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The weekly Cowboys Mailbag is back. And while it may not be better than ever, it's still a pretty formidable pack of questions from the fans of the Dallas Cowboys and Blogging The Boys in particular. At this point in the offseason, we're noticing a segue from the NFL Free Agency period into the 2016 NFL Draft season. For other teams, this is part of the offseason where rebuilding teams need to hit on everything. Usually, those rebuilding teams are picking in the Top 5. On the other hand, the Cowboys are picking in the Top 5, but they're far from a bottom-five team in football.
Dallas will have many decisions to make and many evaluations to go over in the coming weeks. Fortunately for me, because the Cowboys have the best fans in the world, we were able to produce another segment for Cowboys Mailbag. Without further ado, let's get into it.
@RyanRattyNFL @BloggingTheBoys why isn't Jerry more aggressive to win— rkehr53 (@rkehr53) March 23, 2016
I'm guessing you're talking about this offseason and how the Cowboys have been reluctant to spend boatloads of money to address the needs of this team. The reason for them being opposed to spending a ton of money is likely due to the fact that they are leaving money in the bank to not only sign their draft picks, but also extend players on their team. The main players I look at for those extensions are Travis Frederick and Zack Martin, as Frederick's contract comes off the book after 2016 and Martin's contract comes off the book after 2017.
@RyanRattyNFL @BloggingTheBoys how come DC never went after Ray Rice? Instead of Morris/Miller — Luis Ortiz (@rok1reigns) March 23, 2016
Ray Rice hasn't been on an NFL roster since September 8th, 2014 and there's a reason for that. He'll not only be 30 after the 2015 season, but his body has also gone through a ton of wear-and-tear since he came into the league in 2008. Another reason for the Cowboys not looking into Rice is because both Alfred Morris and Lamar Miller are simply better. And not just that, after the media circus with Greg Hardy, the Cowboys would be remised to do the same with Rice.
@RyanRattyNFL Any chance we take Elliott still? Morris is an RB 2 — Travis (@Traviso1984) March 22, 2016
The signing of Morris poses an interesting question. With Morris, Darren McFadden, and Lance Dunbar now in play and under contract for the 2016 season, the Cowboys will more than likely rule out Ezekiel Elliott with their fourth-overall pick. However, that shouldn't rule out the Cowboys from drafting the Ohio State product. Morris was signed to just a two-year deal, while McFadden's and Dunbar's contracts both come off the books after the 2016 season.
@RyanRattyNFL who makes a bigger impact for Cowboys, Ramsey or Elliott? — Jesse G3 (@jeswarr3) March 22, 2016
In terms of who would make the best immediate impact, Elliott would be unbelievable behind this offensive line. He fits exactly any type of scheme the Cowboys want to run. But with Morris in place, on top of both McFadden and Dunbar, it's more likely that Elliott wouldn't see the field as much as Jalen Ramsey would. By drafting Ramsey, the Cowboys would finally have ammunition to move Byron Jones to free agency and to finally designate Brandon Carr as a post June 1st cut.
@RyanRattyNFL Who would be a target to trade back into the 1st that you could foresee? — Tom Nadeau (@nadeau_tom) March 22, 2016
The more and more I see it, the Cowboys would benefit much better by trading back and stockpiling picks. However, this is every team's logic. It's unclear which route the Cowboys will go with their draft philosophy, but by trading back, they could be in position to still get an impact-level player as well as extra draft picks. Some options for a trade-back, at least in my mind, are Paxton Lynch, Josh Doctson, and Shaq Lawson.