Following another playoff exit on the heels of a 12-win season, the Dallas Cowboys will be back to the drawing board. In 2022, they decided it would be wise to make some cuts as they moved on from Amari Cooper — which proved to be a huge mistake.
Now in 2023, they should look to add talent in an effort to capitalize on their current window of opportunity. With that being said, here are five free agents who could fill holes and help them round out their roster.
5 early free-agent targets for the Dallas Cowboys
5. Teair Tart, DT
This first one might not be easy since he’s a restricted free agent but the Cowboys need to see what type of tender the Tennessee Titans place on Teair Tart. If it’s a “right of refusal” tender, Dallas needs to bring him in and see if they can make an offer the Titans refuse to match.
A former undrafted free agent that played at three different schools, Tart signed with Tennessee in 2020 and developed into a starter during his second season. By year three, he was a force in the middle of the defensive line.
His numbers might not be great — 34 tackles and 1.5 sacks — but he was the 22nd-best defensive tackle in the NFL this season. He’s a stout 6-foot-2 and 304-pounds and while he might not have ideal measurements, he showed Dallas what he could do when he had six tackles and a half-sack when they played in Week 17.
With Johnathan Hankins and Carlos Watkins hitting free agency this offseason, Tart could be a solid replacement.
4. Will Hernandez, G
Chances are high that the Cowboys will be re-making some of their offensive line this offseason. They have two unrestricted free agents that started several games in Connor McGovern and Jason Peters. McGovern never developed into the player they hoped he would be when they added him out of Penn State and Peters is going to be 41.
They also have a restricted free agent in Terence Steele, but re-signing him feels like a no-brainer considering how much he’s developed in the past couple of seasons.
With holes at wide receiver and cornerback, they would be wise to look to free agency to help fill out their line and one player who was once tied to the Cowboys during the draft could be the answer. Will Hernandez was a hot name in the 2018 NFL Draft and the UTEP star was seen taking in a Bruce Willis movie with several members of the Cowboys offensive line that March.
While not all of the players on that line are still in Dallas, a couple of them are — Tyron Smith and Zack Martin. Perhaps they can help lure him to Dallas now after he spent four seasons with the New York Giants and one with the Arizona Cardinals.
A second-round pick for New York, Hernandez never seemed to be comfortable in their lineup but was much better in 2022. In Dallas, he could become a road-grader, giving them even more depth and options on a line that had to do a lot of shuffling this year.
3. Jamel Dean, CB
Anthony Brown is an underrated player but unfortunately, he’s also become an unreliable player. A sixth-round pick from Purdue in 2016, Brown has not played a full schedule since 2017 and missed a total of 12 games the past three seasons.
That could lead to the Cowboys moving in a different direction in 2023 — and with Kelvin Joseph and Nahshon Wright failing to impress while Brown was injured, that might lead to them searching for outside help.
One name to watch in this regard is Jamel Dean, of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Auburn product was added in 2019 as a third-round pick and developed into a full-time starter. He’s recorded 193 tackles, 41 pass defenses, and seven picks in four seasons and was the 11th overall cornerback in the league according to PFF.
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Dean doesn’t get the recognition he deserves for how well he’s played in his career but he would be an instant upgrade for the Cowboys in their secondary.
He stands 6-foot-1 and ran a 4.32 in the 40-yard dash. Having him line up across from Trevon Diggs with Daron Bland as the No. 3 corner would be a tough matchup for most teams.
Of course, Dallas would have to be concerned with his price tag. Diggs will be up for a new deal soon, so if Dean asks for too much, they might have to look elsewhere.
2. Mecole Hardman, WR
One huge mistake Dallas made this past season was when they decided to send Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns for a mere fifth-round pick. They clearly thought they would get more out of Michael Gallup and free agent James Washington, but that didn’t happen.
They used the draft as well to try and replace Cooper, adding Jalen Tolbert in the third round. The South Alabama product came in with a lot of hype but wound up with just two receptions all season. Clearly, it’s not time to give up on Tolbert and they should see Gallup’s play improve now that he has a full year removed from his torn ACL.
Even so, the passing attack in Dallas really needs more depth and there’s a great fit in free agency with Mecole Hardman hitting the open market. Hardman, a former standout at Georgia has been with the Kansas City Chiefs since 2019.
He’s been a solid receiver and return man, even though he never developed into a No. 1 option. For his career, Hardman has 2,088 yards on 151 receptions with 16 touchdowns. He’s added another 125 yards and two scores as a running back. And while Dallas has KaVontae Turpin, adding another player with return skills, and two touchdowns on special teams, is never a bad idea.
Hardman is known for his speed and putting him in the slot with CeeDee Lamb and Gallup on the outside would give them a vastly improved receiving corps heading into the 2023 season.
1. Bobby Okereke, LB
It didn’t seem like a huge move at the time but the Cowboys were able to get Leighton Vander Esch to return on a one-year deal for 2022. They elected not to pick up the fifth year on his rookie deal so it was a bit of a surprise he returned, but it proved to be the right move.
LVE looked like the player he was during his sensational rookie campaign in 2018. He was making plays in the running game and against the pass as well. With that being the case, he might have more suitors this offseason as he again hits free agency. If so, Dallas will need to consider going in a different direction.
One player they should have their eyes on is Bobby Okereke who spent the past four seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. A third-round pick out of Stanford in 2019, Okereke has 420 tackles, three picks, and four forced fumbles so far in his career.
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He’s solid in pass coverage but where he really shines is in run defense, and the Cowboys can use some help in that department, especially if they lost Vander Esch.
Another benefit to adding Okereke is that it would allow them to move Micah Parsons around more freely. For the past two seasons, Parsons has led Dallas in sacks, and having Vander Esch is what allowed them to put Parsons on the line and blitz when he was at linebacker.
Okereke won’t be cheap, but Dallas saw when playing Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw in their loss to San Francisco how tough it can be to stop two versatile linebackers from ruining a game plan.
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