3 moves that would cement the Cowboys’ outstanding offseason
By Jerry Trotta
Dallas Cowboys fans’ alarm bells were sounded at the owner’s meetings when Jerry Jones hinted at a potential offensive line realignment that would include Terence Steele serving as the team’s swing tackle behind Tyron Smith, who would start at right tackle in his place, and 2022 first-round gem Tyler Smith.
While alarming, that shouldn’t paper over what’s been a fantastic offseason thus far.
In the first two weeks of free agency, the Cowboys hit multiple home runs, including re-signing Donovan Wilson and Leighton Vander Esch, and making win-now trades in the form of Stephon Gilmore and Brandin Cooks.
There’s still work to be done in terms of rounding out the roster, but you’d be hard-pressed to have any complaints at this juncture.
Speaking of which, let’s underline some further moves the Cowboys can make to cement what’s shaping up to be a flawless offseason.
3 moves that would cement Cowboys’ magnificent offseason
3. Re-sign Carlos Watkins, Draft DT early
Full disclosure, Johnathan Hankins consumed this space over Watkins. Then, the Cowboys confirmed they re-signed Hankins Wednesday evening, so we swapped one defensive lineman for the other. Even with Hankins returning, the interior DL is currently the biggest hole on Dallas’ roster.
Still, keeping Hankins is a massive win. The 340-pound space-eater was a godsend to Dallas’ leaky run defense after he was acquired mid-season from the Raiders. If the Cowboys can parlay that into re-signing Carlos Watkins, then consider this offseason a 10 out of 10 or an A+, whichever you prefer.
Watkins didn’t play in five of the first six games of the campaign, but he was awesome down the stretch. He logged around 40% of the snaps from Week 7 on and earned his biggest workload in the Week 18 finale at 68%.
Keeping Watkins after re-signing Hankins would be the proverbial icing on the cake of the Cowboys’ defense, which which suddenly has elite potential after it added Gilmore and retained Wilson and Vander Esch.
They should follow that up by drafting a DT early in April. Perhaps as high as the first round and no later than the third so they have adequate talent at the position, because Neville Gallimore and Quinton Bohanna are trending down.