Mock Off Season

[tm1119]

Just for the fun of it now that the regular season is over...

Will start this off by saying that at this point we all know that it is what it is with the HC and QB of this team at this point. So I won't go into that.

As for the Coaching Staff:
- We get lucky and despite a couple of interviews Richard doesn't get a HC job. Rod takes the route of his mentor Monte and goes into the booth in a consultant role and Richard gets the DC/assistant HC title.
- Linehan finally gets fired. Cowboys hire Bill Musgrave as O Coordinantor after Vance Joseph gets fired in Denver. Musgrave is a long time vet o coodinator and QB coach. I like him as a fit because of his experience with non traditional offenses. He played a big role in Vick's early career and was a member of Chip Kelly's coaching staff when they went to the playoffs. Also was Minny O coordinator back when AP was winning MVP's. Most recently was Oakland's o coodinator for their playoff team and Carr's very good year. Basically I think he will come in and run the ball as well as tailor the offense more towards Dak's skillset instead of making him a pocket passer.

Resign:
Demarcus Lawrence- Big deal but his semi down year will keep it reasonable
Byron Jones- Give him the contract now, he will probably only be more expensive next year
Cam Fleming- Don't really see why his free agent market would change much. Keep him as a back up on a cheap deal
Rod Smith- Being Jaylon's brother helps...but seriously, Rod is a solid backup and special teams player
Damien Wilson- Also don't see there being much of a market for him. Keep him on a cheap deal, he's unspectacular but solid and knows the system.
LP- As long as he wants to snap we'll have him back

Let Go
Cole Beasley- Love Cole, but don't see him being a big enough part of this offense to warrant the price tag.
Tavon- Won't cost much, but he's still really not useful
Irving- Gotta move on at some point
Olawale- Rod Smith can add a few Lb's and play his role...whatever that role is
Swaim- Are we positive him and Jarwin aren't the exact same person?
Marcus Martin
Caraun Reid
Datone Jones
March-Lillard
Daniel Ross

Cut
Sean Lee- It's been real friend, but that contract just doesn't work anymore
Allen Hurns- Nice guy, didn't work out
Rico- Not worth the roster spot
Twill- Good riddance
Cooper Rush- Not good enough

Free Agent Signings
Earl Thomas- Come on, why wouldn't it happen at this point? The injury keeps the contract reasonable
Jared Cook- Will have to pay up a little but a TE with athleticism and pass catching ability would do wonders.
RG3- Would fit the offense in mind if Dak were to go down
Justin Hardy- Shifty slot WR that should be cheap. I like his talent, never got the chance in ATL. Shouldn't cost much
Ramik Wilson- LB and ST depth

Draft
2nd Round- Jerry Tillery DT Notre Dame- Big athletic pass rusher that can hold his own vs the run. This DT class is too strong to not take advantage of a talent that falls.
3rd Round- Deebo Samuel WR South Carolina- All around playmaker. Can play inside or outside and also a kick returner. Would be a higher pick if not for SC's bad QB play.
4th round- Tytus Howard OT Alabama St- Depth and a look to the future of the o line. High upside
4th round- Darrin Hall RB Pitt- We need more talent behind Zeke and Hall is a do it all RB

QB- Dak, RG3, White (3)
RB- Zeke, Hall, Smith (3)
WR- Cooper, Gallup, Samuel, Hardy, Brown (5)
TE- Cook, Jarwin, Schultz (3)

LT- Tyron
LG- SuaFilo/WIllimas
C- Fred
RG- Martin
RT- Collins
Backups- Looney, Fleming, SuaFilo/Williams, Howard (9)

RDE- DLaw/Armstrong
DT- Crawford/Tillery
DT- Collins/Woods
LDE- Gregory/Taco (8)

LB- Wilson
LB- LVE
LB- Jaylon
Backups- Thomas, Wilson (5)

CB- Byron
CB- Chido
FS- Thomas
SS- Woods
Slot- Brown
Backups- Lewis and Heath (7)

K- Maher
P- Jones
LS- LP (3)

7 spots open for: 2 DB, 2 LB, 1 DL, 1 RB/TE (ideally a hybrid H-Back type), + 1 more....4 or so would be filled with remaining late round picks and UDFA's.

 

[ConceptCoop]

I like it, but can we afford all of this?

 

[tm1119]

I like it, but can we afford all of this?

Yes...pretty easily. After the cuts we’d be operating with right around $60M in cap space ( https://247sports.com/nfl/dallas-co...-NFL-cap-space-and-how-to-get-more-126233966/ ). And that’s without any kind of restructure or extension to anyone.

It’s not hard to structure the 1st year of contracts to fit under the cap either. Really it’s a pretty low key off season compared to what the cowboys could do if they really wanted to. I have the FA’s I signed taking up right around $30M. Byron already counts for $6M on the cap so you can extend him and only add $3-4M to the cap year 1.

 

[KingintheNorth]

Like:

Resign:
Demarcus Lawrence- Big deal but his semi down year will keep it reasonable
Byron Jones- Give him the contract now, he will probably only be more expensive next year
Cam Fleming- Don't really see why his free agent market would change much. Keep him as a back up on a cheap deal
Rod Smith- Being Jaylon's brother helps...but seriously, Rod is a solid backup and special teams player
LP- As long as he wants to snap we'll have him back

*agree with all these except the need to re-sign Jones now, unless the extension lowers his $6.2M 2019 cap number.

Let Go
Cole Beasley- Love Cole, but don't see him being a big enough part of this offense to warrant the price tag.
Irving- Gotta move on at some point
Olawale- Rod Smith can add a few Lb's and play his role...whatever that role is
Swaim- Are we positive him and Jarwin aren't the exact same person?
Caraun Reid
Datone Jones
March-Lillard

*the fan in me wants Beasley to stay, but I don't think that is a realistic or cost-effective.

Cut
Allen Hurns- Nice guy, didn't work out
Twill- Good riddance
Cooper Rush- Not good enough

*Cutting Rush won't happen but absolutely agree he is not good enough. Maybe a new OC would see it, and convince the FO to move on from him.

Free Agent Signings
Earl Thomas- Come on, why wouldn't it happen at this point? The injury keeps the contract reasonable
Jared Cook- Will have to pay up a little but a TE with athleticism and pass catching ability would do wonders.
RG3- Would fit the offense in mind if Dak were to go down

*Earl Thomas is exactly what this defense needs. Cook is a short-term but effective solution. RG3, if cheap, makes sense. He can do many of the things Dak can do if he had to come in and play.


Don't like:
Resign:
Damien Wilson- Also don't see there being much of a market for him. Keep him on a cheap deal, he's unspectacular but solid and knows the system.

*Just no need to spend any sort of money to retain him. Let him move on.

Let Go
Tavon- Won't cost much, but he's still really not useful
Marcus Martin
Daniel Ross

*I'm hoping Austin re-signs, especially if Beasley moves on. The coaches were very high on Martin before he got hurt. He's a better version of Joe Looney. Ross is an exclusive rights free agent and will be very affordable. For what he is asked to do, I'm fine paying him the tender.

Cut
Sean Lee- It's been real friend, but that contract just doesn't work anymore
Rico- Not worth the roster spot

*I really don't like cutting Sean Lee but agree it is extremely likely. I'd love to see them agree on a pay cut. Also, zero need to cut Gathers unless he's a headache in the locker room. He's cheap and is in year three of what was always a low-risk, long-term project.

Free Agent Signings
Justin Hardy- Shifty slot WR that should be cheap. I like his talent, never got the chance in ATL. Shouldn't cost much
Ramik Wilson- LB and ST depth

*Nothing signings to me. Would rather have Austin than Hardy, especially with Dak at quarterback. Wilson is ehhh to me. Rather roll with Joe Thomas and Chris Covington.


Draft
2nd Round- Jerry Tillery DT Notre Dame- Big athletic pass rusher that can hold his own vs the run. This DT class is too strong to not take advantage of a talent that falls.
3rd Round- Deebo Samuel WR South Carolina- All around playmaker. Can play inside or outside and also a kick returner. Would be a higher pick if not for SC's bad QB play.
4th round- Tytus Howard OT Alabama St- Depth and a look to the future of the o line. High upside
4th round- Darrin Hall RB Pitt- We need more talent behind Zeke and Hall is a do it all RB

*Yeah, not a fan of this draft at all. Tillery does nothing for me; I'm not even sure he likes playing football. Seems a round too high for Samuel and even then, doesn't wow me. Howard and Hall wouldn't make the roster IMO.

 

[DasSchnitzel]

I disagree on your approach to TE. I would like to keep Swaim and Jarwin because together they both seem to be developing into something. With both of them on affordable deals, I wouldn't mind picking one up in the draft as well with a higher pick.

Swaim, Jarwin, and a promising rookie sounds like a young, cheap, solid way of completely revamping the TE position in the post Witten era, and doing so in basically the same time frame that the WR position was revamped in the post Dez and TWill era.

Would be pretty masterful in my mind.

I also think Austin is worth keeping an eye on because he's not a bad receiver and the spark in the return game is worth paying attention to.

Beasley... I don't really want to move on if I don't have a promising replacement in the slot on hand. I think he'll be cheap because he hasn't looked great, disappearing and playing hurt and showing bad attitude. I might sign him to a short deal if possible and use him as a bridge. I don't really want him on the team anymore but when he's on, he's deadly in the slot.

 

[Sydla]

Like:

Resign:
Demarcus Lawrence- Big deal but his semi down year will keep it reasonable
Byron Jones- Give him the contract now, he will probably only be more expensive next year
Cam Fleming- Don't really see why his free agent market would change much. Keep him as a back up on a cheap deal
Rod Smith- Being Jaylon's brother helps...but seriously, Rod is a solid backup and special teams player
LP- As long as he wants to snap we'll have him back

*agree with all these except the need to re-sign Jones now, unless the extension lowers his $6.2M 2019 cap number.

Let Go
Cole Beasley- Love Cole, but don't see him being a big enough part of this offense to warrant the price tag.
Irving- Gotta move on at some point
Olawale- Rod Smith can add a few Lb's and play his role...whatever that role is
Swaim- Are we positive him and Jarwin aren't the exact same person?
Caraun Reid
Datone Jones
March-Lillard

*the fan in me wants Beasley to stay, but I don't think that is a realistic or cost-effective.

Cut
Allen Hurns- Nice guy, didn't work out
Twill- Good riddance
Cooper Rush- Not good enough

*Cutting Rush won't happen but absolutely agree he is not good enough. Maybe a new OC would see it, and convince the FO to move on from him.

Free Agent Signings
Earl Thomas- Come on, why wouldn't it happen at this point? The injury keeps the contract reasonable
Jared Cook- Will have to pay up a little but a TE with athleticism and pass catching ability would do wonders.
RG3- Would fit the offense in mind if Dak were to go down

*Earl Thomas is exactly what this defense needs. Cook is a short-term but effective solution. RG3, if cheap, makes sense. He can do many of the things Dak can do if he had to come in and play.


Don't like:
Resign:
Damien Wilson- Also don't see there being much of a market for him. Keep him on a cheap deal, he's unspectacular but solid and knows the system.

*Just no need to spend any sort of money to retain him. Let him move on.

Let Go
Tavon- Won't cost much, but he's still really not useful
Marcus Martin
Daniel Ross

*I'm hoping Austin re-signs, especially if Beasley moves on. The coaches were very high on Martin before he got hurt. He's a better version of Joe Looney. Ross is an exclusive rights free agent and will be very affordable. For what he is asked to do, I'm fine paying him the tender.

Cut
Sean Lee- It's been real friend, but that contract just doesn't work anymore
Rico- Not worth the roster spot

*I really don't like cutting Sean Lee but agree it is extremely likely. I'd love to see them agree on a pay cut. Also, zero need to cut Gathers unless he's a headache in the locker room. He's cheap and is in year three of what was always a low-risk, long-term project.

Free Agent Signings
Justin Hardy- Shifty slot WR that should be cheap. I like his talent, never got the chance in ATL. Shouldn't cost much
Ramik Wilson- LB and ST depth

*Nothing signings to me. Would rather have Austin than Hardy, especially with Dak at quarterback. Wilson is ehhh to me. Rather roll with Joe Thomas and Chris Covington.


Draft
2nd Round- Jerry Tillery DT Notre Dame- Big athletic pass rusher that can hold his own vs the run. This DT class is too strong to not take advantage of a talent that falls.
3rd Round- Deebo Samuel WR South Carolina- All around playmaker. Can play inside or outside and also a kick returner. Would be a higher pick if not for SC's bad QB play.
4th round- Tytus Howard OT Alabama St- Depth and a look to the future of the o line. High upside
4th round- Darrin Hall RB Pitt- We need more talent behind Zeke and Hall is a do it all RB

*Yeah, not a fan of this draft at all. Tillery does nothing for me; I'm not even sure he likes playing football. Seems a round too high for Samuel and even then, doesn't wow me. Howard and Hall wouldn't make the roster IMO.

The part about Tillery not liking football has kind of been put to rest with some of his comments the last year or so at ND. Initially, when younger, there were some reports that he was more intellectually geared and had grown tired of football and that showed in his play. But the last two years, he's totally committed himself to football and has been great at DT the last two years.

Tillery, late in the 2nd round, where we are likely picking would be a very good pick. Although he's a 3T, not a 1T. So if people are looking for us to finally take a bruiser high, Tillery isn't that guy.

 

[AmericanCowboy]

Cut Rod Smith. We need a home run threat to compliment Zeke.

Rod Smith isn’t that.

Also, resign Tavon.