The Dallas Cowboys clearly trust their pre-draft evaluations.
The theme of this offseason for Dallas has been acquiring former first-round draft picks who failed elsewhere. That's not new — it's a team that wasted selections by trading them for quarterback Trey Lance two years ago — but the Cowboys leaned hard into that strategy this offseason. It's typically not a successful plan for any team, but that didn't keep Jerry Jones from trying.
The Cowboys added four former first-round draft picks whose careers have not panned out as hoped. They traded for former Bills cornerback Kaiir Elam and former Chargers and Titans linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. They signed former Saints defensive end Payton Turner and defensive tackle Solomon Thomas, who has played for three teams since the 49ers took him with the third pick of the 2017 draft.
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At least the Cowboys are adding players, unlike last year's very quiet offseason following Jones' "all in" proclamation. It's just hard to see how the moves are getting them closer to overtaking the Philadelphia Eagles, or even the Washington Commanders, in the NFC East.
Dallas doesn't spend much
The Cowboys have a problem, and it got worse this month. They have to pay Micah Parsons, and the price keeps going up.
The Las Vegas Raiders signed Maxx Crosby to an extension worth $35.5 million per season. Then Myles Garrett, who requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns, got $40 million per year.
This is the downside of the Cowboys waiting to do big contracts, as they often do. The price for someone like Parsons was never going to go down. He'll be asking for at least Crosby money now, and maybe Garrett money.
The Cowboys have to budget for that, and that meant another quiet free agency.
They retained defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, which was important and costly. He got $80 million over four years. That's a smart move for a good player.
As for outside additions, it seems like the Jones family was happy to scour old draft big boards and figure out who could be had cheap. It's unclear if the Cowboys watched what those former first-round picks have done in the NFL, but they are high on draft pedigree.
Meanwhile, the Eagles and Commanders are actually hitting on draft picks, not just hoping recycling jobs turn up some diamonds.
Cowboys will be running it back
The Cowboys might not be far off from being a playoff team, as hard as that is to believe given the negativity over their lack of free agency activity the past two offseasons.
The Cowboys won the NFC East two seasons ago, though it seems like a couple decades ago. They won 12 games three straight seasons before everything went sideways last season. The Eagles ascended to Super Bowl champions and the Commanders came out of nowhere with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels to make the NFC championship game. The Cowboys were pushed further away from being a contender.
The Cowboys added some linebackers in Murray and Jack Sanborn, which was needed. Help on the line is always beneficial, and Thomas and Turner could add to the depth. Former Broncos running back Javonte Williams, signed to a modest one-year, $3 million deal, might be an upgrade over Rico Dowdle who left to the Panthers. It's not like much was invested in taking a shot on Elam, as Dallas did a fifth-/sixth-round pick swap with the Bills to get the cornerback. The same can be said for Murray, who cost a sixth-round pick and a swap of seventh-round picks with the Titans. But it's hard to see any of the additions as making a huge impact, even if they were cost effective.
We'll have to see if new head coach Brian Schottenheimer can do better than Mike McCarthy with what amounts to a very similar roster. That roster finished seven games behind the Eagles last season, though injuries played a big part. There's also still time to make a much-needed addition at receiver or an impact player at any position.
Either way, it has been a quiet March for Cowboys fans. They're getting used to that.
