Why Former NFL GM Believes Cowboys May Need ‘Perfect’ NFL Draft

Getty Images Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys may need to have a flawless NFL Draft in order to avoid a major step back.

Free agency has been a bit of a disaster for the Dallas Cowboys.

In addition to losing stalwart left tackle Tyron Smith to the New York Jets, the Cowboys haven’t even attempted to replace him or running back Tony Pollard, who signed with the Tennessee Titans.

Dallas’ free agency losses come with the backdrop of not yet extending quarterback Dak Prescott‘s contract to create added spending flexibility under the cap to address needs across the roster and perhaps retain Smith.

ESPN’s Mike Tannenbaum, a former general manger of the Jets, suggested the Cowboys were among the teams that risk taking a step back in 2024.

“They still have needs at left tackle, center, running back, defensive tackle and receiver,” Tannenbaum writes, rattling off the Cowboys’ lengthy to-do list. “While a lot of their resources will be tied up in extensions for Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons, it was surprising not to see them make a move on Henry or AJ Dillon. They deserve credit for outstanding drafting and patience in the past, but they’re going to need an almost perfect draft to fill all of their needs.”

Jerry Jones Is Walking Back ‘All-In’ Comments

Despite facing one of the league’s most constraining salary cap situations, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones vowed before free agency that Dallas would be ‘all-in’ this offseason, ahead of the 2024 campaign.

But, after the Cowboys lost out on Smith and have mostly been sitting on the sidelines through free agency’s first two waves, Jones is walking back those comments.

“I have been more all-in before,” Jones told reporters at the NFL Annual Meeting in Orlando. “By any definition and I have more all in to make a run back to the line of scrimmage than I’ve been to run for 50 yards. Sometimes that is a bigger challenge. That is really the gist of what we’re about this year. We’ve got to get it done.”

Those comments seem to indicate Jones would be satisfied with the status quo, an NFC East championship followed by a blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers, at home, in the NFC wild-card round.

“I think that we have been in a situation where we can get it done with lesser. More doesn’t necessarily beat Green Bay. There are other things. Maybe having it better strategically in different spots, but more than necessarily beat them, either. So, we’re gonna be asked to do some things different because we got some different players.”

It’s worth pointing out that Jones recommitted to head coach Mike McCarthy, so it’s difficult to see much changing, strategically, and the Packers seemed to lay bare how far the Cowboys are from making a legitimate Super Bowl run in a suddenly hyper-competitive NFC.

Jones may be admitting here that the Cowboys weren’t necessarily in a position to be “all in” in free agency, but it’s difficult to imagine the status quo being good enough for Dallas to make strides in 2024.

How Much Cap Space Do the Cowboys Have?

The biggest hurdle for Jones and the Cowboys this offseason has been Dallas’ salary cap constrictions.

Even after making a tweak to Prescott’s deal, the Cowboys only have $4.99 million in cap space, as of March 25, 2024, the third-least spending flexibility in the league.