CFZ Offense: What free agents should the Cowboys have signed?

[CowboyoWales]

• Another reason that is getting overlooked a bit is Lamb's ability/inability to be a No.1 WR. Hard to evaluate if you have to worry about getting Coop X number of targets coz he's making $20M, especially when you can sign a player like Gallup for less money.

It would also be fair to not make the appraisal on CeeDee until we have our (WR2 (Gallup), WR3 (Talbot) and WR4 (Washington) all on the field.

I wholeheartedly agree that if we are going to sign CD after his Rookie contract (to presumably WR1 MONEY) then he should be exposed to the WR1 type coverage/responsibility now before the check's signed.

As per usual all of the above was done on the cheap and without any contingency or strategic thinking, knowing that Gallup was out for at least 3 weeks.

I think, the one/two things that have been overlooked is that the plan was always to bring Randy back and that his signing would have have meant little CAP space in 2022 AND 2023.

 

[Dre11]

• This is about Offense only. We can have another tread about defense.

• Keep in mind that this was a year when other teams paid:
  • Connors Williams 7M per season.
  • Cedrick Wilson 7.35M per season.
  • Traded a 1st & 2nd for WR Davante Adams & gave him a 140M contract.
  • Traded 5 picks (1, 2, 4, 4, 6) for Tyreek Hill & gave him a 120M contract.

• What should the Cowboys have done if they spent more money:
  • They couldn't give a big contract to a free agent LT to backup Tyron.
    • Signing another journeyman swing Tackle was not going to make things better.
  • They opted to give Tyron 1 more season to see if he could stay reasonably healthy.
    • They used a 1st round pick on a LT and kept Tyron for this final year.
    • It was a reasonable decision.

• Moving on from Amari Cooper was about more than money.
  • Remember the Raiders also got tired of him.
  • Yes, obviously the Raiders got a premium pick from him, but there was a reason they were ready to move on.

• Should they have signed another WR?
  • CeeDee had 79 catches for 1102 yards with a 65.8% catch rate in 2021.
    • Comp: Mike Evans had 74 catches for 1035 yards with a 54.9% catch rate (Yards/Catch +0.1 over CeeDee).
    • Evans had less catches/yards despite playing more snaps.
  • Gallup is a quality #2 WR and arguably #1 type NFL WR.
  • The Bucs signed Julio Jones for 1-year, 6M.
    • That looked good for game 1, however...
      • He played less snaps for 2020 & 2021 combined than CeeDee played in 2021.
      • i.e. Relatively high risk of injury at this point.
    • Also, Julio Jones only signed with the Bucs because of Brady.
      • Jones has made a ton of money already.
  • If just signing a free agent was the answer...
    • The Raiders could have saved themselves a 1st and 2nd round pick.
    • They gave up the picks and gave Davante Adams a big contract.
  • The Dolphins gave up 5 picks (1st, 2nd, 4th, 4th, 6th) for Tyreek Hill.
    • They also gave him a mega-contract.

X, look at my posts, I said this same thing over and over and nobody could come up with anything. Fans see other team giving out big money, signing this one and that one and want to copy it. I also feel like just because it's Stephen and Jerry people just like to complain because they hate them.

 

[Dre11]

They shouldn’t have traded their #1 WR and borderline offensive MVP in Cooper (Dak has always sucked without a true known

They shouldn’t have released a quality starting OT in La’el Collins.

Lol...Cooper came in and got this team back on track IMMEDIATELY,

Collins cut himself with his Bs...lol

 

[Dre11]

Im ok with the washington signing. Id have done that and kept cooper. But if you are going to get rid of cooper they needed to bring in more veterans and not be running out there with 2 new guys who can barely make a roster and a st player in brown, a 3rd round pick who cant make game day roster all while gallup is hurt.

As he said what other veterans would tou sign?

 

[Walker]

Should have kept Collins can't have enough quality OT, and for sure should have kept Cooper. Yes he may be out a few games a year, but the dude just know how to ball and is really a true #1 receiver when he is on the field most of the season.

 

[Walker]

Who the hell would argue that Michael Gallup is a #1 WR?

I was shocked to read that to Gallup a #1? Dude was #3 last year, and he hasn't even played a down this year. Playing against the #3 corner on the other team and calling yourself a #1 receiver is an insult to true #1 receivers.

 

[starfrombirth]

They shouldn’t have traded their #1 WR and borderline offensive MVP in Cooper (Dak has always sucked without a true known #1).

They shouldn’t have released a quality starting OT in La’el Collins.

I would posit that La'el is no longer "quality" nor is he dependable.

 

[Dre11]

The ball hit receivers in the hands multiple times and they didn't end up catching it.

I reviewed the game in extensive detail.

• Many of what appeared to be bad passes were actually the fault of the receiver running the route incorrectly.
  • CeeDee on a crossing route but it up field just as Dak was releasing the ball.
    • If CeeDee would have stayed on the original path, the ball would have been exactly on target.
  • A slant route by CeeDee where Dak had to fit the ball between a LB coming towards CeeDee and a CB trailing him.
    • CeeDee is expected to 'read' the LB and convert the slant to a curl (i.e. Sit down in the open area).
    • It was impossible for Dak to hit him in stride on the slant due to the LB being in the way.
    • If CeeDee properly reads the LB, the pass would have been perfectly on target.

Lol...(my grandma would say) X you done did it now...lol Most here won't understand this.

 

[stinkface]

The only one I don’t agree with is Julio Jones. With such a small contract and all the cap room we had…. If he physically checks out, why not take a chance on a guy not far removed from being the best wide receiver in the NFL.

Agree, but he is already hurt. Jarvis Landry might have been a better option at this point in their respective careers. PS. Landry signed for 3 million. Stephen could have found that in the couch on Jerry's big boat.

 

[stinkface]

I would posit that La'el is no longer "quality" nor is he dependable.

Collins was trash against Pittsburg, but lots of folks look like trash when they go up against JJ Watt.

 

[heir]

• Moving on from Amari Cooper was about more than money.
  • Remember the Raiders also got tired of him.
  • Yes, obviously the Raiders got a premium pick from him, but there was a reason they were ready to move on.

Most people at the time talked about the Raiders being stupid for trading Cooper, and Khalil Mack for that matter, and that it was another example of the Raiders being dysfunctional. When will fans here start to realize that we are just as dysfunctional as an organization? Our owner released, arguably, a top 5 player on our entire roster because he didn't get vaccinated and he should not be defended anymore.

 

[Jarv]

The ball hit receivers in the hands multiple times and they didn't end up catching it.

I reviewed the game in extensive detail.

• Many of what appeared to be bad passes were actually the fault of the receiver running the route incorrectly.
  • CeeDee on a crossing route but it up field just as Dak was releasing the ball.
    • If CeeDee would have stayed on the original path, the ball would have been exactly on target.
  • A slant route by CeeDee where Dak had to fit the ball between a LB coming towards CeeDee and a CB trailing him.
    • CeeDee is expected to 'read' the LB and convert the slant to a curl (i.e. Sit down in the open area).
    • It was impossible for Dak to hit him in stride on the slant due to the LB being in the way.
    • If CeeDee properly reads the LB, the pass would have been perfectly on target.

Maybe the recievers will run better routes for Rush...I mean 325 yards and 2 TDs last year, so obviously something clicked.

 

[Chuck 54]

I’m okay with what we did at OT. We had our starters in place and used a #1 on OT, along with drafting another. I’m not okay with what we did at OG. If the rookie was the left guard of the future, and the best option at OT by injury, why did we go with only Connor and practice squad guys at guard?

Im also not happy with what we did at WR. We learned in 2018 that you need more than a #1. Any defense can limit your #1, even Cooper. That’s when you need an excellent #2 and good #3 who can beat man coverage. I also don’t like talking about being a run team and not securing a good FB, but I know that’s not as popular.

 

[Ekspozed]

• This is about Offense only. We can have another tread about defense.

• Keep in mind that this was a year when other teams paid:
  • Connors Williams 7M per season.
  • Cedrick Wilson 7.35M per season.
  • Traded a 1st & 2nd for WR Davante Adams & gave him a 140M contract.
  • Traded 5 picks (1, 2, 4, 4, 6) for Tyreek Hill & gave him a 120M contract.

• What should the Cowboys have done if they spent more money:
  • They couldn't give a big contract to a free agent LT to backup Tyron.
    • Signing another journeyman swing Tackle was not going to make things better.
  • They opted to give Tyron 1 more season to see if he could stay reasonably healthy.
    • They used a 1st round pick on a LT and kept Tyron for this final year.
    • It was a reasonable decision.

• Moving on from Amari Cooper was about more than money.
  • Remember the Raiders also got tired of him.
  • Yes, obviously the Raiders got a premium pick from him, but there was a reason they were ready to move on.

• Should they have signed another WR?
  • CeeDee had 79 catches for 1102 yards with a 65.8% catch rate in 2021.
    • Comp: Mike Evans had 74 catches for 1035 yards with a 54.9% catch rate (Yards/Catch +0.1 over CeeDee).
    • Evans had less catches/yards despite playing more snaps.
  • Gallup is a quality #2 WR and arguably #1 type NFL WR.
  • The Bucs signed Julio Jones for 1-year, 6M.
    • That looked good for game 1, however...
      • He played less snaps for 2020 & 2021 combined than CeeDee played in 2021.
      • i.e. Relatively high risk of injury at this point.
    • Also, Julio Jones only signed with the Bucs because of Brady.
      • Jones has made a ton of money already.
  • If just signing a free agent was the answer...
    • The Raiders could have saved themselves a 1st and 2nd round pick.
    • They gave up the picks and gave Davante Adams a big contract.
  • The Dolphins gave up 5 picks (1st, 2nd, 4th, 4th, 6th) for Tyreek Hill.
    • They also gave him a mega-contract.

There was more than just Collins, hill, Adam's ect. Those are just the top and most expensive guys.

 

[buybuydandavis]

Yep, it's as if the Jones' looked at the reception figures and spoke to Dak and came up with the 1+1=3 that Dak doesnt like throwing to WR1's (because whilst they have talent, they're usually got coverage in the vicinity), he prefers the sanctuary of the static TE or WR3/4 with their less coverage.......

.....Jones solution, if he doesnt throw to a WR1, then why pay $20m for one. Their football brain didnt tell them that the whole basis of the CORP, is that if your WR1 is running routes and commanding double coverage it opens up the rest of the receiving corp.

They just money saving (and individuals) -and not the teamwork.

 

[Ekspozed]

Collins was trash against Pittsburg, but lots of folks look like trash when they go up against JJ Watt.

Tj watt*
Also, when was the last time Collins was good? 3 seasons ago?

 

[USArmyVet]

Unfortunately for me it had less to do with this last off-season than the ones that saw JJ give DLaw an extension, Zeke an extension, and Jaylon Smith an extension. These type of moves, and others, hurt the Dallas cap which hampered their ability to go after legitimate impact players.....but those moves are all JJ as he falls for his players.

 

[buybuydandavis]

Yep, it's as if the Jones' looked at the reception figures and spoke to Dak and came up with the 1+1=3 that Dak doesnt like throwing to WR1's (because whilst they have talent, they're usually got coverage in the vicinity), he prefers the sanctuary of the static TE or WR3/4 with their less coverage.......

.....Jones solution, if he doesnt throw to a WR1, then why pay $20m for one. Their football brain didnt tell them that the whole basis of the CORP, is that if your WR1 is running routes and commanding double coverage it opens up the rest of the receiving corp.

Nice analysis of the whole situation, grounded in the last in bold.

I've been saying for years that the double coverage that Cooper got was the stick that stirred the drink. WRs should ber judged by how much attention they command from the defense first, then how productive they can be with that attention. That's why WR2s are so often a mirage.

You can sort the below by team. The last column is a good one - QB Rating When Targeted. Cooper was 116, while getting the attention due a #1. Both Gallup and Lamb are about a mediocre 90, while *not* getting the attention due a #1.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2021/receiving_advanced.htm

I fear that CD may be another mirage, at best an average #1, and likely less than that. Really think about it, and ask what makes him special, or even good.
Mediocre speed, average height, below average weight. That leanness probably gives him a little extra elusiveness for YAC, but it has yet to translate into quality route running. Worst drop percentage of the WRs.

 

[1972COWBOY]

It doesnt matter if we had Adams, Cooper, and Hill. Dak looks like he has zero confidence and played terrible. The only thing worse than Dak was KM's play calling.

Like the trick play in the backfield when they only needed 3 yrd.

 

[stinkface]

Tj watt*
Also, when was the last time Collins was good? 3 seasons ago?

Watt's a Watt. I said Collins was trash. Be interesting how he plays this week.