Getty Images Chiefs S Tyrann Mathieu was named Kansas City's team MVP for the 2019 season.
What were the Dallas Cowboys thinking during 2019 free agency? They weren’t.
The team failed to get a long-term deal done with franchise quarterback Dak Prescott. They overpaid boom-or-bust defenders DeMarcus Lawrence and Jaylon Smith. They allowed Ezekiel Elliott to stage a nasty, transnational holdout before — you guessed it! — overpaying the veteran running back.
Suffice to say, it wasn’t a perfectly orchestrated offseason by Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones and vice president Stephen Jones. But perhaps their most egregious miscalculation involved an out-of-house player they inexplicably bypassed.
According to beat reporter Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas “didn’t want” to sign Pro Bowl safety Tyrann Mathieu because, at the time, he “wasn’t deemed a special player or scheme fit” under then-defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli.
Mathieu, the former Cardinal and Texan, instead inked a three-year, $42 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs. He was an instant hit, tallying 63 solo tackles, 12 pass breakups, four interceptions, and two sacks en route to first-team All-Pro honors and a Super Bowl title.
The “Honey Badger” continued his dominance in 2020, snagging six INTs (third in the NFL) and scoring on a pick-six. He was named to his third-career All-Pro squad and second Pro Bowl as the Chiefs look to repeat as champions.
The Cowboys, meanwhile, were forced to suffer through the comparatively uninspiring Xavier Woods-Jeff Heath pairing in 2019. Heath then defected to the Raiders, leaving Woods and Darian Thompson as the starters. Although the club’s pass defense wasn’t its worst feature, ranking 11th overall, Thompson was undeniably terrible in Heath’s place — so terrible that he was permanently benched for backup Donovan Wilson, a marked improvement.
Woods is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March, meaning the Cowboys will be on the hunt for secondary help. They’re expected to prioritize the unit with new DC Dan Quinn now calling the shots. However, the last time the Joneses’ drafted a safety in the first two rounds, George W. Bush was president and Roy Williams came to town.
Dallas may have better luck combing over the open market where available options are slated to include Justin Simmons, Anthony Harris, Kareem Jackson, Malik Hooker, and Jaquiski Tartt, among others.
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Projected Top-10 Pick Begs Cowboys to Draft Him [LOOK]
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Micah Parsons hopes to drape a Dallas star over his 6-foot-3, 245-pound frame on April 29. A little more than a month after expressing his desire to stay in “that blue and white,” Parsons — a presumptive top-10 pick in the 2021 NFL draft — again advocated joining the Cowboys.
In an AMA with fans via Instagram, the dynamic Penn State linebacker wrote he wants to “start where I finished” when which team he prefers to land with, alongside a photo of himself before a game at AT&T Stadium (h/t Cowboys Reddit).
Arguably the top linebacker in the incoming class, Parsons notched 99 solo tackles, 6.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, and five pass deflections across 2018-2019, his freshman and sophomore seasons. He opted out of the 2020 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL
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