Free Agency, Draft Picks, Needs, Who might we pick

[Sandyf]

Here are the Cowboys 2023 unrestricted free agents.

• Tony Pollard, RB
• Leighton Vander Esch, LB
• Donovan Wilson, S
• Dalton Schultz, TE
• Johnathan Hankins, DT
• Anthony Brown, CB
• Brett Maher, K
• Cooper Rush, QB
• Noah Brown, WR
• TY Hilton, WR
• Jason Peters, OT
• Connor McGovern, OG
• Dante Fowler, DE
• Carlos Watkins DT
• Anthony Barr, LB
• Luke Gifford, LB
• CJ Goodwin, ST
• Jake McQuaid, LS
• Matt Overton, LS

Here are the Cowboys’ 2023 restricted free agents.

• Terence Steele, RT
• Rico Dowdle, RB

So who do we keep and where does it leave us.

• Tony Pollard, RB - either he gets a franchise tag or sign a 3 year deal probably averages $9 million a year (believe they either cut Zeke or reduce his contract
• Leighton Vander Esch, LB - believe he comes back on a 2 year deal even with Cox and Clark
• Donovan Wilson, S - they will let go but might revisit once they see any offers he might receive
• Dalton Schultz, TE - seriously doubt we see him back, Ferguson, Hendershot, and McKeon will man the spot
• Cooper Rush, QB - probably back on a 1 year deal
• Jake McQuaid, LS - back on a 2 year deal
• Connor McGovern, OG - they will offer a team friendly deal but will be up to him to accept
• Terence Steele, RT - probably given a 1st round tender which would be nice
• Rico Dowdle, RB - probably a tender as round pick which would be UDFA
• The rest will be only coming back at the end of free agency or during camp, no real hurry on any of them

So what do the draft picks look like, actually not bad since projected to get 3 comp picks that will be day 3 picks but it will give us 10 picks.

We all know how Dallas operates in the draft which will be best available player mostly likely each round but best available in position of need also applies. Free agency of guys we might, emphasis on might, sign could impact it a bit but my hopes aren't high on Dallas signing any significant free agents that actually make a difference. They just don't believe it is good business to overpay any free agent except their own.

So what do we need and this is my view of the importantance.

• WR - losing Cooper hurt more than many thought, not counting out Tolbert yet but he has to get it together, Lamb is great but you need more, so a high draft pick could definitely happen
• CB - like that Bland make a great impact and Lewis back helps and Joseph is starting to rise a little but need to hit on a rookie before Day 3 of draft
• DE - Lawrence, Williams, Armstrong make a good 3some but could use another guy that could be a Parsons type that defenses have to also worry about
• DT - like a broken record, we need a difference maker here
• OG - we have suitable guys but need a horse at LG instead of revolving door
• OT - Tyler Smith LT, Steel RT, Tyron Smith backup/starter, Waletzko backup RT/starter another late pick for development is good
• K - please draft a guy in 5 or 6 or 7, lot of good ones coming out this year
• LB, QB, RB, S - we could see picks here but believe they will have to be absolutely best available by far

Pick possibilities and will update after combine and individual workouts
1st Round - Joey Porter, Jr. CB; Drew Sanders LB; Quintin Johnson WR, Broderick Jones OT/OG, Paris Johnson OT
2nd Round - Andre Carter II Edge, Jaylon Jones CB, Cody Mauch OT, Jalin Hyatt WR, Devone Achane RB, Lukas Van Ness DE
3rd Round - Darrell Washington TE, Mazi Smith DT, Zach Harrison DE, John Michael Schmitz OC, Cedric Tillman WR, JL Skinner S
4th Round - Luke Schoonmaker TE, Eli Ricks DB, Laiatu Latu LB, Connor Gavin OG, Joseph Ngata WR, Jarrett Patterson OG
5th Round - Frank Ladson Jr. WR, Steve Avila OG/OC, Jermayne Lole DT, Myles Brooks CB, Trey Dean III S, Mike Jones Jr LB, Jake Moody K

What we do in free agency will go a long way to there thinking in the draft