With the off-season festivities coming to a conclusion after the draft, it is time to look back at the myriad of moves made by the Cowboys this off-season. I will start with free agency. To the right of the grade is the contract length and dollar amount and years.
WR - Terrell Owens - C+ 3/25
This is a boom or bust signing. With TO, we will have one of the most potent offenses in the league. There is also a chance that he could destroy our team chemistry and ruin our season. I don’t believe this will happen, in the first year anyway.
ILB - Akin Ayodele - B+ 5/17
Ayodele appears to be the perfect player to replace Nguyen. He is a big, physical LB who excels at stuffing the run. He is young, and still has some upside but he is somewhat of a question mark considering Jacksonville really didn’t even want him back.
OT - Jason Fabini - A 3/7.5
This was a great move. We brought in a good veteran tackle for a bargain. He will help add stability to our offense line.
OG - Kyle Kosier - B 5/15
The Cowboys obviously believe that Kyle is on the verge of a breakout season. But he really hasn’t been anything special up to this point. I like his signing, but I question if he will really be an upgrade over Larry Allen.
TE - Ryan Hannam - B- 3/5
We needed another blocking TE, and he should feel that role nicely. He is stilllargely a developing player though so Dallas is hoping he improves over his performance in Seattle.
LB - Rocky Boiman - B 3/5
Boiman is a great special teams player who provides solid depth at LB. He better be as good as people say he is on coverage units to be worth the money.
K - Mike Vanderjagt - B 3/5.5
We definitely need a kicker, but I would have preferred one that could kick-off and wasn’t such a jerk.
FS - Marcus Coleman - A 1/.8
I’m not sure if he has anything left, but if he does we got a heck of a steal. Can’t really complain when we is only making about eight hundred thousand.
I disagreed with some of the picks in the draft, but you can’t get upset just because they didn’t select “your” guys. I really liked what we did on the second day. We got some great value. They only spot I regret not filling holes at was offensive line, but you can only fill so many holes.
OLB Bobby Carpenter - A
This was a great pick. He is the perfect fit for our defense. They only thing that could have made this pick better is if we could have traded back a couple of spots and still got him.
TE Anthony Fasano - B
This pick is definitely growing on me. We did need another TE since we are making the switch to a 2 TE offense. Fasano is a blue-collar player who will
come in and contribute immediately.
DE Jason Hatcher - C
I’m not a big fan of this pick, but I see why it was made. Hatcher has freakishathletic ability for a guy his size and could really be a steal. That being said, DE was already one of our deepest positions, and I believe we have two long-term starters already here in Canty and Spears.
WR/KR Skyler Green - B-
I like Green, but this might have been a little high for him. He is a great punt returner, but never did much as a receiver.
FS Pat Watkins - A
I love the Watkins pick. He was a good player at Florida St., and he really haslots of potential. Don’t be too surprised if he is our starting free safety.
NT Montavious Stanley - A+
The best pick of our draft. He is taylor made for the nose tackle position. Not only does he provide much needed depth, but he has great potential as well. I don’t see how he made it to the 6th Round as good as we has in college.
G/T Pat McQuistian - B
Pat is a huge sleeper who will have a hard time making the team without an injury. He is a big, strong and fairly athletic lineman, but he is as raw as you can get. Practice squad guy.
OL EJ Whitley - A
I really like this pick. Whitley was a consistent part of the Texas Tech offensive line for three years. He has starting experience at every O-line position, but he is probably best suited to play center and guard. I will be rooting for him to make the team, because if we have another center on our roster then we will be more likely to use Gurode as a starting guard if one of the starters falters. Otherwise, Parcells will be hesistant to do so since he would only have one other center on the roster.
Overall, I would give our off-season grade a B+. Cutting Allen and Glover hurt a little, but you can’t complain to much with all the moves we made. Bill and Jerry definitely get an A for effort because they no doubt tried to improve this team. I would give free agency a solid A-, because we signed quality guys with some upside while avoiding the huge contracts that can haunt you. I will give the draft a B with room for improvement if Hatcher pans out.
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