When free agency kicked off on Tuesday afternoon (has it really been just four days?!?), we looked at which cornerbacks could be of interest for Dallas. In that post, we looked at the Cowboys free agency activity of the last four years and found that most free agent acquisitions over that period fit a certain profile; most acquisitions have been solid, if unspectacular starters who were ranked somewhere around league average in the year prior to joining the Cowboys.
The rankings we looked at are based on the Pro Football Focus player rankings, with the players being divided into five quintiles as follows:
Positional Ranking |
Description |
100-81 | Blue-Chip Cowboys Players |
80-61 | NFL starter quality at position |
60-41 | Average to slightly below average player |
40-21 | Underperformer |
20-0 | Red Flag |
A player marked in blue is ranked in the top 20% of players at his position group; a player marked in green is ranked in the top 40% of players at his position, and so on.
Stephen Jones, speaking on 105.3 The Fan in January, said that a pass rusher is "absolutely" a priority in the off-season. More than that: The Cowboys plan on taking the same approach to rebuilding their defensive line as they did with their offensive line. I think it's safe to assume that the Cowboys are looking for a pass rusher in free agency.
We know that the Cowboys had an interest in DE Derrick Morgan, but his price tag (4 years, $27 million from Tennessee) may have been too high. We also know that the Cowboys have two of their own free agents in Anthony Spencer and George Selvie that they could re-sign. But who else is still available?
Let's use the positional ranking template to see how these and other edge rushers fit the Cowboys' free agent template:
Free Agent Edge Rushers, 2015 |
|||||||
Player | 2014 Team | Age | POS | PFF grade | Rank/Total | Positional Ranking | 2014 Snaps |
James Harrison | PIT | 37 | 3-4 OLB | 13.2 | 10/46 | 78 | 439 |
Anthony Spencer | DAL | 31 | 4-3 DE | 2.1 | 21/59 | 64 | 384 |
Osi Umenyiora | ATL | 33 | 4-3 DE | 1.9 | 22/59 | 63 | 347 |
George Johnson | DET | 27 | 4-3 DE | 1.4 | 24/59 | 59 | 502 |
C.J. Wilson | OAK | 28 | 4-3 DE | -1.3 | 27/59 | 54 | 399 |
Dwight Freeney | SD | 35 | 3-4 OLB | 4.8 | 23/46 | 50 | 590 |
Red Bryant | JAX | 31 | 4-3 DE | -1.6 | 31/59 | 47 | 536 |
Derrick Shelby | MIA | 26 | 4-3 DE | -2.3 | 32/59 | 46 | 420 |
Sam Acho | ARZ | 26 | 3-4 OLB | 2 | 28/46 | 39 | 483 |
George Selvie | DAL | 28 | 4-3 DE | -4 | 37/59 | 37 | 515 |
Kroy Biermann | ATL | 29 | 4-3 DE | -5.7 | 42/59 | 29 | 867 |
Michael D. Johnson | TB | 28 | 4-3 DE | -12.8 | 53/59 | 10 | 648 |
Corey Wootton | MIN | 28 | 4-3 DE | -14.9 | 55/59 | 7 | 276 |
Shaun Phillips | IND | 34 | 3-4 OLB | -10.6 | 43/46 | 7 | 460 |
Mathias Kiwanuka | NYG | 32 | 4-3 DE | -18.3 | 57/59 | 3 | 558 |
Robert Geathers | CIN | 32 | 4-3 DE | -27.4 | 59/59 | 0 | 604 |
Using this approach to rank free agent edge rushers suggests that one of the Cowboys' better options would be to re-sign Anthony Spencer, and perhaps even George Selvie. Whether that would improve the pass rush versus last year is an open question, just as it's not clear how any of the other players left on this list would be an immediate upgrade for the pass rush.
One name not on this list is Greg Hardy, who is easily the best edge rusher available on the market. The 26-year-old had 26 total sacks in 2012-13, but his off-field issues may outweigh his on-field production.
A significant upgrade for the Cowboys pass rush will have to come from the first two rounds of the NFL draft, as most of the free agency options probably won't do much more than maintain the status quo. Still, the Cowboys will probably have to bring in a free agent or two, and chances are that those players could come from the list above. If you had your choice of any of these players, which would you pick?