After re-signing running back Javonte Williams to a new three-year, $24 million contract and placing the franchise tag on Pro Bowl wideout George Pickens before either had a chance to hit the open market, the Dallas Cowboys haven't made much noise since the official start of the big free agency boom back on March 9.
Sure, they traded for Rashan Gary that first day, which is a solid move, but as the veteran edge rusher was going to be released by the Green Bay Packers, Jerry Jones likely still could've gotten him for less money (they did restructure his deal at least) and without sending away a fourth-round pick. But what's done is done.
Outside of the Gary move, however, the only external free agents Dallas has brought in are safeties Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke, cornerback Cobie Durant, defensive tackle Otito Ogbonnia, defensive end Tyrus Wheat, center Matt Hennessy, and quarterback Sam Howell.
You notice that not one of those players is a linebacker, right? And because of the Cowboys' lack of movement at the position, the Cowboys only placed 20th in ESPN's recent free agency class rankings.
The Dallas Cowboys' issues at linebacker knocked them down ESPN's free agency rankings
Ben Solak recently took what had to be a big chunk of his time to rank and assess the respective free agency classes of all 32 teams, taking signings, re-signings, trade acquisitions, and departures into account.
Solak included an "I loved" and "I didn't love" section for each franchise, and in his assessment of America's Team in the latter category, this is what he had to say:
"I didn't love: The failure to address linebacker. It wasn't for lack of trying; as ESPN's Todd Archer reported, Dallas was "deep into talks with Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean," both of whom ended up with the Raiders. The current talent at linebacker is prohibitive to a playoff defense. With Marist Liufau moving to an on-ball role, the Cowboys have only three rostered off-ball linebackers, and DeMarvion Overshown is still rounding into form following his major 2024 knee injury.
"Dallas needs a big trade or an early draft pick that hits. That should be doable in a solid draft class and with an extra first-round pick to play with, but it's never good to enter April with this dire need."
Yeah, this is a problem, and it's certainly one that needs to be addressed.
The other two off-ball linebackers besides Overshown on the roster at the moment, of course, are Shemar James, who was taken in the fifth round of last year's draft and ultimately appeared in 14 games, starting six, and Justin Barron, who signed with Dallas as an undrafted free agent last year and appeared in all of two regular-season contests.
Now, with new defensive coordinator Christian Parker set to implement some hybrid schemes and different looks, Liufau will undoubtedly still take on some off-ball duties at times. But still, the Cowboys obviously need some more depth here, and it's likely going to have to come via the draft, as there really aren't many options left in free agency. Not overly impressive ones anyway.
I mean, Kenneth Murray is still out there if anyone is interested in that reunion. That's a joke, by the way, so you can go ahead and stop yelling at me through your screen now.
With two first-round picks at No. 12 and No. 20, one has to assume that the Cowboys are looking at linebackers left and right, and there are certainly plenty of solid options that should still be available when Dallas goes on the clock with those two selections.
For those wondering, Solak's "I loved" pick in the Cowboys' section was tagging Pickens. And the last thing he wrote in that portion of the piece was that "Dallas is a sneaky team to make a deep playoff run in this one-year window."
Yeah, we'll go ahead and end with that.