Blogging The Boys
The latest news and notes around the Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys have a history of undrafted free agents making an impact as early as year one.
Kyle: For the better part of a decade, the Cowboys have found success in the UDFA class. This year seems like the lowest chance at striking yet, based purely on the small number of additions (nine) in the UDFA class. However, there’s a few names I keep coming back to, especially Justin Barron.
Barron, a five-year letter winner with Syracuse where he played safety, nickel and finally linebacker to round out his career. He looked the part during his rookie offseason, showing up in the rotation at linebacker throughout minicamp and OTAs. He joins a thin position group but has some veteran leadership around him with Kenneth Murray Jr. and a former UDFA Jack Sanborn. Don’t be surprised to see Barron make multiple plays throughout the preseason to work his way into playing time.
Tommy: Give me Alijah Clark, the safety from Syracuse. At 6’1, 188 pounds, he’s a versatile piece that can line up at safety or in the slot in the secondary and it’s that aspect of his game that I think helps him make the roster. Granted it was in OTAs and the two starting safeties were injured, but Clark was still out there taking reps with the first team defense in the media viewings of practice, which is certainly a good sign. He was also the highest paid UDFA the Cowboys brought in following the NFL Draft, which tells you what the personnel department thought of him. At the very least, he’s got experience as a gunner and jammer on special teams and has a chance to carve out a role for himself along that path if things don’t work out on the backend of the defense.
Tyler Smith is next in line after Micah Parsons to be almost a near guarantee to be with Dallas long-term and for a massive contract.
Comparable baseline for a Tyler Smith contract
The guard market has erupted in recent years.
To name a few, Chris Lindstrom, Robert Hunt, Will Fries, Trey Smith (franchise tag), Landon Dickerson, Quenton Nelson, Aaron Banks, Sam Cosmi, Quinn Meinerz, Joe Thuney, and Jonah Jackson have all gotten a deal in the past two years that averages at least $17.5 million per season.
Dickerson’s four-year, $84 million deal from last offseason set the market until Trey Smith was franchise-tagged this year, setting him up to make $23.4 million on a one-year deal in 2025.
Smith has quickly developed into one of the top guards in the NFL since moving over from tackle in 2023, and he could very well be next in line for...
