Hindsight 2020: Grading the Cowboys roster moves last offseason
The Dallas Cowboys had a slew of free agents last offseason, and several big names at that. The decisions they had to make on who would stay and who they’d let walk centered around the elephant in the room, what they would do for the quarterback position.
In July, when the dust had settled, we took a look at the differences between the 2020 team and what it looked like in 2019, position by position. We graded it on being an upgrade, a downgrade or treading water compared to the previous group. Now, with a 6-10 season as a result of everything, it’s fair to assess whether or not those were the right moves as opposed to conjecture. Here’s what we thought then, and what the season showed us was reality.
Quarterbacks
(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Gains:
Losses:
July Verdict: Upgrade Adding Dalton turned out to be prescient. After not missing a single start in his first four seasons, Prescott was knocked out in Week 5 with a gruesome injury. The Dalton experiment didn't start off well, and looked like a failure, but after suffering injuries himself and Dallas almost upsetting the then-undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers with midseason signing Garrett Gilbert under center, Dalton returned after the bye week. Dallas won 4 of 5 games before a lackluster performance in Week 17. Dalton's performance could potentially lead him into the comp pick formula. Meanwhile, Gucci DiNucci looked light years away from being ready to play NFL football. In Retrospect: Upgrade | Grade: B+
Running Backs
(Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Gains:
Rico Dowdle (Rookie)
Darius Anderson (Rookie)
Sewo Olonilua (Rookie)
Losses:
Mike Weber
July Verdict: Upgrade It was hard not to be an upgrade after minimal production from the player's replaced, but there was little production from the new guys either. Dowdle excited with two huge kick returns, but barely saw offensive snaps. Olonilua was activated for a couple games down the stretch for special teams snaps. Anderson didn't make the big club and is currently on a futures deal with Indianapolis. In Retrospect: Upgrade, slightly | Grade: C+
Wide Receivers
Nov 9, 2019; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (2) loses his helmet during the second quarter against the Iowa State Cyclones at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Gains:
CeeDee Lamb
Kendrick Rogers
Aaron Parker
Losses:
Lance Lenoir
July Verdict: Upgrade Cobb played in 10 games for Houston, earned Dallas a fifth-round comp pick and caught 38 passes for 441 yards and 3 scores. Lamb played all 16 games, caught 74 passes for 935 yards and 5 scores, and also had a kick return TD. He's on his way to great things in the league. In Retrospect: Major Upgrade | Grade: A+ In Retrospect:
Tight Ends
James Lang-USA TODAY Sports
Gains:
Sean McKeon (rookie)
Charlie Taumoepeau (rookie)
Losses:
July Verdict: Upgrade Addition by subtraction as saying goodbye to Witten allowed the depth chart to blossom. Even if Witten was benched for Blake Jarwin, we know that as soon as Jarwin went down in Week 1, Witten would've absorbed the snaps instead of them going to Dalton Schultz. Schultz had a fine year, warranting Pro Bowl consideration with 63 catches and 615 yards while scoring three touchdowns (it was a down year for tight ends in the NFC). Plus, Bell was a phenomenal blocker as TE2. In Retrospect: Upgrade | Grade: B
Offensive Line
Gains:
Tyler Biadasz (Rookie)
Cam Erving
Isaac Alarcon (Rookie)
Connor McGovern
Losses:
Travis Frederick
Cam Fleming
Xavier Su'a-Filo
Tyler Jones
July Verdict: Downgrade McGovern played not because he replaced Connor Williams but because Zack Martin suffered a couple injuries and only played parts of 10 games. He acquitted himself well and should compete for a starting gig in 2021. Biadasz didn't start the year but came in and played ok, but didn't get his job back from Joe Looney in December, so the jury is out on how the staff feels about him. The biggest story is an afterthought from July, and that was UDFA Terence Steele starting all 16 games at right tackle. It was hideously ugly early, and just bad late, but credit goes to OL coach Joe Philbin who held the line together with silly putty and string while La'el Collins missed the entire season and Tyron Smith played just 2 games. The backups suffered injuries throughout the year, too. The run game suffered tremendously as Tony Pollard lost a whole yard per carry from his 2019 average and Ezekiel Elliott lost half a yard. In Retrospect: Downgrade | Grade: C-
Defensive Line
Gains:
Gerald McCoy
Dontari Poe
Neville Gallimore (Rookie)
Aldon Smith
Bradlee Anae (Rookie)
Ron'Dell Carter (Rookie)
Losses:
Robert Quinn
Maliek Collins
Michael Bennett
Christian Covington
Kerry Hyder
Daniel Ross
Daniel Wise
July Verdict: Upgrade Yikes, where do we start. Smith played well early, then his time away and a nagging injury cut off his production after several weeks. So, nobody replaced Quinn's massive production (neither did Quinn in Chicago either, but thanks for the 4th-round comp pick). Poe was a failure, being released midseason and McCoy didn't make it out of camp after a quad injury and settlement. Anae and Carter played, basically never as rookies. Gallimore flashed though, and there's reason to be hopeful he could be more than just a guy moving forward. Hyder was missed as he played really well in SF, much better than his time with Rod Marinelli in Dallas. Oh, and Marinelli's replacement has already been fired. So long, Jim Tomsula. In Retrospect: Big Downgrade | Grade: D+
Linebackers
(Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
Gains:
LaDarius Hamilton (Rookie)
Francis Bernard (Rookie)
Azur Kamara (Rookie)
Losses:
Chris Covington
Ray Ray Armstrong
Malcolm Smith
July Verdict: Tread Water None of the new guys played, none of the old guys were missed. The guys who did play, Jaylon Smith, Leighton Vander Esch, Sean Lee and Joe Thomas, all took a step back in Mike Nolan's misfit scheme. Nolan's out, too. In Retrospect: Tread Water | Grade: D
Secondary
Gains:
Trevon Diggs (Rookie)
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix
Daryl Worley
Reggie Robinson (Rookie)
Saivion Smith
Luther Kirk (Rookie)
Losses:
Byron Jones
Jeff Heath
Kavon Frazier
Donovan Olumba
D.J. White
July Verdict: Downgrade Clinton-Dix was another FA bust and didn't make it out of camp. Worley was cut midseason for treasonous coverage. The staff moved Robinson to safety and then refused to let him suit up on defense. Diggs was left to his own devices and only had the most interceptions by a Dallas corner (3) since Brandon Carr in 2013. But man, could they have used Byron Jones opposite him. Forever a downgrade without him in the lineup. In Retrospect: Downgrade | Grade: C
Special Teams
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Gains:
John Fassel
Greg Zuerlein
CeeDee Lamb (punt returns)
Trevon Diggs (kick and punt returns)
Losses:
Tavon Austin (punt returns)
Randall Cobb (kick and punt returns)
July Verdict: Upgrade Diggs didn't get in on the return game, but Fassel was able to light a fire under Pollard who finally got it together midseason with a couple huge returns and we already talked about Dowdle and Lamb's returns as well. Zuerlein hit 91.7% of his kicks and only missed 1 that was less than 50 yards, plus also had the most famous onside kick in recent memory to set up the comeback win against Atlanta. The Dallas special teams jumped from one of the worst in the league to a top-10 worthy group. In Retrospect: Upgrade | Grade: A-
https://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/lists/dallas-cowboys-2021-offseason-biggest-needs/
