Fansided

NFL free agency 2019: Grades for every team

By Kevin Parvizi

PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 25: Odell Beckham #13 of the New York Giants yells prior to the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on November 25, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 25: Odell Beckham #13 of the New York Giants yells prior to the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on November 25, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
17 of 32
Next
Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys
ARLINGTON, TX – OCTOBER 09: Jason Witten #82 of the Dallas Cowboys runs after catching a pass during the second quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at AT&T Stadium on October 9, 2016 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

Dallas Cowboys

Key Additions: WR Randall Cobb, S George Iloka, TE Jason Witten (unretired), Robert Quinn (trade)

Key Departure: WR Cole Beasley, TE Geoff Swaim, DT David Irving (retirement)

Grade: B+

Many fans expected the Dallas Cowboys to be involved in the sweepstakes for a superstar safety, with the team linked to free safety Earl Thomas and strong safety Landon Collins. Thomas hooked up with the Baltimore Ravens and Collins remains in the division in Washington, as the Cowboys opted to save their money and go with a cheap, capable free agent in George Iloka.

For years, Iloka has been one of the league’s best all-around safeties, and a trio of Jeff Heath, second-year breakout candidate Xavier Woods, and Iloka is more than sufficient behind one of the league’s best crops of young cornerbacks.

Dallas needed to make some upgrades on offense, though, because their defense was their strong point last season. That’s not how it usually works in Dallas, so the fact that the offense was the weakness may have been a good thing.

Though it’s debatable if Randall Cobb is actually a better player than Cole Beasley at this stage of his career, given all the injuries he’s suffered, he should be considered an upgrade. Beasley wasn’t doing much for the Cowboys last season and needed a change of scenery, and the same could be said for Cobb, who previously only played with Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.

Jason Witten, a future Hall of Famer who qualifies as a “welcome departure” from the Monday Night Football booth, won’t be an elite tight end anymore, but he should be better than Geoff Swaim. In Witten and Blake Jarwin, a young tight end who flashed at the end of last year, Dak Prescott has quality tight ends to go with the wide receiver trio of Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and Cobb.

The Cowboys are still busy negotiating with superstar edge rusher Demarcus Lawrence, who was a must-tag, but they still needed another pass rusher across from him. That need was answered with the acquisition of Robert Quinn from the Miami Dolphins. Though Quinn is no longer one of the NFL’s best, a 2020 sixth-round pick was a reasonable price for the Cowboys, as Quinn certainly qualifies as a useful piece for a defense that sought some extra pass rushing juice.

There’s a lot to like about the Cowboys defense after last season’s finish as the sixth-best unit in terms of points per game allowed, and the offense appears to be on the rise – Scott Linehan is gone, Prescott is a franchise quarterback, and Cooper showed he’s an elite player. Dallas will be expected to improve on its 2018 total of 10 wins.

Home/NFL Free Agency