but i think you left out thornton.
we may need a QB after next year.
garappolo and tyrod taylor may be immediate solutions...

 

[iceberg]

that is great, but i think you left out thornton.
we may need a QB after next year.
garappolo and tyrod taylor may be immediate solutions...

or dak.

 

[TheHerd]

that is great, but i think you left out thornton.
we may need a QB after next year.
garappolo and tyrod taylor may be immediate solutions...

Nope. Thornton cap hit is 2.25.

 

[Risen Star]

I didn't know building through the draft was a "concept" in need of study.

It's the only way to build a sustained winner in any sport.

 

[waldoputty]

Nope. Thornton cap hit is 2.25.

really i thought it was 4million.
i guess it is cap management...

 

[waldoputty]

or dak.

assume the worst, hope for the best.
that goes for dak, gregory etc. lol

 

[big dog cowboy]

we may need a QB after next year.
garappolo and tyrod taylor may be immediate solutions...

A lttle early for that.

 

[waldoputty]

A lttle early for that.

unless romo goes down and dak gets lot of time, we will only have an idea what dak can do.
if we can get romo's successor from free agency or the draft, it would be irresponsible not to.
the interest in paxton would hopefully mean continued attempt to get someone.
i think the chance of someone become a QB from a 4th round is 40% or less.
if we get another one, hopefully our chance for an adequate replacement is significantly higher than 50%.

 

[Nova]

I didn't know building through the draft was a "concept" in need of study.

It's the only way to build a sustained winner in any sport.

Weirdly enough, one team defies that logic. One team has won 2 Super Bowls in a span of 4 years with more than 50% FA's contributing.

Just another reason why most NFL fans are baffled by two Eli rings.

 

[Idgit]

Weirdly enough, one team defies that logic. One team has won 2 Super Bowls in a span of 4 years with more than 50% FA's contributing.

Just another reason why most NFL fans are baffled by two Eli rings.

More than one. Most teams use all options available to them to build their teams. Denver didn't get where they got to without Peyton Manning, Demarcus Ware, or Aquib Talib, for example.

 

[robjay04]

More than one. Most teams use all options available to them to build their teams. Denver didn't get where they got to without Peyton Manning, Demarcus Ware, or Aquib Talib, for example.

No most of the good teams do not.

Carolina, New England, Green Bay, Pittsburgh...these are considered some of the best teams in the league and neither of these teams are ever players in free agency.

Denver is an exception to the rule. The norm for the best teams in the league is to build through the draft and use free agency as little as possible.

 

[J_Allen]

Carr's hit really sucks. A rookie free agent could easily do his job.

 

[dogunwo]

Carr's hit really sucks. A rookie free agent could easily do his job.

No, a rookie free agent could not. If he could they would play one. Carr would have been a June 1 cut and they would have saved money playing a rookie free agent. Carr plays no where near his contract level, but he is no where near as bad as he is made out to be on this board.

 

[robjay04]

No, a rookie free agent could not. If he could they would play one. Carr would have been a June 1 cut and they would have saved money playing a rookie free agent. Carr plays no where near his contract level, but he is no where near as bad as he is made out to be on this board.

I was planning to say the same thing. If we cut him tomorrow, a team would sign him to play number 2 CB. He is an okay number 2 CB, not the elite CB he was paid to be though.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Carr plays no where near his contract level, but he is no where near as bad as he is made out to be on this board.

He's pretty bad. But I will give him credit for one thing. Because he sucks so much, he altered the way we do business in FA now and I am grateful for that.

 

[Supercowboy1986]

Carr's hit really sucks. A rookie free agent could easily do his job.

Hindsight is 20/20, we thought we signed a CB for the future with him. As much as I want to believe that a free agent rookie could beat carr easily for his roster spot, it's just not true. We had a lot of corners come in and out since Carr was signed and unfortunately none of them have beat him out. He's ours for better or worse.

 

[gimmesix]

More than one. Most teams use all options available to them to build their teams. Denver didn't get where they got to without Peyton Manning, Demarcus Ware, or Aquib Talib, for example.

My belief is that free agency should supplement what you already have. Denver, for instance, had a dynamic pass rusher in Von Miller and other good DL that allowed Ware to be the icing on the cake. You've got to have those building blocks, then find those free agency pieces to fill the gaps.

Dallas tried to do that with Hardy last year and it didn't work out because the season spiraled out of control without Romo and Dez. The hope was that Hardy would be the piece to put us over the top.

I do believe the use of free agency depends on where you are as a team. If you do see or believe that you are only a couple of pieces away, then go and get those pieces. If not, you're just wasting money. Dallas' approach to free agency this year, IMO, was that of a team unsure of where it is. Is it the 12-4 team of 2014 or closer to the 4-12 team of 2015?

 

[ThreeandOut]

What this list shows is that not only are they building through the draft, but they have a clear preference of resigning their own players over spending that money on outside free agents. Most of those top 15 are on their 2nd (or 3rd) contracts with Dallas. Spending money on another teams free agents lessens your ability to resign your own players.