Dallas Cowboys: Replacing Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne
By Carl Daley
The Dallas Cowboys are preparing for the 2017 NFL Draft, which should help them replace two key players lost to free agency.
The Dallas Cowboys lost two pieces of their secondary as the team saw starting cornerbacks Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne leave in free agency.
The Cowboys were on their way to rebuilding their secondary. However, this free agency period has been somewhat rough on Dallas. Anytime a football team loses depth at a key position it is somewhat of a big deal. Hopefully, the Cowboys can continue to build their young roster.
Plenty of analysts have projected that the Cowboys will take a significant tumble down the defensive rankings in 2017. That simply is not true.
Although the team may have lost its starting cornerbacks, the Cowboys have gained something they desperately needed in return: financial freedom. Dallas is on their way to fixing their free agency gaffes of the past and that should make most Cowboy fans pretty excited.
Dallas has stayed away from giving out big contracts to any players outside of their own. That should continue as the team continues to build up their roster for the upcoming season. In fact, the Cowboys have already found a somewhat suitable replacement for the loss of Carr.
Earlier this month, the Cowboys signed defensive back Nolan Carroll, formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles. Carroll is actually more productive than Carr or Claiborne on the field, so it will be interesting to see how he fits in with Dallas existing cornerbacks Orlando Scandrick and Anthony Brown.
This leaves Dallas having to replace just one cornerback in their secondary. And you can expect them to take care of that during the upcoming 2017 NFL Draft. If the Cowboys are following that formula. it should be assumed that they will take the highest rated defensive back on their board likely somewhere in the first three rounds.
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The Dallas Cowboys could also “double down” at the position if another solid defensive back falls to them. But the Cowboys best chance at finding a nice replacement for Claiborne will be earlier rather than later. This draft’s crop of pass rushers is likely a bit weaker when compared to the defensive backs, so Dallas could be forced to take a defensive end with their first overall pick.