I didn't watch Braelon, but I liked Ray Davis. There's so many of those RBs out there. It's really a system, scheme fit with a lot of guys, and then the special ones transcend with some extra special juice.

He's not on PFF's list.

Woods Ag said:

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I didn't watch Braelon, but I liked Ray Davis. There's so many of those RBs out there. It's really a system, scheme fit with a lot of guys, and then the special ones transcend with some extra special juice.

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Davis has some real juice.

Allen, obviously, is a Mack Truck so he's a diff style.

Tate Ratledge is who I'm thinking of. That other dude was the Minnesota center from last year, I believe.

Saw where that oregon C is #1 on PFF. I'll take that

Speaking of RBs…I wonder what the knock is against Missouri's Cody Schrader? Only game of theirs I watched last season was against Tennessee and that kid went off. Has a great stat line, 3rd in rushing yards in the NCAA. Just don't hear much about him. Maybe just not well rounded in receiving and blocking?

Like you said, PFF has him as a great runner bad reciever/blocker.

I didn't watch Missouri at all. Kind of sad being that I live here.

As you have stated, I think you are going to have to start taking guys at positions where you have aging players on expiring or soon to be expiring contracts. I wouldn't hesitate to grab the best OL on the board or even trade up some to get one, because you have Smith, Martin and Biadasz on expiring or soon to be expiring deals, and you don't want to pay them. You could probably lump DE in here as well with DLaw getting older and his contract coming to an end; and RB.

Then you have bugaboos like interior DL and LB where we simply need to get better. The only real question imo is QB. Whether you like Dak or not, I think everyone can agree that the Cowboys need to start taking some shots at QB in the draft. Doesn't matter if its a 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th, they need to take some swings and see if they can hit on someone with big time upside.

They already did take a shot at QB... this years 4th rounder was used for Trey Lance. I don't think we use any more draft capital this year for QB unless they are already convinced that Lance can't play. But I find that hard to believe until we at least get to put him in some pre-season games running Mike's offense.

This is a good point, but I am just going to be honest here, Trey Lance will be a career backup barring perhaps the craziest career turnaround in NFL history. He's going to have to take insane strides this offseason. I wouldn't mind at all if the Cowboys took a shot on someone like JJ McCarthy or Spencer Rattler, or even someone like Sam Hartman. Rattler and Hartman are likely career backups or flame outs, but at least they offer some physical upside or arm talent.

I'll add this as well, everyone says you draft best available player, and for the most part that is true, but right now I think the Cowboys need to be drafting for need.

Tksymm7 said:

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This is a good point, but I am just going to be honest here, Trey Lance will be a career backup barring perhaps the craziest career turnaround in NFL history. He's going to have to take insane strides this offseason. I wouldn't mind at all if the Cowboys took a shot on someone like JJ McCarthy or Spencer Rattler, or even someone like Sam Hartman. Rattler and Hartman are likely career backups or flame outs, but at least they offer some physical upside or arm talent.

I'll add this as well, everyone says you draft best available player, and for the most part that is true, but right now I think the Cowboys need to be drafting for need.

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I'm more optimistic on Lance. He just hasn't gotten to play much football. His 2019 numbers were really really good. And he's only played 8 games in the NFL. He's got some insane physical tools.

Okay so here is the next question then...when is he going to get to play to get that experience? He just finished his third year in the NFL and has played 8 games, and he's not going to play in is fourth season because of Dak again. I don't argue he's got physical tools, but when is he going to develop more?

ETA: I am also interested in Lance and what he has become this season behind the scenes, but he's going on his fourth year in and no playing time in sight.

Yeah. That is true but the same can be said for a kid we draft.

This guy has a couple of videos on Lance. I haven't watched all of them but he does mention a couple of times that he's making progress as he sees things.

I just think this kid has been some weird situations with covid and then, as great as Shanahan is, he has some weirdness to him as it relates to QB. The kid needs reps in a big way.

I don't know how you put any stock into Trey Lance. He's a flyer. If he amounts to anything then you won on a lottery ticket, but you shouldn't plan your finances around winning the lottery.

I agree that you can't go into next year with him being the man, but I also think it's a bit of an undersell to call him a flyer. The kid has very top of the draft tools. I just think his situation is very unique based on his covid year and then the injury early in SF. And Shanahan, as brilliant as he is, has zero fuse for QB development.

What makes you say he doesn't have it for developing QBs?

I thought he was a great developer of QBs. Between Purdy, Kirk Cousins, RGIII plus the litany of QBs he's gone with in SF as the #1 went down. I thought he's been great at adapting his offense to less than QBs to get the best out of them.

I don't know anything of Trey Lance, but an immediate red flag goes up if you decided to sit out the covid year... And then he went into the draft without playing for a year hoping to capitalize on his good year at Utah State. Despite all of that, SF takes him #2 and injuries aside, they ditched as quickly as they could. Yes, they had Purdy, but they also sat in all the practices and film rooms with Lance and said no thanks. Nothign against him, but he was never my cup of tea. I'm all for him developing to be the best QB Dallas has ever had, and would be happy to eat crow on that, but I wouldn't put a dollar bet on it.

Edit: North Dakota State (I can't even remember his college)

I don't agree or disagree with the varying opinions of Lance... but the fact is that it did cost us a 4th rounder so, from the Cowboys perspective, they have already invested in that position.

Woods Ag said:

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What makes you say he doesn't have it for developing QBs?

I thought he was a great developer of QBs. Between Purdy, Kirk Cousins, RGIII plus the litany of QBs he's gone with in SF as the #1 went down. I thought he's been great at adapting his offense to less than QBs to get the best out of them.

I don't know anything of Trey Lance, but an immediate red flag goes up if you decided to sit out the covid year... And then he went into the draft without playing for a year hoping to capitalize on his good year at Utah State. Despite all of that, SF takes him #2 and injuries aside, they ditched as quickly as they could. Yes, they had Purdy, but they also sat in all the practices and film rooms with Lance and said no thanks. Nothign against him, but he was never my cup of tea. I'm all for him developing to be the best QB Dallas has ever had, and would be happy to eat crow on that, but I wouldn't put a dollar bet on it.

Edit: North Dakota State (I can't even remember his college)

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For the record, he didn't sit out the covid year

https://sports.yahoo.com/trey-lances-luckless-path-to-the-present-is-unlike-any-draft-bust-story-weve-seen-161326897.html

Macarthur said:

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OT is def a need but so is center. I really like this guy. The problem seems to be the first round may be a bit high but may not last until our second round pick.

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Jackson-Powers-Johnson-OL-Oregon

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We also need to really consider that Zach Martin is probably gone very soon too.
and LB is a huge need

jr15aggie said:

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I don't agree or disagree with the varying opinions of Lance... but the fact is that it did cost us a 4th rounder so, from the Cowboys perspective, they have already invested in that position.

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Agree with you completely, I don't see us drafting a QB unless we think they are clearly above Lance and have potential to be a legit starter.
Lance is still on contract for 2024, so it would have to be someone they are convinced is special for this draft.
Could see us spending a draft pick next draft though

I misremember then. my bad.

Lance and Love have the same skill sets. Give Lance a bit longer to develop in a different environment and see if he moves up a level mentality.

But definitely draft a QB.

Lance going into his final contract year is also a big deal, because there's not a chance in hell they are picking up his fifth year option.

I guess he's a popular guy because everybody is always calling out his name... seems like whenever we go out, the people always shout!

Wait… you know John Jacob Jingleheimerschmodt TOO!!!???

Damn boomers

https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2024/1/24/24049654/dallas-cowboys-salary-cap-2024-restructure-zack-martin-trevon-diggs-contracts-dak-prescott-decision

More of this silly re-structure crap.

Why should the cowboys change anything? The results over the past few years have been stellar. It's like some of you aren't happy with making the playoffs. We finally get all the pieces in place to consistently win 10 games and make the playoffs and some of yall think we should make changes just to avoid getting blown out in the divisional round. Do you know how many teams would LOVE to get blown out in the divisional round? I can think of at least 18 teams this year alone. Extend everyone and run it back.

- Jerry Jones, probably

It feels like Jerry needs **** to hit the fan to force him to make changes. I am talking Tyron Smith and Zach Martin retiring, Micah asking for a trade or Dak holding out. Something massive in order to force him to realize the situation they are in.

I'm not defending or carrying water for Jerry... but I'm pretty sure they know what they are doing (whether or not they are doing it well is another argument).

This year was a "go for it" year to a small degree. We knew this going into the season... why the hell else do you do things like rework Gallup's deal to make cap space.

It wasn't an over the top "we're all in" move for the '23 season... a lot of teams do the same thing every year. And technically it worked. We had another great season, we just fell apart when it mattered most.


So Jerry & Stephen are at a crossroads. Either give up/start over or go all in for '24. It certainly looks like they are going all in. And I'm fine with that, but be prepared..... there is a really good chance we are going to suck balls as early as the 2025 season. But hey, the Bucs just won a playoff game this year with +$80 million in dead cap so there's always hope :-)

That great season was bolstered by 8 games against the 6 worst teams in the league. They were a good team pumped up by a great schedule.

That's never a fair or logical argument in my book! Part of the reason those teams we played had such bad records is because we contributed to their loss totals.

Same argument can be made of bad teams... "we weren't that bad, look at the record of the teams we played"... yeah, you played against teams with a lot of wins because you gave them those wins.

Good NFL teams win a lot of regular season games and bad teams lose a bunch. It's as simple as that. We had a really good team this year and were a legitimate top 5 team based on the regular season.

Someone else pointed it out, and I completely agree. There is a very low chance we ever actually rebuild as long as Jerry is in charge/alive.
He is on a shotclock, and knows we are technically close enough to win if the stars align.