Off-Season Pass Rush Targets

TheEnigma

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The writing is on the wall that the Cowboys are going to be active in free agency in pursuing an upgrade to our pass rush. Jerry and Stephen have mentioned that we need to be proactive in this area. At the same time they have also made mention that our position in the draft makes it difficult to acquire the "premium" players. Put two and two together and you get free agency. It's not to say that we are not going to draft defensive lineman, but I'm almost as confident that they are going to sign at least one defensive lineman as I am that Dez will be a Cowboy next year. So my questions are this:

Who do you personally want the Cowboys to target? This isn't limited to defensive end as I know many of you want Suh.

Who do you think the Cowboys will target? This may be a different answer than the first.

Finally, let's say that we sign a WDE, what happens to Mincey/Lawrence? Can either be effective on the strong side? Would Mincey be able to slide in to the 3T to rotate/back up Crawford?
 

TonyRomo17

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Brandon Graham from the Eagles, he doesnt get much playing time but hes been a very productive pass rusher this season, he has also mentioned he would rather play in a 4-3
 

jrumann59

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Brandon Graham from the Eagles, he doesnt get much playing time but hes been a very productive pass rusher this season, he has also mentioned he would rather play in a 4-3

He is a little on the small side and is more situational pass rusher. I do not think he would fit the 4-3 we run which is play the run on the way tot he qb.
 

TheCoolFan

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Gimme Fairley and then if Dwight Freeney can come for cheap then I'd take him as a 3rd down/passing down rusher off the bench
 

superonyx

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He's terrific against the run.

I'm not sure I would use the term "terrific" and Brandon Graham in the same sentence. That guy was a huge waste of a 1st round pick of the Eagles. The fans in philly didn't even remember this guy was on the team until this season. Another guy who sleeps for several years and suddenly wakes up and makes a couple plays when it's time for a contract.
 

supercowboy8

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Orakpo on a Melton like deal.

JPP would be nice to take away from NYG but I don't want to over pay.

Hughes would be nice if he comes for an average price. Don't want to over pay for a guy that played on the best DL in NFL. Dareus and Mario helped pad his stats.
 

dfense

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Orakpo on a Melton like deal.

JPP would be nice to take away from NYG but I don't want to over pay.

Hughes would be nice if he comes for an average price. Don't want to over pay for a guy that played on the best DL in NFL. Dareus and Mario helped pad his stats.

Really? So he wasn't the focal point of a double team. That's padding his stats? He had 20 sacks the last two years. That's better than any current Cowboys player by far.

Did you ever think maybe he helped them "pad" their stats?
 

Oh_Canada

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I'm not sure I would use the term "terrific" and Brandon Graham in the same sentence. That guy was a huge waste of a 1st round pick of the Eagles. The fans in philly didn't even remember this guy was on the team until this season. Another guy who sleeps for several years and suddenly wakes up and makes a couple plays when it's time for a contract.

The guy played well the last three years with limited snaps, he was very good against the run and five sacks isn't a bad number considering how many snaps he played. I didn't think he "slept" at all, just didn't get as many opportunities. Willie Young had a similar reputation in Detroit, than got a chance in Chicago and had a ten sack season.
 

superonyx

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The guy played well the last three years with limited snaps, he was very good against the run and five sacks isn't a bad number considering how many snaps he played. I didn't think he "slept" at all, just didn't get as many opportunities. Willie Young had a similar reputation in Detroit, than got a chance in Chicago and had a ten sack season.

He had 5.5 sacks this season, 3 last season and 0 the season before that. He has been so awful that they drafted him as a DE and then moved him to LB because they have been trying to find a spot for him. The eagles have a very blitz heavy defense and Connor Barwin can find a way to get 12.5 sacks and make the pro bowl on that team. The eagles get to the QB a lot...

I'm not saying he will always be garbage. But I won't pretend that he isn't considered one of the eagles biggest draft bust in recent memory either. He was the 12th pick in the 1st round and as you mentioned he hasn't been able to earn his way onto the field.

If Dallas lets 1850 yard Demarco Murray walk so we can pay Daniel Graham to come here as a resurrection project of unfounded potential then I will lose the hope I gained with the cowboys staff.

If we can't pay Murray because we need pass rushers then it needs to be a real pass rusher like JPP or Suh. Not a guy that may not even be good enough to get on the field with the Eagles. That would be the equivalent of the Eagles not signing Shady Mccoy so they could pay Brandon Graham.
 

locked&loaded

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He had 5.5 sacks this season, 3 last season and 0 the season before that. He has been so awful that they drafted him as a DE and then moved him to LB because they have been trying to find a spot for him. The eagles have a very blitz heavy defense and Connor Barwin can find a way to get 12.5 sacks and make the pro bowl on that team. The eagles get to the QB a lot...

I'm not saying he will always be garbage. But I won't pretend that he isn't considered one of the eagles biggest draft bust in recent memory either. He was the 12th pick in the 1st round and as you mentioned he hasn't been able to earn his way onto the field.

If Dallas lets 1850 yard Demarco Murray walk so we can pay Daniel Graham to come here as a resurrection project of unfounded potential then I will lose the hope I gained with the cowboys staff.

If we can't pay Murray because we need pass rushers then it needs to be a real pass rusher like JPP or Suh. Not a guy that may not even be good enough to get on the field with the Eagles. That would be the equivalent of the Eagles not signing Shady Mccoy so they could pay Brandon Graham.

He had 5.5 before the 3 sack year. 0 the year before that. But he only played in 3 games the 0 sack year, starting 0. He also forced 4 fumbles last year, 9 in his career.

Signing a guy like Graham wouldn't be the reason we don't sign Murray. We have plenty of money, we just don't want to pay him McCoy and Charles money because its bad business practice.
 

xwalker

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He had 5.5 sacks this season, 3 last season and 0 the season before that. He has been so awful that they drafted him as a DE and then moved him to LB because they have been trying to find a spot for him. The eagles have a very blitz heavy defense and Connor Barwin can find a way to get 12.5 sacks and make the pro bowl on that team. The eagles get to the QB a lot...

I'm not saying he will always be garbage. But I won't pretend that he isn't considered one of the eagles biggest draft bust in recent memory either. He was the 12th pick in the 1st round and as you mentioned he hasn't been able to earn his way onto the field.

If Dallas lets 1850 yard Demarco Murray walk so we can pay Daniel Graham to come here as a resurrection project of unfounded potential then I will lose the hope I gained with the cowboys staff.

If we can't pay Murray because we need pass rushers then it needs to be a real pass rusher like JPP or Suh. Not a guy that may not even be good enough to get on the field with the Eagles. That would be the equivalent of the Eagles not signing Shady Mccoy so they could pay Brandon Graham.

They moved him to LB because they changed from a 4-3 to a 3-4. He obviously wouldn't be a 3-4 DE.
 

Sydla

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He had 5.5 sacks this season, 3 last season and 0 the season before that. He has been so awful that they drafted him as a DE and then moved him to LB because they have been trying to find a spot for him. The eagles have a very blitz heavy defense and Connor Barwin can find a way to get 12.5 sacks and make the pro bowl on that team. The eagles get to the QB a lot...

I'm not saying he will always be garbage. But I won't pretend that he isn't considered one of the eagles biggest draft bust in recent memory either. He was the 12th pick in the 1st round and as you mentioned he hasn't been able to earn his way onto the field.

If Dallas lets 1850 yard Demarco Murray walk so we can pay Daniel Graham to come here as a resurrection project of unfounded potential then I will lose the hope I gained with the cowboys staff.

If we can't pay Murray because we need pass rushers then it needs to be a real pass rusher like JPP or Suh. Not a guy that may not even be good enough to get on the field with the Eagles. That would be the equivalent of the Eagles not signing Shady Mccoy so they could pay Brandon Graham.

This is not entirely accurate. They moved him to LB because they switched to a 3-4 under Kelly and he wasn't big enough to be a 3-4 DE.

For the right price, I'd take a flier on Graham. I think if anyone is going to be overpaid/overrated it's JPP.

Graham seems like a buy low type guy. He was a sure fire first round talent coming into his draft. Eagles took him and immediately stuck him in that flawed wide 9 system they used that eventually led to Reid finally getting fired. Then Kelly moved him to OLB because he couldn't fit as a 3-4 DE. This year, he was actually pretty productive against the run and pass for really playing out of position.

But again it comes down to price. I'd pay if it was a reasonable deal.
 

xwalker

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The writing is on the wall that the Cowboys are going to be active in free agency in pursuing an upgrade to our pass rush. Jerry and Stephen have mentioned that we need to be proactive in this area. At the same time they have also made mention that our position in the draft makes it difficult to acquire the "premium" players. Put two and two together and you get free agency. It's not to say that we are not going to draft defensive lineman, but I'm almost as confident that they are going to sign at least one defensive lineman as I am that Dez will be a Cowboy next year. So my questions are this:

Who do you personally want the Cowboys to target? This isn't limited to defensive end as I know many of you want Suh.

Who do you think the Cowboys will target? This may be a different answer than the first.

Finally, let's say that we sign a WDE, what happens to Mincey/Lawrence? Can either be effective on the strong side? Would Mincey be able to slide in to the 3T to rotate/back up Crawford?

Yes, IMO both Mincey and DLaw can play either side. Mincey did play a lot of 3-tech in the past, but he came to the Cowboys weighing 290 and got down to 267 by the end of the season.

Greg Hardy 6-4, 275
JPP 6-5, 278
Jerry Hughes 6-2, 254
Pernell McPhee 6-3, 280
Brandon Graham 6-2, 265
Jabaal Sheard 6-3, 264

Donkey Kong Suh 6-4, 305
Nick Fairly 6-4, 208





4-3 DE Kroy Biermann ATL 30
4-3 DE Cliff Matthews ATL 26
4-3 DE Osi Umenyiora ATL 34
4-3 DE Jerry Hughes BUF 27
4-3 DE Jarius Wynn BUF 29
4-3 DE Greg Hardy CAR 27
4-3 DE Trevor Scott CHI 31
4-3 DE George Selvie DAL 28
4-3 DE Anthony Spencer DAL 31
4-3 DE George Johnson DET 28
4-3 DE Darryl Tapp DET 31
4-3 DE Tyson Alualu JAX 28
4-3 DE Derrick Shelby MIA 26 R
4-3 DE Corey Wootton MIN 28
4-3 DE Jason Pierre-Paul NYG 26
4-3 DE Demarcus Dobbs SEA 28
4-3 DE O’Brien Schofield SEA 28
4-3 DE Greg Scruggs SEA 25 R
4-3 DE Alex Carrington STL 28
4-3 DE Da’Quan Bowers TB 25
4-3 DE Adrian Clayborn TB 26
4-3 DE Larry English TB 29






3-4 OLB John Abraham ARI 37
3-4 OLB Sam Acho ARI 27
3-4 OLB Marcus Benard ARI 30
3-4 OLB Pernell McPhee BAL 27
3-4 OLB Jabaal Sheard CLE 26
3-4 OLB Brooks Reed HOU 28
3-4 OLB Ricky Sapp HOU 29
3-4 OLB Andy Studebaker IND 30
3-4 OLB Justin Houston KC 26
3-4 OLB Dezman Moses KC 26 R
3-4 OLB Akeem Ayers NE 26
3-4 OLB Cheta Ozougwu NO 27 R
3-4 OLB Jermaine Cunningham NYJ 27
3-4 OLB Brandon Graham PHI 27
3-4 OLB James Harrison PIT 37
3-4 OLB Arthur Moats PIT 27
3-4 OLB Jason Worilds PIT 27
3-4 OLB Dwight Freeney SD 35
3-4 OLB Dan Skuta SF 29
3-4 OLB Quentin Groves TEN 31
3-4 OLB Derrick Morgan TEN 26
3-4 OLB Everette Brown WAS 28
3-4 OLB Brian Orakpo WAS 29

DT Alameda Ta’amu ARI 25 R
DT Dan Williams ARI 28
DT Corey Peters ATL 27
DT Terrence Cody BAL 27
DT Colin Cole CAR 35
DT Dwan Edwards CAR 34
DT Stephen Paea CHI 27
DT Devon Still CIN 26 R
DT Ishmaa’ily Kitchen CLE 27 R
DT Ahtyba Rubin CLE 29
DT Nick Hayden DAL 29
DT Terrance Knighton DEN 29
DT Mitch Unrein DEN 28
DT Nick Fairley DET 27
DT Andre Fluellen DET 30
DT C.J. Mosley DET 32
DT Ndamukong Suh DET 28
DT Fred Evans FA 32
DT Letroy Guion GB 28
DT B.J. Raji GB 29
DT Ryan Pickett HOU 36
DT Jerrell Powe HOU 28
DT Jared Odrick MIA 28
DT Tom Johnson MIN 31
DT Alan Branch NE 31
DT Sealver Siliga NE 25 R
DT Brandon Deaderick NO 28
DT Tyrunn Walker NO 25 R
DT Mike Patterson NYG 32
DT Kenrick Ellis NYJ 28
DT Damon Harrison NYJ 27 R
DT Pat Sims OAK 30
DT D’Anthony Smith SEA 27
DT Kevin Williams SEA 35
DT Ray McDonald SF 31
DT Chris Neild WAS 28


3-4 DE Tommy Kelly ARI 35
3-4 DE Christo Bilukidi BAL 26
3-4 DE Lawrence Guy BAL 25
3-4 DE Sione Fua CLE 27
3-4 DE Tim Jamison HOU 29
3-4 DE Fili Moala IND 30
3-4 DE Cory Redding IND 35
3-4 DE Kevin Vickerson KC 32
3-4 DE Leger Douzable NYJ 29
3-4 DE C.J. Wilson OAK 28
3-4 DE Cedric Thornton PHI 27 R
3-4 DE Ricardo Mathews SD 28
3-4 DE Karl Klug TEN 27
3-4 DE Jarvis Jenkins WAS 27
 
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