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Like most around the NFL, you might find yourself decidedly unimpressed with the handling of the Cowboys offseason. Sure, the team beefed up in the NFL draft, adding talent on both sides of the line, but when it comes to excitement, you’re not going to find much among the offensive linemen. The Cowboys lost playmakers Tony Pollard at running back and Michael Gallup at receiver, and have not done much to replace either.
Ezekiel Elliott is back in place of Pollard. Replacing Gallup, at this point, is an entirely inside job.
Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb is the clear No. 1. Brandin Cooks is No. 2, but will be 31 and is entering the final year of his contract. Last year’s No. 3 was Gallup, who is a Raider now after another massively disappointing season. So this year’s No. 3 is a question mark, with 2022 third-rounder Jalen Tolbert, an underachiever to date, the favorite.
That’s probably not good enough for a team that might well need to throw more given the steps backward it took in the running game. And while his inconsistency can be severely frustrating, there is a player still on the free-agent market who has a good postseason resume and can be had on the cheap: former Chiefs receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling Has Super Bowl Cred
That’s the notion from Bleacher Report analyst Kristopher Knox, who proposed Valdez-Scantling as one of the three remaining players the Cowboys should target in what’s left of NFL free agency.
MVS is a six-year NFL veteran who went to Kansas City after spending the first four seasons of his career with the Packers. While he has struggled with drops, he remains a quality outside speedster who can stretch the field–in 2020, he led the NFL in yards per catch, at 20.9.
He also has 11 games of playoff experience under his belt, with 24 catches for 406 yards and four postseason touchdowns. He has two championship wins with the Chiefs, and grabbed a 16-yard touchdown from Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl 58.
“Marquez Valdes-Scantling is one of the more notable names left on the market, and his skill set would also fit with the Cowboys. The speedy, if sometimes inconsistent, receiver can play on the perimeter or in the slot. He would also give Dallas another potent deep threat to help back off opposing defenses,” Knox wrote.
“Valdes-Scantling had his fair share of ups and downs with the Kansas City Chiefs over the past two years, but he came up big in the 2023 postseason. … For a Cowboys team that hasn’t advanced past the divisional round since 1995, Valdes-Scantling’s Super Bowl experience could be quite valuable—if Dallas can land him on a team-friendly deal.”
Cowboys Looking for Team-Friendly Contracts
Team-friendly is the name of the game for the Cowboys these days, as they attempt to navigate an offseason in which they have to decide whether to give Dak Prescott an extension and likely will have little choice but to offer Lamb a payday of around double the $18 million he is slated to make in 2024.
The Cowboys have made little progress on either front, according to recent reports. Talks with Prescott are, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, “nonexistent” and Lamb has shown no indication of reporting for camp without new deal. Lamb missed voluntary workouts last month.
But there is still a determination–more than with Prescott, perhaps–for the Cowboys to keep Lamb in place. And asked about it by TMZ in April, Lamb said, “Yeah, I’ll be in Dallas!”
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