Dallas Cowboys free agency allows for BPA draft strategy

With the draft just weeks away, the Dallas Cowboys work in free agency has set them up to have multiple different options come draft night.

We are just over three weeks away from the NFL draft, however the Dallas Cowboys still are in free agency mode.

Just a few weeks ago, Cowboys fans were clamoring for their team to do something, anything, to add talent. The team has certainly answered the bell, or at least attempted to do so.

The latest signing, free agent Kony Ealy, adds depth to the defensive line and provides another young pass rusher to the mix. Ealy has been a target of the Cowboys for a while. First, Dallas had interest in drafting him in 2014. Instead, the Cowboys traded up in the draft to select DeMarcus Lawrence.

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Another opportunity presented itself, sort of, last year when the New England Patriots put Ealy on waivers. Dallas was unsuccessful in their attempt to sign him as the New York Jets had a higher waiver priority.

The third time must be the charm as the Cowboys have brought him in on a one-year, team-friendly deal. Terms of the deal were not readily available, however it’s likely no more than two years and less than $3M total.

This move brings the Cowboys free agency body count up to six. It’s seven if you want to count re-signing in house free agent Joe Looney.

So, as it stands now, here is a snapshot of the Dallas Cowboys roster. Of note, I have a total of 55 players on the list. There are twenty-six, both on offense and defense, along with the usual three special teamers. Players in bold and italics are ones that are on the fringe of not making the team come September.

Offense

$96.1M assigned to the salary cap

QB	RB	WR	TE	OL
Dak Prescott	Ezekiel Elliott	Dez Bryant	Jason Witten	Tyron Smith
($726K)	($6.8M)	($16.5M)	($3.4M)	($17.5M)
Cooper Rush	Rod Smith	Allen Hurns	Rico Gathers	Zack Martin
($557K)	($705K)	($4.4M)	($480K)	($9.3M)
	Jamize Olawale	Terrance Williams	Geoff Swaim	Travis Frederick
	($1.6M)	($4.8M)	*($718K)*	($5.9M)
		Cole Beasley	Blake Jarwin	La’el Collins
		($4.3M)	($555K)	($5.8M)
		Ryan Switzer	James Hanna	Cameron Fleming
		($696K)	*($3.5M)*	($2.4M)
		Deonte Thompson		Marcus Martin
		($1.8M)		($636K)
		*Noah Brown*		Joe Looney
		($573K)		($975K)
				Chaz Green
				($877K)
				Kareem Edwards
				($555K)

Defense

$62.1M assigned to the salary cap

DE	DT	LB	CB	S
DeMarcus Lawrence	David Irving	Sean Lee	Jourdan Lewis	Jeff Heath
($17.1M)	($2.9M)	($11M)	($768K)	($2.5M)
Tyrone Crawford	Maliek Collins	Jaylon Smith	Chidobe Awuzie	Kavon Frazier
($9.1M)	($975K)	($1.7M)	($973K)	($655K)
Taco Charlton	*Brian Price*	Damien Wilson	Anthony Brown	Xavier Woods
($2.3M)	*($630K)*	($821K)	($664K)	($595K)
Kony Ealy		Joe Thomas	Byron Jones	Duke Thomas
		($1.3M)	($2.7M)	*($480K)*
Charles Tapper		Justin March	Marquez White
($784K)		($630K)	*($480K)*
Randy Gregory		Tre’Von Johnson
($1.2M)		*($480K)*
Datone Jones
($790K)
Lewis Neal
*($555K)*

Special Teams

$6.6M assigned to the salary cap

P	K	LS
Chris Jones	Dan Bailey	L.P. Ladouceur
($1.7M)	($4.2M)	($720K)

As you can see I have 12 “fringe” players. The Cowboys also have ten draft picks coming up in a matter of weeks.

Using this roster review as a guide should help narrow down the direction of the Dallas draft. As I have mentioned a few times over the last couple of weeks, I do not expect Dallas to keep all ten picks. Even if I’m wrong, I highly doubt all ten would make the team.

Here are a few things we can surmise as it pertains to the roster:

The Cowboys have a definitive need for at least one running back and one, if not two linebackers. Those meeting rooms right now have too many empty chairs.
Last year’s addition of two rookies at cornerback and a rookie safety will not keep the Cowboys from looking here either. Depending on how the draft shakes down, adding a fifth corner or fourth safety to the competition mix would be wise.
Tight end may also be a position this team looks at, sooner rather than later.

Other than that, the Cowboys have set themselves up to have a blank check, so to speak, as it pertains to the draft. They have the draft capital and sheer number of selections to move up in round one. Dallas can just sit at 19^thoverall and select whichever available player they like best. The Cowboys could even pair picks 81 & 116 to move up to the top of round three and still have a fourth round selection (137).

Next: Cowboys 2018 NFL Draft: 7-round mock 4.0

This type of versatility will, at minimum, make the Dallas Cowboys an interesting team to watch come draft weekend. Ultimately, it would be nice to see Dallas make the right moves to nab a few difference makers to get them over the hump.

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