Mike McCarthy is a good hire. He gives us a realistic chance to maximize the talent we have, but perhaps more importantly, he gives us the opportunity to have a fresh set of eyes to evaluate this team’s roster. This team needs a really good offseason to evaluate its talent and upgrade where needed.
One of the weaknesses of our organization the last two decades is too often having a rosy estimate of our talent. The best NFL GMs are willing and able to look at players critically and determine how much tread is on the tire of a player and their true value in a hard salary cap.
I’m of the opinion that most of us as fans, and sadly even the Jones power brokers, tend to overvalue our talent. That’s normal for fans. It’s not normal for a good front office.
With that in mind, here are some positions and roster spots (in no particular order) I believe need some real scrutiny:
- LT- Truly one of the 3 most important positions on a team includes LT. From 2011-2018, Tyron Smith was one of the best players in the NFL and perhaps even the best player on the Cowboys roster. But back and knee injuries have made Ty Smith a lot more human. We need to consider that his days as a top LT are winding down.
- Safety- a no brainer. We haven’t had great talent at this position for too long. It’s time for this team to invest in a premium draft pick at a long time position of need.
- DT- a close second to safety in obvious need. Another position where we have settled for mid-late round draft picks or cheap retreads. It’s past time to address this position early in the draft.
- WR- Amari Cooper is a great talent and he certainly helped this team for two years. But I don’t believe in investing huge cap space on a position that is one of the easiest to find talent. Michael Gallup’s emergence also makes giving huge cap dollars to Cooper less attractive. I favor moving on from him and saving some cash.
- LB- I still believe a healthy LVE is a great talent. I’m a little concerned about Jaylon after his big contract but he’s still certainly a talent. This team still needs LB talent. We should probably say goodbye to Sean Lee though. Love the guy and what he has meant to this team. But it’s better to cut a guy a year early than too late.
- Guard- I’m not convinced that Connor Williams is a starter. He’s ok at best. Maybe Connor Macgovern is an upgrade and Williams just becomes a decent backup. But this position needs to be addressed.
- TE- Jason Witten needs to go. He’s a HOFer but he’s done. We need another TE probably from the draft to complement the emergence of Blake Jarwin.
There are probably more positions of need not mentioned above. But it’s certainly clear this team needs upgrades at multiple positions. In general, I would say the defense has the most glaring needs. But I also hope Coach Mac is able to bring a more discerning eye on this roster. And that we can stop being married to a player too long because “we love them”.
LT - Honestly, one of the most neglected positions on this entire roster, and simply due to negligence, there is no way to sugar coat this, negligence, there is no other way around it.
Should we invest the 17 on a potential LT, IDK... will one worthy of being developed still be there?
I will get a better feel for this draft and the depth at positional groups in the coming weeks, but history suggests that taking a replacement LT at 17 usually ends in bust.
LTs, do not grow on trees, lets take a moment, and revisit this in a few weeks.
S - Lets just move it down,, as much as everyone wants to have a top safety, myself included, there has to be a draft staus/value, and I believe that MM will value this need, but I believe that he will do so lower on your evaluation priority list, and will reach out in FA to possibly fill that void,, Heath needs to be moves to Bill Bates, solely special teams number one gunner hit man.
DT - should be equal with LT on your list, and the only reason why I say this franchise should strike there first at 17 is only based on availability and risk vs reward.
You have a much higher chance of actually nabbing an impact interior DL at 17, historically speaking... so lets evaluate LT vs DL for this draft draft class and come back and discuss.. again its early, and I need a chance to really take a look at what will be on the board,, but those two seem to be of equal value at this point as far as immediate relevance, so lets see.
WR - Don't like were you have the need, but I do like the big enormous fast bests at WR in this draft and that's exactly why I move that down to the very last position of need, because I like playing the odds is a draft saturated with WRs. This draft is stacked with WRs, lets grab one with tremendous upside late.
LB - Again, I would move a few up my board, its a need pick, rather or not most fans want to admit it, we need LBrs, and I would be willing to bet that MM agrees.
G - FA pick ups all day long, we got a bit of cap, not much of a concern, don't waste draft picks even late on the position that wont make the team.
TE - The juggernaut, Is Jarwin that guy,, lets all hope he can be,, you got this positon in the right place only because rook TEs take a bit, and we have much more pressing needs,, TE last, if we have a pick to waste