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Expert grades for the Cowboys in free agency: Dallas hasn’t had a sterling offseason so far

Plus, our insiders predict the position they think Dallas will address in Round 1 of the draft.

Despite a global pandemic that shuttered the majority of the sports world, the NFL forged ahead with free agency and its plans to hold some version of the draft from April 23-25. The offseason program most certainly won’t happen as scheduled, which in turn calls into question the start of the 2020 season. What does all this mean for the Cowboys? In the latest installment of SportsDay’s Cowboys Beat Writers Roundtable, we grade Dallas’ free-agent signings to date, make predictions about the Cowboys’ pick at No. 17 in the draft, and discuss whether the start of the season ultimately will be delayed:

Q: What grade do you give the Cowboys in free agency after the first two weeks?

David Moore: The Cowboys have lost seven starters — six to free agency and one to retirement. The club has signed six veteran free agents. Three of those will start and one has a chance to be the team’s kicker. So, take away seven, add three and you’re left with … Yes, the club has lost more than it’s gained in free agency. But the emphasis in recent years has been to retain their own free agents. The club has 13 coming back at the moment, including their top priorities in Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper. Is that enough to silence the howls of those who claim Dallas has suffered through a dreadful offseason? Are you kidding? This hasn’t been a sterling offseason for the club to this point. But I’d argue it hasn’t been a bad as some argue. My grade at this point: C.

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Calvin Watkins: A grade of C is fair. The Cowboys failed to lock up Dak Prescott long-term, they lost their best cornerback and the man who led them in sacks last year. They did get Amari Cooper signed to a long-term deal, so that’s something positive. They are making changes to the defensive line with bigger players and they locked up Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe to short-term contracts. It would be hard to see McCoy with the Cowboys longer than a year given his age. They did get Anthony Brown secured for three years and maybe he can emerge as a starter in 2020. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix is moving into a role at free safety but he’s not a long-term solution. So we had some interesting signings but nothing that would lead you to believe any of these new players will be around in two or three years.

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Michael Gehlken: Well, the Cowboys did an A-plus job of structuring Amari Cooper’s contract. The five-year, $100 million deal is essentially a two-year, $40 million pact; Dallas all but gave itself the option to cut or trade Cooper in early 2022 and absorb only $6 million in dead money against the 2022 salary cap. Considering the inconsistencies Cooper has shown, that was both savvy and necessary. This helps the overall grade. A few compensatory draft picks, including a third-rounder for cornerback Byron Jones’ exit to the Miami Dolphins, should be coming in 2021. Of course, these won’t help this NFL season (presuming there is one), but they still need to be taken into account. This helps the overall grade. These two points elevate the floor when grading a period in which Dallas improved on special teams and run defense but lost its best cornerback, sack leader and No. 3 wide receiver from 2019. Most of the team’s issues on defense are no less glaring today than they were two weeks ago, but that was expected. The draft is where the Cowboys will prioritize that. Overall, I’d give the start of free agency a “B” and the offseason a caps-lock “INCOMPLETE.”

Q: We’re less than a month from the draft. As of now, what position do you predict the Cowboys will address with pick 17?

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Moore: Cornerback. OK, I shouldn’t be that definitive. You might seek a more nuanced response, one offered after a moment or two of reflection. You might not want just one answer. You might want to go through the contingencies. What happens if the players they have an interest in at a certain position are off the board? What position is next? Then next? I’ve taken all of that into account. So here is the position I predict the Cowboys want to select at No. 17, followed by the next two positions.

Cornerback.

Cornerback.

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Cornerback.

Watkins: I would say snag a defensive back. Outside of Anthony Brown, on a three-year deal, the Cowboys don’t have anyone in the secondary without some uncertainty, so getting a cornerback or a safety at No. 17 seems like the correct path. But if the Cowboys stick with the best player available at No. 17, and there’s a worthy center or wide receiver available, don’t be shocked.

Gehlken: I know I’m supposed to say cornerback, and I probably should say cornerback. I’m just not so sure it’s a slam dunk. Clearly, the position demands addressing for short- and long-term reasons. If ex-Florida cornerback C.J. Henderson is available at No. 17, that seems like a dream scenario. It would surprise if Dallas passed on him. But since it’s unlikely Henderson will be available at No. 17, where does that leave them? This is where the Cowboys’ draft board and opinion of newly signed defensive end Aldon Smith really dictate things. How do they evaluate the draft’s depth at cornerback? How deep do they regard the available defensive linemen with rush ability? How confident is the front office and coaching staff in what it has in Smith, whose last game came on Nov. 15, 2015? Before the Cowboys signed Smith, I leaned pass rusher at No. 17. While less confident in that today, I’ll stick with a K’Lavon Chaisson or Yetur Gross-Matos in the first round. Either defensive end, when paired with Smith, would more than mitigate Robert Quinn’s departure. Javon Kinlaw is a defensive tackle but bears mentioning here, too.

Q: With the offseason program being pushed back, condensed, or even eliminated because of the COVID-19 pandemic, uncertainty remains about the upcoming season. What’s your percentage chance for the season starting on time?

Moore: There’s no question the offseason will be condensed. The only way to approach this question at the moment is to draw a direct line from when the league does return to work to the start of the regular season. Is the offseason condensed to the point where teams need to build more time into their training camp in order to get ready for the season opener? If you elongate training camp, do you keep the same number of preseason games or do you slice one or even two off to focus on the foundation you didn’t have time to properly install? If you delay the start of the regular season, is there any guarantee you’ll be able to finish the season, or are you just pushing it squarely into the heart of flu and virus season and the second wave of novel coronavirus? Not sure any percentage is valid at this stage given how quickly things change and how little we actually know. But because so much remains unknown, I’d argue that feeds into the argument of keeping the start of the season the same. I’d put it starting on time at 80 percent at the moment.

Watkins: It’s hard to see it starting on time unless something drastically changes between now and the summer months. I just don’t see how NFL players would believe it’s safe to report to work without strong input from the medical community. I’ll go with 30 percent.

Gehlken: On Monday, Dr. Anthony Fauci said during a White House briefing he “would anticipate” that case counts of COVID-19, as with viruses before it, will experience an upswing in the fall. If you were to ask me the percentage chance the 2020 NFL season avoids a suspension of some sort to COVID-19, my answer would be 0%. I am convinced the epidemic will impact the season’s schedule in some capacity. Likely a significant one. This should be all of our expectation. There seems at least some chance, however, the season starts on time. Training camp and preseason games transpire in the July to August summer months. But given we’re in uncharted territory with COVID-19 and an NFL locker room during training camp has up to 90 players crowded inside it, spread across the country, I am bracing for early impact. Twenty percent.

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