Free agency plus draft thoughts

[Nextyearfordaboyz]

34 minutes ago, canadaluvsdallas said:

The plan is perfect because it is so realistic and minimizes risk from one position completely destroying our entire year.

I addressed this very clearly. You sign a guy to be your backup (like a Joe Looney) to insure against risk. 

37 minutes ago, canadaluvsdallas said:

But he hasn't shown ANYTHING yet to warrant him as a starting OG in this league. I hope we do draft one because even if he does not pan out we might have another guard who will BUT if they both pan out...Gold Money.

Besides starting 10 games as a rookie being a top-50 pick? This is not some massive leap to say that the Cowboys are relying on him to hold down a starting spot on the offensive line.

39 minutes ago, canadaluvsdallas said:

Also, the proof is LVE being drafted and us not depending on Jaylon coming back from his injury with little NFL experience. We didnt just sit back and HOPED J.Smith recovered but we made the ILB position SAFE with LVE & struck gold when both of them panned out.

This is NOTHING like LVE and Jaylon. Sean Lee was getting older, deteriorating in performance, and had a big cap hit. Plus, you have a linebacker rotation where backups will actually get snaps. Backup guards do not play unless there is an injury. We did not draft LVE into a situation where all of our starting linebackers had 3 years left on their contracts and a clear stranglehold on the starting spots.

43 minutes ago, canadaluvsdallas said:

This is how our Front office thinks & thats why we generally do well in the draft. And that is why we are a well rounded roster.

No, it is not. We do draft guys to replace large (or soon to be large) contracts at a more affordable price. In this sense, a plan to replace La'El Collins has more merit to it. But drafting a guard and keeping Connor Williams at guard is a dumb idea.

[matt79511]

51 minutes ago, Trapt37 said:

Powers is a stud! I've watched him at OU and he would be an instant starter!

Well now I’m sold

[matt79511]

I don’t think people are making enough of the fact that Connor Williams played his entire rookie season at 21 years old. Zack Martin was a full two and half years older than C-Will was during their respective rookie seasons. Not saying Williams will ever be Zack Martin, that’s an impossible standard- but humans males on average are still undergoing drastic physical changes in that time frame, regardless of profession or access to world class strength and conditioning programs/facilities.

[Calvert28]

3 hours ago, matt79511 said:

I don’t think people are making enough of the fact that Connor Williams played his entire rookie season at 21 years old. Zack Martin was a full two and half years older than C-Will was during their respective rookie seasons. Not saying Williams will ever be Zack Martin, that’s an impossible standard- but humans males on average are still undergoing drastic physical changes in that time frame, regardless of profession or access to world class strength and conditioning programs/facilities.

Connor for the most part did admirably against his competition and especially when he filled in for Zack Martin. 

[Northland]

Any news or rumors about the Cowboys and Tyler Eifert?  I think he would be a good fit and may come cheaper given the injuries he's had.  He would give us a consistent receiving threat at TE.

[cowboysdreamer]

On 2/21/2019 at 11:55 AM, Nextyearfordaboyz said:

I addressed this very clearly. You sign a guy to be your backup (like a Joe Looney) to insure against risk. 

Besides starting 10 games as a rookie being a top-50 pick? This is not some massive leap to say that the Cowboys are relying on him to hold down a starting spot on the offensive line.

This is NOTHING like LVE and Jaylon. Sean Lee was getting older, deteriorating in performance, and had a big cap hit. Plus, you have a linebacker rotation where backups will actually get snaps. Backup guards do not play unless there is an injury. We did not draft LVE into a situation where all of our starting linebackers had 3 years left on their contracts and a clear stranglehold on the starting spots.

No, it is not. We do draft guys to replace large (or soon to be large) contracts at a more affordable price. In this sense, a plan to replace La'El Collins has more merit to it. But drafting a guard and keeping Connor Williams at guard is a dumb idea.

I strongly agree with you that teams do draft players to replace big contracts especially if you under perform that big money. And I feel that the Cowboys should give Williams the opportunity to compete @ the RT position this training camp.

[plan9misfit]

5 hours ago, Northland said:

Any news or rumors about the Cowboys and Tyler Eifert?  I think he would be a good fit and may come cheaper given the injuries he's had.  He would give us a consistent receiving threat at TE.

Not interested. He’s never healthy. We’d never see any benefit of having him on the team because he’d always be on IR. He’s more injury prone than Sean Lee.

[Northland]

1 hour ago, plan9misfit said:

Not interested. He’s never healthy. We’d never see any benefit of having him on the team because he’d always be on IR. He’s more injury prone than Sean Lee.

I hear you but for me it's a risk reward thing.  Get him cheap and you may have a very productive TE.  I would take a healthy Eifert over the TE's on our roster now.  Of course his injury history is a concern but I'd kick the tires.

[matt79511]

I think all posts about C-Will moving to RT are wastes of perfectly good 1’s and 0’s

This isn’t like Byron where they wrote “DB” on the slip when they drafted him. They literally announced Williams as a guard despite only playing LT in college.

I think there’s some notion amongst fans that because tackles are the “pass protectors” and guards are the “run blockers” that Williams, being on the small side, is better off at tackle, and I don’t believe that’s supported in practice. Tackles have to be much wider/longer than iOLs due to how they anchor in pass pro. Williams just doesn’t have that frame. He fits best at LG IMO

[WizardHawk]

42 minutes ago, Northland said:

I hear you but for me it's a risk reward thing.  Get him cheap and you may have a very productive TE.  I would take a healthy Eifert over the TE's on our roster now.  Of course his injury history is a concern but I'd kick the tires.

Very much depends on the price tag. It should be a low, incentive laden deal on a 1 year flyer. If so, I'm definitely on board, as he comes in day 1 as most talented TE on the roster and can work into rotation with Jarhead and Schultz.

14 minutes ago, matt79511 said:

I think all posts about C-Will moving to RT are wastes of perfectly good 1’s and 0’s

This isn’t like Byron where they wrote “DB” on the slip when they drafted him. They literally announced Williams as a guard despite only playing LT in college.

I think there’s some notion amongst fans that because tackles are the “pass protectors” and guards are the “run blockers” that Williams, being on the small side, is better off at tackle, and I don’t believe that’s supported in practice. Tackles have to be much wider/longer than iOLs due to how they anchor in pass pro. Williams just doesn’t have that frame. He fits best at LG IMO

Well put. I'd add to it I think this is one of those situations where it is best to not play musical chairs with a guy. Leave inside and let him grow. No need to be impatient here.  

[Calvert28]

30 minutes ago, matt79511 said:

I think all posts about C-Will moving to RT are wastes of perfectly good 1’s and 0’s

This isn’t like Byron where they wrote “DB” on the slip when they drafted him. They literally announced Williams as a guard despite only playing LT in college.

I think there’s some notion amongst fans that because tackles are the “pass protectors” and guards are the “run blockers” that Williams, being on the small side, is better off at tackle, and I don’t believe that’s supported in practice. Tackles have to be much wider/longer than iOLs due to how they anchor in pass pro. Williams just doesn’t have that frame. He fits best at LG IMO

Things change, and Williams would not have played LT in college if he did not have the capacity or ability to do so. If Collins is let go we are seriously in a pinch.The RT position is not just some other position like it was in the past with defenses placing a heavy emphasis on getting to the QB from all angles we need someone who can handle the edge rush. Williams not only has the mean streak, but also the mobility and awareness to at the very least warrant consideration. And people who say he doesn't have the length, that's nonsense he is very similar in build to david bakhtiari who earned all-pro status as a LT with the packers.  Technique, awareness, and general play can overcome deficiencies. Hell a 5-9 QB is talked about being drafted in the first round, so rules can always be rewritten. 

[DaBoys]

I'll be the middle man and say I agree with Matt that Williams is best left at LG, but I believe he has the nimbleness to play RT with a degree of effectiveness. You can see his athleticism on pull plays and I think that translates well to the outside. I think he would be tough to capture the edge on, and agree with Calvert that he exhibited elements of this at UT.

 

I think signing Lael Collins and leaving William's at LG is best for our team though.

[matt79511]

13 minutes ago, Calvert28 said:

Things change, and Williams would not have played LT in college if he did not have the capacity or ability to do so. If Collins is let go we are seriously in a pinch.The RT position is not just some other position like it was in the past with defenses placing a heavy emphasis on getting to the QB from all angles we need someone who can handle the edge rush. Williams not only has the mean streak, but also the mobility and awareness to at the very least warrant consideration. And people who say he doesn't have the length, that's nonsense he is very similar in build to david bakhtiari who earned all-pro status as a LT with the packers.  Technique, awareness, and general play can overcome deficiencies. Hell a 5-9 QB is talked about being drafted in the first round, so rules can always be rewritten. 

I totally agree that you can’t neglect the RT position when building your roster these days. Too many teams are lining their best edge rusher son the left side for teams to get by with replacement level talent. If we let La’el walk next spring, I would say we probably need to draft his replacement with our 2020 first rounder.

The one idea I think I can get behind as far as moving Connor goes is signing an upgrade at LG (Saffold is the best on the market) and moving Williams to swing tackle to develop for another year. It’s not out of the question that he could be solid there- not sure he has the pure mean streak of a traditional RT but he has the feet. That being said, simply having he and La’el switch positions for 2019 and expecting that to propel our OL back to 2014-16 levels is absurd

[plan9misfit]

9 hours ago, Northland said:

I hear you but for me it's a risk reward thing.  Get him cheap and you may have a very productive TE.  I would take a healthy Eifert over the TE's on our roster now.  Of course his injury history is a concern but I'd kick the tires.

You know my skepticism with respect to players who regularly miss games. It doesn’t matter how talented they are if they’re never on the field. Eifert has been in the league for 6 years and has only played in 8 or more games three time. With him turning 29 at the start of the season, I just don’t see how his body will hold up.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s an incredible player and a TD machine when he’s on the field, but he’s just never on it.

2013 - 15 games

2014 - 1 game

2015 - 13 games

2016 - 8 games 

2017 - 2 games

2018 - 4 games

Not. Good. With people getting frustrated with Sean Lee’s injury history, no one should want Eifert, since his has been significantly worse.

Keep this in mind as well: signing Eifert would all but guarantee that we wouldn’t draft a TE in April because there won’t be enough room on the roster to carry another one. Do you really want to reserve a spot for a guy who averages 7 games a season?

[Northland]

6 hours ago, plan9misfit said:

You know my skepticism with respect to players who regularly miss games. It doesn’t matter how talented they are if they’re never on the field. Eifert has been in the league for 6 years and has only played in 8 or more games three time. With him turning 29 at the start of the season, I just don’t see how his body will hold up.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s an incredible player and a TD machine when he’s on the field, but he’s just never on it.

2013 - 15 games

2014 - 1 game

2015 - 13 games

2016 - 8 games 

2017 - 2 games

2018 - 4 games

Not. Good. With people getting frustrated with Sean Lee’s injury history, no one should want Eifert, since his has been significantly worse.

Keep this in mind as well: signing Eifert would all but guarantee that we wouldn’t draft a TE in April because there won’t be enough room on the roster to carry another one. Do you really want to reserve a spot for a guy who averages 7 games a season?

Plan I'm well aware of his injury history - I looked it up yesterday  Yet as soon as he got hurt last season I said to one of my boys he will be available, he will be cheap, and he will be a big upgrade.  It's a big risk, but he's  a huge upgrade.  Sometimes you go on a gut feel.  The key is signing him to a cost effective prove it deal.