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By Jon Machota and Bob Sturm
5h ago
The Cowboys have provided many topics to discuss with their roster moves over the past month. To break some of them down and look ahead to this month’s NFL Draft, Cowboys writers Jon Machota and Bob Sturm shared their thoughts while responding to the following five questions.
1. Of all the moves the Cowboys have made over the past month, which do you think was the best?
Machota: I don’t think there’s a wrong answer between trading for Stephon Gilmore and trading for Brandin Cooks, but I’m going to go with adding Cooks. In the process, Dallas parted ways with a fifth-round pick this year and a sixth next year. The Houston Texans are also paying $6 million of Cooks’ $18 million salary. That’s a great deal for a Cowboys team that desperately needed to add another starting wide receiver to their roster. They attempted to add Cooks last year at the trade deadline but the asking price was much higher. They can now pair him with CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup to form a very good starting trio. Cooks should also complement the group because his speed on the perimeter adds something the offense was missing. He turns 30 in September, but he’s still capable of being a 1,000-yard receiver who also adds six to eight touchdowns.
Sturm: I think there are many very fine answers to this question, but I keep coming away with the thought that the biggest impact to the quality of the team is probably acquiring Gilmore for next to nothing. I know people think that because of the cost and his age (and even the fact that he wasn’t really in the football news cycle a whole lot in 2022) that this is not a major move. But, for those of us who were watching him play pretty closely in Indianapolis down the stretch — including his evening in Dallas in December — I would argue that Gilmore is still a real player with real quality. The Cowboys have two top-notch cornerbacks now for the first time in forever and this should move the defense up a level or two. Moving on from Ezekiel Elliott is great and so is Cooks, but overall, for me, this is the one.
https://theathletic.com/4363032/2023/03/30/cowboys-nfl-mock-draft/
2. How do you feel about the possibility of Terence Steele going from starting right tackle to being the swing tackle and getting work at left guard?
Machota: I’m not a fan of that idea. He’s made too much progress as a starting right tackle to move him to left guard. It’s also one of those things that I’ll believe it when I see it on Sundays. I think it sounds good to say that now because left guard is one of their biggest positions of need. So why not put it out there that you have players ready to step in? However, I think it’s much more likely that they draft a guard in one of the first three rounds and then have Chuma Edoga as a veteran backup if needed. I can see a healthy Tyron Smith being the Week 1 starter at right tackle, but even then it makes the most sense to have Steele as the swing tackle, knowing that you’re likely going to need him back in the starting lineup at some point during the season. Smith hasn’t started a full season since 2015.
Sturm: I am not terribly excited about this one, but I actually think this is a lot of talk that will probably not see the light of day because in reality, Steele will probably need a significant part of the season to recover from his major knee situation. Steele is a tackle and a decent one at that. But, remember the Gallup situation and how poorly that went by talking him up as an important piece to 2022 when he was recovering. The Cowboys ended up rushing him back and his entire season was quite poor. Perhaps they learned to plan as if he will not do much, account for his spot with Tyler Smith and Tyron Smith, and anything you get is either a bonus or a reinforcement when Tyron gets banged up again. In short, I don’t really think Steele at left guard is a legitimate idea from them and maybe we will see that to be true when we get to camp.
Michael Gallup, left, and Terence Steele (Tim Heitman / USA Today)
3. With the significant roster moves likely cooling down until the draft, what one area do you think needs to be addressed most on the roster?
Machota: Defensive tackle. Left guard would be second. Tight end and running back would fit somewhere after that. Osa Odighizuwa is a good player. Quinton Bohanna fills an important role. Neville Gallimore has shown some flashes. Johnathan Hankins is still a quality player. Chauncey Golston has valuable position flex. But there’s not a serious game-wrecker in the middle. To get one, it often takes having a very high pick in the first round. There are some exceptions, though. The 2016 draft was a good example. Kenny Clark went to the Packers at 27. Chris Jones was picked by the Chiefs in the second round. Javon Hargrave was drafted by the Steelers in the third. The Cowboys need some luck in that department. And just because Trysten Hill didn’t work out in the second round in 2019, they still have to keep trying.
Sturm: Thankfully, after the work they have done, I am not sure this answer is particularly urgent and if they don’t find a massive upgrade, they should still be in decent shape. However, I am going to continue to pound the table that they need one more excellent playmaker if they can find it. What position specifically? Tight end is the spot I would address with my best resources, but that could be converted into a wide receiver of significance if the opportunity makes itself available at pick No. 26, perhaps. In either case, they will just be a rookie and we must temper our enthusiasm a bit, but I think that still needs some love. As anyone who follows my daily draft thoughts knows by now, I have no problem getting a strong top tight end at 26. The other answer is surely some more DT quality if there is a chance at that.
https://theathletic.com/4349803/2023/03/27/dallas-cowboys-mock-draft-offense/
4. Hypothetical scenario: When the Cowboys go on the clock at 26, these are the five best players available: Bryan Bresee, Michael Mayer, Dalton Kincaid, Calijah Kancey, Mazi Smith. Who do you think they should pick from that group?
Machota: I would lean toward Mayer because I think he’s the most complete prospect of that group. He doesn’t have any real weaknesses. But if Dan Quinn really wanted Bresee or one of the other defensive tackles, I’m sold. There’s some understandable concern about taking a tight end in the first round. There really hasn’t been great success in that department recently. And it’s the deepest position group in this class. There’s a good chance the Cowboys feel like they can get a good tight end in the second or third round who could be a quality player for several years to come. If Mayer ended up being the pick, I think it would be similar to Tyler Smith last year. Many fans wouldn’t love it at the moment, but they’ll be on board more and more as the season unfolds.
Sturm: I think the answer for me would probably be from Mayer/Kincaid and I have them as very similar grades, so I would probably err on the side of the more sure thing (Mayer), even though I personally prefer the receiving weapon that Kincaid offers. But, I also buy mutual funds to cover the downside and that is why Mayer is going to be my guy. Kancey is a first-round grade as well and is probably the best player available of those five, so if you are the type of person that pounds the table for BPA, maybe that is the scenario to consider as well. But, I am pot-committed to fixing this void at tight end and for all the people who say Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot have got it covered, I will respectfully disagree that they are of the quality of Mayer/Kincaid.
https://theathletic.com/4381016/2023/04/05/cowboys-nfl-draft-first-round-pick/
5. What are your thoughts on the oddsmakers having the Cowboys’ over/under win total for this upcoming season set at 9.5?
Machota: My initial thought is that it was too low. I understand the tougher schedule, but this is a team that won 12 games each of the last two seasons and they’ve shown some offseason aggressiveness that we haven’t seen in a while. Without knowing how the draft will unfold or what the exact schedule will look like or what injuries might occur throughout the season, I feel comfortable predicting the Cowboys will win at least 10 games in 2023. I was also a little surprised to see that they were tied with the Jets, Browns, Saints and Lions at 9.5 wins.
Sturm: Oddsmakers always are being provocative when it comes to the Cowboys and we do not know the complete layout of the schedule. The Cowboys have about five road games where they will be pretty significant underdogs, I would think: Philadelphia, San Francisco, Buffalo and slightly less with Miami and the Chargers (where we can get a week of Kellen Moore talk!). We better understand that this is a tougher schedule than 2022. But, 9.5? That seems very low to me and I would think this is a 10-win team for sure based on how impressive I believe they have attacked their issues this spring. I am not here to engage in Super Bowl optimism until I see Mike McCarthy and Dak Prescott’s offense execute for a month or two at a very high level. But for now, I don’t think that Dallas is a nine-win team at all, so I would hit that over pretty hard. The oddsmakers are troublemakers in the spring time, for sure.