Blogging The Boys
Who are some free agents you want to see the Cowboys sign?
It’s only May, but it feels like the season is inching closer and closer. The players have reported to OTAs, and so far, so good. Dak Prescott is connecting with his receivers. The coaching staff is starting the initial process of sculpting this year’s roster. Yet, something needs to be added. The Cowboys lost a few key players via free agency and didn’t exactly fill the roster with proven talent, although they had a solid draft.
The Cowboys have yet to replace Stephon Gilmore, among others. There’s more work to be done and more pieces to add to the roster. Tony Catalina here at Blogging the Boys highlighted some names the team could add to supplement the roster. Here are four more players the Cowboys should consider adding in free agency.
Adding Jerick McKinnon would give the Cowboys a premier third-down specialist. With a restructured and inexperienced offensive line, having a reliable weapon out of the backfield could be very useful. McKinnon is just years removed from a career-high 56 receptions and nine receiving touchdowns. He could also assist special teams as a kick returner, averaging nearly 23 yards per return in his career.
His contract should be very affordable for the Cowboys as he played for just $1.3M last season for the Kansas City Chiefs. In the event that Deuce Vaughn isn’t ready to take on a more prominent role, McKinnon is a terrific fail-safe option. He would be a significant bargain with all he can do out of the backfield, flexed out wide, and on special teams.
Hunter Renfrow is a slot merchant and receiver with crafty moves to get off the line of scrimmage and create separation. Per playerprofiler.com, Renfrow was third in route win rate versus zone coverage and ninth in that category versus man coverage. For some reason or another, he fell out of favor with the new regime of the Las Vegas Raiders and went grossly underutilized. If signed, he would battle with Jalen Tolbert for the third receiver spot, and that wouldn’t be the worst thing if Tolebrt fails to take the big step forward, as expected in his third season. Adding Renfrow allows the Cowboys to protect themselves further. As a bonus, he provides punt return potential in case KaVontae Turpin suffers an injury.
The Cowboys are banged up along their interior defensive line right now. They also have very little depth at the defensive tackle position. Linval Joseph is 6’4”, and 329 lbs. He’s long in the tooth at 35 but would be brought in to fill a precise role. As the team transitions to Mike Zimmer’s defense, why not bring a veteran who understands what Zimmer wants? Again, his salary should fit right into the Cowboys’ low budget and help Dallas to fill the void left by Jonathan Hankins’ departure to the Seattle Seahawks.
Trevon Diggs...
