No one will be debating the merits of the Cowboys’ draft and develop approach Sunday afternoon during the team’s game with Philadelphia.
Anticipating Saquon Barkley’s next backward hurdle over a Dallas defender or Micah Parsons’ first sack since the opener is a more entertaining way to pass the time.
But make no mistake. The game against the Eagles, and every game before it, has been a referendum on the franchise’s approach to the offseason.
This isn’t meant to impugn the concept of draft and develop. It’s sound. But no single approach to building a team can be embraced from one season to the next at the exclusion of all others. There are too many variables to juggle.
Did the Cowboys allow too many players in their veteran safety net to walk, leaving head coach Mike McCarthy and his staff at the mercy of some young players who haven’t developed as quickly as envisioned? Should the club have pushed a few more salary cap hits down the road to bring more balance to the current roster?
Throw in a run of injuries at defensive end and corner and the assorted personnel missteps that take place in every building across the league, and the Cowboys find themselves trapped in something of a perfect storm in this imperfect 3-5 season.
These are questions Jerry and Stephen Jones ask themselves as the team tries to right itself in the final nine games of the regular season. McCarthy and Will McClay, the club’s vice president of player personnel, try to identify why a team coming off three consecutive 12-5 seasons finds itself in this spot.
“I get it,’’ executive vice president Stephen Jones said. “I get why fans are frustrated and critical of Jerry, myself, Mike, Will and Dak [Prescott]. That’s what we all signed up for.
“We’re not going to stick our head in the sand. We know what we are. We’re going to own it. Along with that, you always look for ways to ultimately get to where you want to get.
“Right now, we’re not there.’’
Mistakes made
The Cowboys let seven key veterans walk in free agency. Minimal effort was made to retain any of them.
A case can be made that the team was justified in letting each, individual player walk. But when taken as a group ...
Those seven players have accounted for 55 starts on their new teams this season. The four defensive players have combined for 9.5 sacks and two interceptions. Tony Pollard has rushed for 622 yards in Tennessee, 34 fewer yards than the Cowboys’ entire ground game.
That’s a lot of experience out the door.
That’s a lot of pressure to put on young players to be ready immediately. How often have you heard McCarthy mention that this team is green when addressing its inconsistent start?
Take Tyron Smith as an example. This Dallas offensive line would be better with him at left tackle. But Smith turns 34 before the season is done and has battled injuries in the twilight of his Hall of Fame career.
When the club cut the cord, it opened the door for first-round pick Tyler Guyton to start. The Cowboys understood there would be growing pains, but the team had immediate success with Tyler Smith taken at a similar spot in the draft two years ago.
Both players faced similar questions about their readiness to contribute from Day One. That’s why both were available late in the first round. They hit immediately on Smith, why not Guyton?
The transition hasn’t been as seamless. The Cowboys aren’t down on Guyton. Far from it. But he hasn’t developed as rapidly as Smith. He’s already been called for nine penalties, equal the number of flags Smith drew his entire rookie season.
Take Mazi Smith. The first-round pick from the 2023 draft didn’t do much his rookie season. He missed most of the offseason program to rehab from shoulder surgery.
Yet the club let veteran Johnathan Hankins leave for Seattle in free agency, basically handing the starting job to Smith by default.
Smith has improved. But the Cowboys had no one on the roster to push Smith or provide quality depth and failed to address the deficiency until well into training camp.
“Personally, as a head coach, when you’re signing veterans in camp and you’re doing things at the end, I think that’s a pretty big challenge,’’ McCarthy said. “That’s happened more this year.
“If you can have everybody here in April, when that draft’s over and you line up and you’ve got that 90-man roster, if you can get to work on continuity and consistency, I think that’s a huge factor in the start of your season.’’
No one is pointing fingers here. And the financial component always plays a factor.
“It’s hard to do it every year because you’ve got the whole financial realm over here that’s critical to the process of putting together a roster,’’ McCarthy said. “You try to make sure through veteran free agency you have spots full or at least you can go play a game today if you had to in April.’’
McCarthy and the Jones family are on the same page here. But each year is about the execution of that plan and one decision flowing into another.
The priority this offseason, in the eyes of Jerry and Stephen Jones, was to sign Prescott and receiver CeeDee Lamb to lucrative extensions. It’s fair to look back and see if they went about it the right way.
“Maybe we could have done a better job of not betting on the come with some of the young guys,’’ Stephen Jones said. “Maybe we could have gone a little more into the future to help the current team. Maybe we should have pushed a little more out.
“We’ve got to look at that.’’
A better way
Player instruction.
Drafting.
Player finances.
McCarthy believes those are the bedrock principles that lead to sustained success in the NFL.
“To build it for the long haul, you have to draft and develop,’’ McCarthy said. “I don’t know any other way. Numbers tell you that. The depth of your football team is critical to that.
“So those are all very, very important factors.’’
Some of the struggles on the defensive side of the ball aren’t surprising. Club officials knew it would likely take some time for the players to pick up Mike Zimmer’s scheme after three years of playing under Dan Quinn. Jones believes the learning curve has been exaggerated by the run of injuries on that side of the ball.
In Jones’ words, “the biggest head scratcher’' has been the offensive issues. Sure, the Cowboys start two rookies on the offensive line, but three players in that five-man front are first-round picks. He points out that teams around the league manage to make do there with less talent.
Running back has proven to be a glaring weakness. And now, the best-case scenario is that Prescott will return sometime in December.
“When you go through something like this you look at how you can avoid it,’’ Jones said. “Your strategy is never going to be perfect. It’s not always going to work.
“You check to see what you would do differently going forward. You don’t want this to continue. You don’t want to go through the same thing again, so you look for ways to do better.’’
It’s all part of the challenge.
“That’s why it makes this game so great,’’ McCarthy said.
“That’s why this league is so hard.’’
Catch David Moore and Robert Wilonsky as they co-host Intentional Grounding on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) every Wednesday from 7-8 p.m. through the Super Bowl.
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