The Cowboys at least have the most important position settled.
If there is one thing we know about the NFL offseason, it’s that teams go nuts when it comes to quarterbacks. The things some teams will do to acquire the guy they want are outrageous. Sometimes enormous amounts of draft capital are surrendered and other times mountains and mountains of cap space are given away to get their man. And sometimes both. It’s the type of madness we should be glad the Dallas Cowboys aren’t participating in this offseason as they have a franchise quarterback in Dak Prescott.
The same is not true for the Cowboys’ divisional rivals as each of them has had its own set of problems at the position. And if this offseason serves as evidence, all three of them could again be making big changes soon.
The Commanders are daring
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times? Well then, shame on Washington Commanders general manager Martin Mayhew.
Two teams have previously squandered significant draft capital to acquire the services of Carson Wentz only to fall flat on their face. And now, the Commanders are the latest team to give it a go. Granted, they didn’t spend nearly the draft picks that Philadelphia and Indianapolis did to get him, but he does come with a price tag of nearly $30 million towards their cap.
Wentz is coming off a much better season last year with the Colts than he did during his last year with the Eagles, so Washington is hoping that’s something to build off. They spent a first-round pick on Ohio State bust Dwayne Haskins back in 2019, and if this Wentz experiment doesn’t work out, they’ll be shopping for a QB on Day 1 yet again.
The Eagles are hedging
It feels like just a year ago when the Eagles hit the reset button at quarterback and moved on from Wentz and put all their faith in the young arm of Jalen Hurts. Actually, it was just a year ago.
While the cement hasn’t completely hardened with Hurts, the Eagles appear to be hedging their bets a bit as they load up on some extra premium draft capital for next season. Philadelphia traded away one of their first-round picks this year (and swapped the other) with the New Orleans Saints, allowing them to spread the love a bit. If, let’s say, the Eagles aren’t sure about what they have in Hurts, this move opens up the possibility of hitting the reset button at quarterback once again.
Next years QB draft class is suppose to be a lot better
The Eagles, Lions, Texans, Seahawks and Dolphins all have multiple 1st – it makes sense for them to wait a year to take a QB
Hurts, Tua, Mills get 1 year to prove it – while Lions and Seahawks can tank with vets they have
— Michael F. Florio (@MichaelFFlorio) April 5, 2022
The Giants are befuddled
Good or bad, the Commanders and Eagles seem to have a plan. Over in New York, that doesn’t appear to be the case. The team wants so desperately to see former sixth-overall pick Daniel Jones be successful, but things have not gone that well throughout his first three seasons in the NFL.
Now, the Giants have signed veteran Tyrod Taylor to a two-year deal. The last time Taylor played with a New York team (Buffalo) he ended up stealing the starting job from another former first-round quarterback (E.J. Manuel). It’s unclear how things will play out this year, but the Giants themselves might be looking for a new quarterback soon.
And then there was one…
The Cowboys are confident
In 2018, the Cowboys traded for Amari Cooper to make the offense more Dak-friendly. Things are much different now. The team has a new target king in CeeDee Lamb to where they could no longer justify allocating that much cap space towards Cooper. The Cowboys re-signed Michael Gallup to keep some of the gang together, and everyone expects a new rookie wide receiver to be delivered to their doorstep at the end of the month.
One of the more surprising moves the front office made this offseason was to place the franchise tag on Dalton Schultz. The savvy tight end is coming off of two quality seasons and has emerged as a reliable safety net for Prescott. The Cowboys have full confidence in Prescott and are making sure all his favorite targets remain intact for the upcoming season.