2020 NFL free agency: Should the Dallas Cowboys be interested in Damon “Snacks” Harrison?

This has been an interestingly busy week for the National Football League as talks about a new Collective Bargaining Agreement have been at the center of it all. Parallel to those discussions is the possibility of the Dallas Cowboys losing their ability to use two franchise tags this offseason. There was also Emmitt Smith offering up his two cents about what Dak Prescott should do about his contract, and a former NFL agent offering up a whopper of a proposed contract for Prescott. Oh yeah, there was that Jason Witten thing, too.

So perhaps it got lost for many that the Detroit Lions decided to move on from Damon “Snacks” Harrison. Snacks has spent a majority of his career in New York playing for both the Jets and Giants, and that was unquestionably when he was most productive.

Harrison had a down 2019, but he’s still someone that the Cowboys should consider

As it is late February, we are now at the point of the NFL calendar when players are announced as needing new homes, and there are plenty of Cowboys fans wondering if Dallas should be interested. More often than not the answer is no, but when it comes to Snacks Harrison, the Cowboys should absolutely have their eyebrows raised.

Harrison had a PFF grade of at least 89.9 in five of the six years from 2013 to 2018, but again, he was a bit of an under-performer last season. It is fair to wonder if Harrison’s down season last year was a product of the team he was on as the Detroit Lions aren’t exactly the pinnacle of success and their head coach Matt Patricia has had questionable returns on his first two seasons leading the squad.

The Cowboys have a lot of questions at defensive tackle. They have four players set to be free agents at the position, although they will likely keep two if they choose to.

• Antwaun Woods (ERFA)
• Daniel Ross (RFA)
• Maliek Collins (UFA)
• Christian Covington (UFA)

Since Woods and Ross are exclusive rights and restricted free agents, respectively, the Cowboys will only lose them if they decide that they would rather move on. Of course, it is possible that the Cowboys lose both Maliek Collins and Christian Covington, but they could also bring them back if the money makes sense.

As of this moment the only reliable (using that word loosely) defensive tackle on the Cowboys roster is last year’s first draft selection (second round) Trysten Hill. 2019 was a disappointing rookie campaign for Hill as he was inactive more often than he was not and that’s never what you want to see from a second-round selection.

Snacks Harrison presents the perfect type of bridge player for the Cowboys at the defensive tackle position if they choose not to use the 17th overall pick on the position. The Cowboys have a lot of positions to pay attention to, and while free agency will help with that, the overwhelming likelihood is that they will end up needing help along the interior of the defensive line.

Harrison can be that.