Are both sides right regarding the Cowboys linebacker debate?

Late Round Linebacker Steals

You can find off-the-ball linebackers in later rounds. PFF came out with their list for the best linebackers for the 2021 season and there are only two first-round picks in the top ten and only three in the top 15.

When you look at the highest-paid off-the-ball linebackers, there is only one first-round linebacker in the top ten which is C.J. Mosley. There are some fans reading this who are struggling to figure out who that is. He was drafted in the first round by the Ravens and at the time, was made the highest-paid linebacker by the New York Jets.

New York has to overpay for free agents to sign with them as they have been bad for a while now. Not to leave you with such a small sample, the next first-round linebacker on the list is Shaq Thompson of the Carolina Panthers who is the eighth highest-paid linebacker.

I can wait while you Google his name so you can form your opinion.

Anthony Barr of Minnesota is 17th and Dont’a Hightower of New England is 20th. For comparison, Micah Parsons is the 32nd highest-paid inside linebacker. He is in the first year of his rookie contract.

Barr actually verbally agreed to a massive deal with the Jets only to change his mind the next day and return to Minnesota on a smaller deal. Where you play is sometimes more important than how much money you make.

Just for comparison, Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith, who was a second-round draft pick, has significantly more tackles and has a few more sacks than Barr every single year since Jaylon returned to the field in 2017. Barr signed a five-year deal worth $67.5 million while Jaylon signed a five-year 63.75 million extension.

The extension matters when spreading out guaranteed money.

I didn’t want to damper the NFL draft hype but I was concerned about the move at first. It appears that Parsons will make good on his selection but Jabril Cox is also showing that there are alternate ways of adding talent to your team.

When you look at the Cox selection, his path appears to be a more favorable trend in the NFL than Parsons. There are 18 first-round linebackers that are in the top 50 paid players at the position which equates to 36%. Looks good on the surface until you realize 14 of those 18 players are still on their rookie deal.

That means only four teams have given the first-round linebacker an extension. When you take a look at those four names, I wonder if any of those teams have buyers remorse.

The Jets have Mosley who signed a five-year $85 million deal. Mosley suffered a groin injury that kept him out 14 of 16 available games his first season in New York and opted out of his second season with the Jets because of Covid. Two games in two years is hardly an endorsement for signing linebackers and there are already complaints about his contract.

Parsons looks good now but how much value does he bring if the Cowboys were to extend him in the future? A first-round pick should give a franchise at least ten years of good to great service or it is questionable in my opinion why you drafted that player in the first place. Like most scenarios, there are exceptions.