Good and bad decisions made this year

[gimmesix]

• The Micah Parsons Trade. It was good to get two #1 picks. Kenny Clark was a nice pickup although he’s almost 30. Still depends on what we do with the remaining pick we have after acquiring Q. Williams.

We don't have a remaining pick. We traded Parsons for Clark and two picks. We traded two picks for Quinnen Williams. Since we traded a second this year and kept the first we got, we upgraded that pick ... although we won't know by how much until the season ends. Also, since the Jets get the higher of our two first-rounders the next year, we won't know how much we downgraded that pick until after the 2026 season.

I'm glad we have two first-rounders this year and think it's possible we could use one to recoup the second we traded for Quinnen and the third we traded for Pickens, but I just don't think it's right to look at it like we have a pick remaining after the Quinnen trade. We got two picks for Parsons and we traded two picks for Quinnen.

 

[Mark]

I'll stand by the Parsons trade all day. It was an inspired, courageous, and necessary move. Guy ran his mouth too much, and was developing into a cancer. Posters here who hinted at such early on were shouted-down. For all his (sometimes-employed) talent, Micah was a "me-first" malcontent in Dallas, and needed to be marketed for value elsewhere. Which he was. I'm sure it was a hard management decision, but it was the right one. The Pickens trade in reverse...another case of a misfit player exiting a bad fit for a better one. And we gave up much less for Pickens than the bounty received for Parsons.

 

[ConstantReboot]

Don't have to I guess.. not sure what you are going to do then.. not watch them?

Yes I have a choice not to watch. Unlike some people here take the abuse like a battered wife.

 

[Coogiguy03]

That is some good stuff right there, oh that hurts my parts.

Oh man you haven't seen anything yet, see my conversations with my best friend big dog cowboys he hates me but sends me love notes daily lol jk

 

[CowboyFanInLexKy]

The problem is cyclic:

Player on rookie contract or one of these free-agent rentals have a great season and everyone here clamors to "get him signed while he's cheap".
Player then diverts to mediocrity immediately the next season (take your pick - the list is long).
Board members then clamor that we overpaid or signed "too early".

I don't know, or have the answer, and I doubt a lot of other clubs are immune to the same problem. Compounding all issues, is the high-profile of the Cowboys. The team owner is his own worst enemy, and it's not all his fault.

I was with you all the way until here.... This is Jerry and Stephen all over it... Don't get me wrong. there is plenty of blame on coaches and players, and scouts but who hires these coaches and scouts? Who signs these players?

 

[Hawkeye0202]

The real issue will be what does this FO do with the extra draft capital? Are they capable of using it wisely to make this roster a lot better? Based on recent history, we have to hope they have learned some things. But I’m not holding my breath.

This is why, in my opinion, we are seeing a different, more aggressive Jerry. He knows if he can win, or at least get to a Super Bowl, over the next 2-3 years, it will minimize some of the heat he's taking for how poorly he handled Micah's negotiation. I expect him to be very aggressive with the remaining capital from the trade. Remember what he said on whether or not we can keep all three DTs......his response, yes, we can BUILD on that. I am expecting him to add at least two, maybe three more Quinnen Williams-level players in addition to keeping Pickens ( at least through 2026).

Looking back, Jerry treated Micah's negotiation the same as all previous high-end contracts ( drag them out to the last minute for better deals). The problem is that everything about Micah was different than ANY of the previous players ( value, position, money, and, more importantly, player personality and behavior), and Jerry didn't see that UNTIL it was too late. In other words, their negotiation strategy has worked 99% of the time, even if they had to clean up some loose ends. Micah is the 1% that didn't work, and they didn't see it coming.......it got ugly fast.

 

[deerhunter11]

Whatever anyone thinks about the 2025 off-season, it has to be better than the 2024 off-season where Jerry just sat on his hands and did nothing to make this team better. The 2025 off-season and regular season saw this FO make a lot of decisions. The hiring of a new HC, a lot of trades, a few FAs, the draft, cuts, etc.

Which decisions made by this FO were good and which ones were bad? And which decisions remain to be seen whether good or bad?

THE GOOD DECISIONS

• Drafting G Tyler Booker. 2025 first rd pick. He’s been very good and has lots of upside. Can be a key ingredient for this OL for the next decade.
• Drafting DE Donovan Ezeiruaku. 2025 2nd rounder. After a slow start DE has steadily improved. If he can add some more power he has great upside.
• Signing FA RB Javonte Williams. I was wrong about this guy. He has been a true weapon with power and toughness. Can we keep him?
• Trade for George Pickens. Acquired for a 3rd and 5th round pick. Except for the bad game in Det, Pickens has been outstanding. But…it can’t be a good trade unless the Cowboys can find a way to keep him long term at a price they can live with. This could turn into a “rent-a-player” for year if they can’t keep him.
• Trade for Quinnen Williams. QW is a stud DT acquired for a conditional 1stand 2nd rd pick. Williams gives this team a dominant DT. Wish he were a little younger. He’s 28. But hopefully we get at least 5 more good years.

THE BAD DECISIONS

• Dragging out the Micah Parsons negotiations. Whatever Dallas chose to do with MP, by dragging out the contract process as Jerry always does with his “stars”, it hurt the team to wait until Sept to trade their best asset. Bad decision to wait. The actual trade remains to be seen if it was good or not.
• Trade for LB Kenneth Murray. Acquired Murray for a 6th round pick. Murray has been a disaster. And he’s the 7th highest paid player on this team. Ouch.
• Trade for CB Kaiir Elam. Elam was acquired from Buffalo for a 5th and 7th rd pick. He was so bad, the Cowboys just cut him at midseason.
• The decision to hire DC Matt Eberflus. As is usually the case in Dallas, the HC doesn’t get to pick his coordinators. Eberflus was a Jerry hire.
• The Jonathan Mingo trade (yes it was 2024) The only reason I mention it is Mingo is still on this team. We gave up a 4th round pick for essentially a backup WR.

REMAINS TO BE SEEN - GOOD OR BAD

• Hiring Brian Schottenheimer. He deserves a chance to prove himself. It’s still too early to decide. But in a league where there is no cap on what you pay coaches we hire another unproven guy to lead this team? Like Gailey, Campo, and Garrett before him. Hope he works out. We will see.
• The Micah Parsons Trade. It was good to get two #1 picks. Kenny Clark was a nice pickup although he’s almost 30. Still depends on what we do with the remaining pick we have after acquiring Q. Williams.
• Drafting CB Shavon Revell. 3rd rd pick has first round talent. But why must we always draft guys with serious injury history? Revell didn’t play until November. And he’s still a big ?

What do you think about all the decisions made so far this year? What did I leave out? What do you disagree with?

Good Post Bob, right now Jerry hiring Eberflus looks like the worst move.

 

[deerhunter11]

You left out the Daron Bland contract extension. It didn’t need to happen this year and so far it looks like a big mistake.

Eberflus had a big impact in the Lions loss, Goff had enough time to make 3 bologna sandwiches back there. These DBs can’t cover forever, if this front 7 gets pressure like the previous 3 games Dallas probably wins . Dallas needs an aggressive Defensive coordinator.