The Dallas Cowboys enter Thursday’s NFL Draft with seven picks. Considering all of their roster holes, they could use about five more. A lack of free-agency moves because of salary-cap concerns has left most wondering how they will fill out their roster.
“We’re very proud of our personnel,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said during the team’s annual pre-draft news conference Tuesday. “Very proud of this roster. Very much think this roster — without knowing right now how much the rookies are going to contribute, we feel good about the promise of the team that we’re going to have this year with this roster.
“We will have young players step up, no-names that become names because names have left and are off the roster. Those guys have got to step up. You cannot play and run a team in the NFL without counting on this dynamic going on. We do feel good about these guys.”
GO DEEPER
What are Cowboys thinking? Lack of free-agency moves, futures of Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb
Counting on several “no-names” to become significant contributors is wishful thinking. But for a team that has done the least amount of any NFL franchise this offseason, there really isn’t much of a choice. Young players are likely going to have to fill in important gaps in the offensive and defensive lines as well as at linebacker and running back.
The Cowboys are an interesting wildcard in the back-half of round one. I don’t see Barton, Fautanu or the LT they want falling to 24 (and doubtful DAL will trade up).
Trade back feels like the most realistic scenario…maybe out of the 1st round altogether.
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) April 24, 2024
Can all of those areas be adequately addressed with their draft picks? Probably not. And that means Saturday might end up being the most important day of the three-day draft process. As the draft winds down, teams will begin reaching out to players who could go undrafted. The Cowboys have had more than their share of success in undrafted rookie free agency.
Some of the top undrafted free-agent players they’ve acquired in franchise history include Drew Pearson, Cliff Harris, Cornell Green, Everson Walls and Mark Tuinei. More recently, the list includes Tony Romo, Miles Austin, Cole Beasley, Ron Leary, La’el Collins, Dan Bailey and Barry Church. Some of the most notable on the current roster are right tackle Terence Steele, tight end Peyton Hendershot, safety Markquese Bell, safety Juanyeh Thomas, offensive lineman T.J. Bass, quarterback Cooper Rush, running back Rico Dowdle, fullback Hunter Luepke, running back Malik Davis and tight end John Stephens Jr.
“We’ve stressed the after-the-draft for many years now,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said. “And that will never go away. You find the Terence Steeles of the world, and it makes you want to continue to focus on it. We’ve got a system that we like. But I would say we’ve always heavily stressed the college free agency, and I think it has paid off for us.”
GO DEEPER
What we know about the Cowboys’ intentions and approach heading into the NFL Draft
When it comes to trying to convince a player to sign, chances of making the 53-man roster and salary are the biggest factors. But having a brand like the Cowboys can help, too.
“I think it always helps,” Jones said. “It’s not always going to work. A lot of guys are going to do their work. You run into a lot of guys who (are trying to figure out), ‘Where do I have the best chance to make a team?’ If you look at the Cowboys’ roster and they have three quarterbacks, like we have, or the tight end group like we have, then it’s a lot harder to sign a tight end, even if they do want to be a Cowboy. They want to go to a spot where they think they’ll have a chance to make the team.”
Linebacker, defensive tackle, offensive tackle, guard, center and running back — even if the team brings back Ezekiel Elliott — are some position groups on Dallas’ roster that could prove to be attractive for undrafted players. Some potential candidates at running back, offensive tackle and linebacker from the Cowboys’ pre-draft visitor list are included here on Day 3 of our final big board.
Dane Brugler’s “The Beast” draft guide is a good place to keep track of top prospects who could still be available late in the draft. In last year’s guide, Brugler had a fifth-/sixth-round grade on Bass and a sixth-/seventh-round grade on Luepke. Other notable rookie free agents whom the Cowboys signed after last year’s draft included linebacker Isaiah Land, to whom Brugler gave a sixth-round grade, and defensive end Tyrus Wheat, who had a fourth-round grade.
This isn’t to say this approach will land the Cowboys a better roster than last season. It likely won’t. And they probably won’t find another Steele or Austin in this year’s class of undrafted free agents. It’s more likely that rookies from last season like defensive tackle Mazi Smith, tight end Luke Schoonmaker, linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and defensive lineman Viliami Fehoko will be the ones needed to make the biggest impact.
However, adding some quality depth and help on special teams could be addressed following the draft at a low cost.
“I deal in the realm of adding quality players at every position for the competition,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said during Tuesday’s news conference. “The most success I’ve had in this league as a head coach was the most injured football team I’ve ever coached. And then also lost three starters in the first half of the Super Bowl. So, I’m about developing the whole 90-man roster.
“I don’t succumb to an 11-man roster because it’s not the reality of how this thing works. I think the fact that we’re in a 17-game schedule, it’s even more exemplified. It’s going to take them all to get to where we want to go to. I do know that for a fact.”
(Photo of Terence Steele: Matthew Pearce / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
