Cowboys fans should give up Kyle Pitts dream and focus on this player instead

Draft a tight end? The Dallas Cowboys should turn their focus in the NFL Draft to address their porous defense.

Talk about explosive? A Dallas Cowboys’ offense with productive quarterback Dak Prescott at the controls, running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard in the backfield and a trio of big-play wide receivers in Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb. Add Florida tight end Kyle Pitts, one of the top prospects at the position in years, and the possibilities are endless.

There’s only one problem.

You have to stop the other team on occasion if you consistently want to win games. And that was the biggest issue for Mike McCarthy’s team in 2020 as his club ranked 23rd overall in total yards allowed, next-to-last in the league in rushing defense and allowed the fifth-most points in the NFL.

Kyle Pitts is a luxury the Cowboys can’t afford with defense a glaring weakness

This offseason, the organization replaced defensive coordinator Mike Nolan with Dan Quinn, who spent the previous six seasons as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. His biggest claim to fame was as the Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator in 2013 and ’14 when the franchise made consecutive Super Bowl appearances those seasons – winning it all over Denver in 48 and coming up four points short to New England in Super Bowl 49.

Certainly, an addition such as talented Alabama cornerback Patrick Surtain II would make much more sense. McCarthy’s club allowed 54 offensive touchdowns in 2020, 34 through the air. This offseason, the team added a pair of former Falcons in Keanu Neal (who will make the switch to weakside linebacker, via Kevin Patra of NFL.com) and safety Damontae Kazee.

The Cowboys also added other free agents to bolster this side of the ball in defensive linemen Carlos Watkins and Brent Urban, as well as safety Jayron Kearse.

Even with Prescott missing the final 11 games, the team began to click offensively later in the year with Andy Dalton at the helm. Dallas was 4-3 in the final seven outings and the veteran quarterback threw 13 touchdowns to five interceptions. The Cowboys scored 30-plus points in each of the four wins. But the club allowed 26.1 points per game over that stretch.

While moving up to draft Pitts would make the Cowboys’ offense far more entertaining, it’s probably a lot more fun when your team is balanced and has a better chance of winning games and even an NFC East title. And beyond?