Whilst there is a gulf in class between the good and bad teams in the conference this season, the NFC is still wide open at the top. Could we be about to relive NFL history?

The 49ers and Cowboys share 10 Super Bowls between them, with five each.

San Francisco were the team of the 1980s, with four of their five titles coming between 1982 and 1990. Dallas dominated the 90s with three Super Bowls in four seasons. 

This era also saw a historic rivalry take place between both teams. Not only did they also meet in the NFC Championship game twice in the early 1970s, they also met four times at the same stage between 1980 and 1995. 

As historic rivalries often do, this era saw one of the most famous NFL moments. Fans of the sport during the era will never forget the infamous 1981 NFC Championship game and ‘The Catch’, Joe Montana throwing to Dwight Clark late in the fourth quarter. 

However, for years, these teams never met in the big moments. Neither team has won a Super Bowl in the 21st century, with San Francisco 0-2 in Super Bowls post-2000. Dallas have not even made it to the NFC Championship since they won it all during the 1995 season. They have since gone 4-10 in the postseason. 

Before last season, these teams had not met in the playoffs since January 15th 1995. Last season’s game was a taster of what is to come. Whilst they had not met in years in the postseason, the drama never left this rivalry. A strange play call from Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy saw them run a quarterback draw with just seconds left and no timeouts. This led to a frantic rush to spike to ball from Dak Prescott ultimately fail. We could be set for another historic matchup.

And there is no reason why not. When it comes to their offenses, San Francisco and Dallas are ninth and 10th respectively for total yards per game, and both feature in the top 10 for both rushing yards and total points per game. With defenses that are both in the top five for total yards allowed per game, these two should create an explosive encounter.

As it stands, at the time of writing, the 49ers would occupy the third seed in the NFC, with a current 9-4 record whereas the Cowboys would take the fifth seed spot despite having the joint second-most wins in the conference (10-3). This is due to their division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, having a 12-1 record as it stands.

There is a lot of belief that the 10-3 Minnesota Vikings are a team that has a better record than they should, but they are still a team with double-digit wins before the start of Week 15. This means that they, the Cowboys, Eagles and 49ers are the best teams in the conference. 

Should the 49ers, Vikings and Cowboys all win in the Wildcard Round in the currently projected matchups, this would see the Vikings host the Niners and the Eagles host the Cowboys off the back of a playoff bye.

Provided the Cowboys and 49ers both win, then once again these two teams would meet in the NFC Championship game. Both teams already lead the NFL for most NFC Championship appearances, and back-to-back seasons with these teams meeting could reload one of the game’s greatest rivalries.

The post How The Cowboys and 49ers Could Restart A Historic Rivalry appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Brady Akins

Do you know when you’re playing Madden Franchise Mode? And by year three or year four you’ve absolutely loaded your roster past any reason? 

With late-round Draft gems, big-name free agent acquisitions, and unnecessary picks made of the sole purpose of just acquiring fun pieces to play with?

That’s kind of like the Cowboys’ real-life offense.

With a Pro-Bowl quarterback, an All-Pro running back, and a treasure trove of talented pass catchers– the Dallas Cowboys can be a fantasy football goldmine, but also a headache to sort through.

It can be difficult to parse out who’s worth a pick and who’s worth passing on in an offense with so many big names. But we did our best to narrow it down to three players from the Dallas offense to turn your attention toward.

Dak Prescott, Quarterback

Dak Prescott was on pace for a historic 2020 season before he got injured.

That’s not an exaggeration, or hyperbole. Prescott was on pace to absolutely destroy NFL records through the four and a half games he played last season.

With 44.4 pass attempts per game, Prescott would have finished second all-time in total pass attempts if he were to keep that pace with 710. With 371.2 passing yards per game, he would have finished just a hair under 6,000 yards– giving him the all-time record for yards in a season by about 500. 

Sure, Prescott could and likely will regress a bit from that insane 2020 pace. But with three talented, highly-celebrated receivers in Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb, along with one of the NFL’s premier running backs by his side, it’s fair to assume that even with regression, Prescott will still be one of football’s highest producing quarterbacks.

In Week 1 against the Buccaneers, Prescott easily outdueled Jared Goff for the best losing performance. Prescott unleashed 403 passing yards, 3 TDs, and 1 INT. The Cowboys QB did this all against a Buccaneers defense that locked up Mahomes, Rodgers, and Brees last post-season. It’s safe to say – Dak is back and he’s MVP material.

Prescott’s mobility might be a question– but he’s never been much of a runner in the NFL anyway. He’s a pass-first player, and a good one at that, having completed 68% of his passes last season, and still standing tied for fifth-overall in career completion percentage. 

To put it another way, Prescott was the highest-scoring fantasy football player in 2020 from Week 1 to Week 4, the four weeks Prescott played the game in its entirety. If you can get that player on your team, you should be willing to pay a high price.

Michael Gallup, Wide Receiver

Calling Micahel Gallup the second fiddle in the Dallas Cowboys offense isn’t exactly fair. Between star receivers Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb, as well as All-Pro running back Ezekiel Elliott, it’s probably fairer to call Gallup the fourth fiddle.

This is exactly why you should acquire him if you’re given the chance. Yes, he is now going to miss 3-5 weeks from a Week 1 injury, but that makes him the perfect hidden gem. Trust me, his value will be on a firesale from many rosters.

Gallup proved himself as an explosive threat in 2019 with over 1,100 receiving yards on only 66 catches. The Cowboys’ three-year veteran reached that catch mark through a high target volume, which he got in 2020 as well, with a combined 218 targets over his last 30 games.

That combined target total has Gallup placed 25th overall among players over the past two seasons. Again, Gallup is not your average fourth threat in an offense. He’s been a high-volume, reliable player for Dallas– even last year. In the midst of a season where Gallup lost his starting quarterback in Dak Prescott and was forced to compete for catches with the first-round rookie CeeDee Lamb, Gallup still finished with 105 targets.

Gallup rewarded the revolving door of Cowboys backup quarterbacks by turning those targets into 59 catches, 843 yards and five touchdowns– a stat line that had Gallup ranked as the WR38 without the help of Prescott for most of the season.

Remember what Prescott did in 2020 through four and a half games too. The quarterback averaged league highs per game in targets and passing yards with 44.4 and 371.2, respectively. It doesn’t matter if the two receivers ahead of Gallup are Jerry Rice and Randy Moss– those targets and yards have to go somewhere beyond the top two guys.

Gallup could be a major beneficiary from a super pass-happy offense– to the point of reaching over 1,000 yards and around the realm of 65 catches. Not so bad for the WR43.

Gallup only hauled in 36 yards on four catches in Week 1. It simply means there isn’t a better time to acquire the WR.

CeeDee Lamb, Wide Receiver

Of course, for as under-the-radar as Michael Gallup is as a fantasy football sleeper, CeeDee Lamb is the headline-grabber. 

As he very well should be, too. Everything that Gallup had working against him in 2020, a constantly changing quarterback position, and an overflow of pass-catching talent competing for targets were going against Lamb as well. But Lamb also had the disadvantage of inexperience, with all those factors working against him in his rookie season.

But Lamb shrugged it all off to finish the season as a surprise star. He was an overall WR22 in PPR leagues, a low-tier WR2 in 10-team leagues, despite not having a star quarterback in Dak Prescott and despite having to share the wealth with Amari Cooper and Gallup and Elliott and despite doing all of that without any pro experience in his bag.

Lamb showed that he may be in contention for the WR1 role very soon. Lamb notched seven catches, 103 yards, and 1 TD in Week 1. He even dropped numerous passes and still had a game!

Things should be easier for Lamb from here onward. Expect that WR2 to take a massive leap with things finally playing in his favor.

The post Dallas Cowboys offense carries elite talent across the board: here is who you should buy appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Adam Hulse (@AdamHulseSports)

After a gruesome injury ended his 2020 season short, Dak Prescott is now back and ready to have a huge year in 2021. According to the Draft Kings Sports Book, he is the clear favorite to win the Comeback Player of the Year Award at +200 odds, above the second choice of +700 odds. In addition, he also is the fourth favorite to win the MVP award with +1400 odds. Obviously, if he wins the MVP award this season he will also win the CPOY award easily. Here is why he could win both awards in the 2021 NFL season.

Comeback Player of the Year

Unfortunately for Prescott, a terrible ankle injury during the fifth game of the season ended his year short in 2020. It was the first time in his five-year career so far that he was unable to complete a full season, so it’s very reasonable to believe that he will bounce back to full strength for the 2021 NFL season. The injury is what makes him eligible for CPOY, and if he does in fact pick up where he left off, then he is going to run away with the award. He was on an absolutely ridiculous pace in the 2020 season and could have potentially been on his way to one of the best seasons by a quarterback of all time.

Through his first four games of the season, Prescott threw for a massive 1690 yards. This was not only the most in the NFL that year, but was on pace to set a new NFL record by a very wide margin. If he continued at the rate he was on, he would have thrown for 6760 yards, which have broke the single season passing record by more than 1000 yards over Peyton Manning and his 5477 yards back in the 2013 season with the Denver Broncos. Of course, it’s unlikely that Prescott would have maintained that scorching pace over a full 16 games, but it just demonstrates how good he was before getting injured, and why he will win CPOY in 2021 if he does in fact pick up where he left off.

NFL MVP

In addition to being the clear favorite to win CPOY as long as he looks like himself again, Prescott will also be in the mix to win the NFL MVP award. His huge start to the 2020 season was not necessarily a surprise, as he has consistently been one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL in his career and has improved his game year after year. In the 2019 season, he set new career highs in passing yards with 4902 and passing touchdowns with 30. If he can continue to grow from there, he will once again be towards the top of the quarterback rankings. This is is why he is one of the favorites to win NFL MVP this year.

As long as he is fully healthy, there is no reason to believe that Prescott will not once again have a monster season. The Dallas Cowboys offensive line is still a major strength, Ezekiel Elliot is still in the prime of his career, and he will still have his usual passing targets in Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup. One big upgrade in the 2021 NFL season is that he will have the luxury of CeeDee Lamb in the slot for a full season. Lamb was a rookie in 2020 and showed that he has a strong chemistry with Prescott in the short time they had together.

In the five games that Lamb had Prescott as his quarterback, he put up his best number of the entire season. He had a minimum of five receptions in each of those games, recorded his only multi-touchdown game of the season, and eclipsed the 100 yard mark twice. This could be an extremely dangerous combination for many years to come, and could play a major factor in progressing Prescott to the next level. With the addition of Lamb, as well as his own proven progress as a quarterback, Prescott is a real threat to win both the CPOY and MVP awards this coming season.

The post Why Dak Prescott Could Win Both NFL MVP and CPOY appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliot had a career-low single-season performance in the 2020 season. Elliot muscled out a career-low rushing yards per game (65.3), career-low rushing yards per attempt (4.0), and a personal career-low single season rushing touchdown mark (6). It’s safe to say that Zeke’s signature “feed me” gesture wasn’t regularly used. 

Zeke will have his sights set on a stronger rushing effort next season and hope to successfully prove his six-year – 90 million contract extension signed in 2019 was worth it. Zeke should prove to be a reliable, talented RB for his Cowboys offense led by the healthy Dak Prescott at QB. However, there is a question worth pondering: will we see the 2019 Zeke (1,378 rushing yards) or a RB closer to the 2020 version? Is Zeke truly going to show he’s a Top 5 back again? 

With that being said, I’m going to outline the Top 10 RBs heading into next season and where I believe Zeke stands amid the NFL’s top RBs. 

1. Derrick Henry 

The clear top RB in the league is 2020 Offensive Player of The Year Derrick Henry. Henry joined fellow Tennessee Titans RB Chris Johnson as the second Titans ball carrier to have a 2,000 yard rushing season. Henry was just recently named as ESPN’s top RB in the league. The 6’4 240 RB will not see even see fewer defenders in the box with Julio Jones at the wideout position.

2. Christian McCaffrey

The second-best RB in the league belongs to one of the few RBs ever to have 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in the same season. CMAC will be healthy and seeking vengeance with his new QB in 2021.

3. Dalvin Cook

Dalvin Cook is one of the most electric RBs to play the game in the last decade. Cook has battled nagging injuries, but that hasn’t stopped him from being one of the most productive RBs in the NFL. Cook is coming off a very impressive (1557 yds, 16 TDs), despite missing two games. 

4. Alvin Kamara

Cook and Alvin Kamara are both coming off fantastic seasons and appear to be at the utmost prime of their careers. Kamara proved his contract right with 1,688 total yards and 21 total touchdowns last season. AK was even named ESPN’s second top RB in the league. 

5. Saquon Barkley

ESPN had Saquon Barkley pinned as the No. one RB headed into the 2020 season, but Barkley suffered a devastating leg injury in just Week 2. Barkley fell to number sixth on ESPN’s top ten RB list heading into the 2021 season, but I believe his talent at this stage in his career is enough to keep him labeled as a top 5 back. 

6. Nick Chubb

It doesn’t matter who Nick Chubb has next to him in the Browns backfield, he will be a very efficient RB at all times. Chubb averaged a whopping 5.6 YPC, unleashed 1,067 yards, and cranked out 12 touchdowns in 12 games last season. Chubb’s rushing success over the past few seasons is why an NFL exec boldly stated that he is the best pure runner in the league. 

7. Josh Jacobs

I believe that Josh Jacobs is right in the prime of his career. He’s consistently hard to bring down and he doesn’t slow down when defenses adjust to make him the priority. Jacobs may not be on a sexy team, nor coveted by a season of All Pro honors, but he’s shown to be an elite, reliable talent. Jacobs is 23 years old and he’s due to unveil a career season in 2021 or 2022. 

8. Ezekiel Elliot 

The Cowboys RB is surely a Top 10 RB headed into the 2021 season. ESPN puts Zeke at number seven, but I don’t believe he’s the same player he was and he’s capable of returning to a 1,300+ rushing yard season. The RB with 979 rushing yards last season should be around a 1,100 yard back moving forward, but I believe his prime is behind him and Dak’s return would justify him over the names mentioned above him. 

9. Joe Mixon 

I like Joe Mixon’s pure RB ability and his outlook moving forward. Mixon should capitalize off the improved Joe Burrow in the offense. I believe the RB that missed 10 games last season but unleashed 1,100+ yards in each of the previous two seasons, should be placed in the Top 10. 

10.  Jonathan Taylor

Jonathan Taylor and Aaron Jones are tight for this spot, but the Colts RB with 1,169 rushing yards, 5 YPC, and 11 rushing touchdowns deserves to grab a spot. Aaron Jones is a talented all-around back, but It’s very possible that the strong Colts RB ousts a 1,300 yard+ season in 2021.

The post Is Zeke still a Top 10 RB in the NFL? ranking the Top 10 RBs appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Trenton Roberts (Twitter: @TRobertsNFL)

Background:

As the NFL offseason slowly moves along, there is increasingly less to talk about as we wait for the season to roll around. With more time on our hands, writers and journalists are looking for anything to write about. That was where the idea for this series arose from.

In the NFL today, there are many young talents who seem to already be heading towards acquiring a bust in Canton. Reaching the NFL Hall-of-Fame is one of the most prestigious honors any player can hope to achieve in their careers and is what motivate many players to improve and play at the highest level. In this series, we will discuss how some of these players have already left their marks and what they can do to ensure their eventual enshrinement.

Over the next ten weeks, we will make our way through twenty total players in the NFL today under the age of 28 who are well on their ways to the Hall. Twice a week, a new name will be discussed and debated in order to see where they stand and what they can do in their “Quest for Canton”.

Article:

In 2016, the Cowboy’s started a three-year run of a team drafting a running back with a top five pick in the NFL draft, selecting Ohio State star Ezekiel Elliot with the 4^th overall selection of the class. The Jacksonville Jaguars followed suit the next season, taking LSU bruiser Leonard Fournette with the same selection, and In 2018, the Giants finished the trifecta, selecting Penn State superstar Saquon Barkley as the second overall pick. Since then, each back has gone on to have success in their respective careers, with Fournette playing a key role in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2020-21 title run and Barkley dominating when healthy, even leading the league in scrimmage yards as a rookie.

What “Zeke” has done through five seasons, however, dwarfs anything the other two have accomplished, as well as the majority of every other first five years a running back has had in league history. In that time, the young Cowboy’s rusher has already led the league in rushing yards twice and led as well in rushing yards per game in each of his first three seasons. 

Through a players first 50 career games, Elliott finishes third in yards from scrimmage since the merger, with his 6,300 trailing just Edgerrin James (6,506) and LaDanian Tomlinson (6,425). He also made an immediate impact in Dallas, totaling 1,631 rushing yards and 15 rushing scores as a rookie and helping propel the Cowboys to the second-best record in the league (13-3) and pairing with fellow rookie, quarterback Dak Prescott, to dominate the league.

Despite a down year in 2020, in which the team lost Prescott early to injury and never recovered, Elliott’s early years remain some of the greatest in history. He ranks in the top 15 in NFL history in both rushing yards and touchdowns through a players first five seasons, with all 14 ahead of him either currently or soon-to-be enshrined in the Hall. Zeke should return back to prior form with a healthy Prescott keeping defenses honest once more in 2021 and continue his run as one of the best backs of this generation.

As it stands, Zeke is already well on his way to Canton, and should join the ranks of the greats soon enough should he continue his amazing career start!

Tune in early next week as we hit the quarter-way mark of the series and break down another legendary running back of this generation: Carolina Panthers superstar Christian McCaffrey.

The post Ezekiel Elliot has proven to be a historical talent at the RB position appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jeremy Trottier

The Dallas Cowboys are in a pretty good situation right now with franchise QB Dak Prescott returning as well as a huge influx in the draft of defensive talent.  They look to be primed for a playoff run more than likely if Dak can revert to form.  However, one of their moves in the last few years has been questionable, which was paying Ezekiel Elliott so much so quickly.  

In this article, I will be going over a few reasons as to why paying Zeke such a large amount in his extension could be a poor decision, as well as why that is the case.

Previous Large RB Extensions

One of the most notable experiences we have witnessed recently of a RB getting a large extension then dropping off significantly is Todd Gurley.  Gurley went from one of the top backs in the league at the time, arguably the top back, to off the Rams within a few seasons.  At the time they paid the richest running back contract ever seen, which was four years $60 million and $45 million of which being guaranteed.  He now remains unsigned this offseason after his one year deal with the Atlanta Falcons, only three years after the giant extension.

This is not that much of an uncommon occurrence either, here are a few more to prove the point:

• Le’Veon Bell ”“ four years $52.5 million ”“ outcome was off the New York Jets within 3 years of extension
• Devonta Freeman ”“ five years $41.3 million ”“ outcome was off the Atlanta Falcons before end of contract
• David Johnson ”“ three years $39 million ”“ outcome was traded from Arizona Cardinals within two seasons
• Jerick McKinnon ”“ four years $30 million ”“ outcome was multiple underperforming seasons with injuries hampering some of them
• Leonard Fournette ”“ four years $27.2 million ”“ outcome was cut from the team in 2020 and signed elsewhere
• Christian McCaffrey ”“ four years $64.1 million ”“ outcome has been injury riddled seasons with minimal production due to such, unknown future as of now

Not all extensions have been bad, Alvin Kamara performed extremely well in his 2020 campaign after his relatively large extension.  Dalvin Cook has also been exceptionally talented within his own right after his five year extension.  However these previous extensions have been majorly led with negative connotations so far.

There Are A lot of RBs Out There

One of the reasons I believe this contract extension was much too early, rather than lucrative, was because of the amount of running backs on the market is extraordinary, and they keep coming in with every draft.  Paying Zeke for four years, or any running back for that matter, can lead to some major issues if they flop.  Last year Zeke did decent, but had a lot of issues as well with Dak not playing most of the season.

If this trend continues, the Cowboys will be locked into his guaranteed money, and likely will not have the ability to bring in a true replacement due to this constraint.  Having two running backs on relatively middle of the road contracts at once rather than one on a massive one has seemingly worked a few times now.  Tampa Bay had quite a few running backs in the rotation, Ronald Jones, Leonard Fournette, Ke’shawn Vaughn, and LeSean McCoy being the primary four.  Clearly having one running back is not necessarily the winning formula every time.

Now is this to say Zeke did not deserve to get paid?  No.  It is more the duration and extreme guaranteed values for four years that end up coming back around to be an issue.

The post Why the Cowboys are wrong to pay Zeke so much money appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jeremy Trottier

The Cowboys had a pretty rough year last year with Dak Prescott getting injured, ending up with a 6-10 record and finishing third in the NFC East (tied for 2^nd).  With that said, their woes were not solely on the back of the loss of Dak, as their secondary was lacking the whole year and really did not improve at any point.  After Dak’s massive extension this offseason to lock him in place with Dallas for four more years, his performance will likely be on the minds of all NFL fans.

In this article, I will be going over whether or not the Cowboys will make the playoffs this year, as well as what factors can contribute to them making it or not.

The Return of Dak 

To start where we left off, the whole Dak Prescott situation.  After a gruesome end to his 2020 campaign with an ankle injury that many such as myself do not want to re-witness, Dak has been working out to get back into NFL form.  With that said, we really have absolutely no idea what we will be looking at with his return.  After such a horrid injury to his lower half, his mobility may be diminished at least slightly which could hamper his capabilities.

Despite that, even if he were to just sit in the pocket, their offensive line has some great protection for Dak.  As long as he is able to move around a bit still and hurl the ball downfield, his production will likely not take a huge hit.  The hope for Cowboys fans however would likely be to see him revert to full form without hinderance, I just do not think it is feasible to say that will happen as of yet.

Defensive Improvements

I mean this is probably the most impressive stats coming out of the offseason for Dallas.  They had eleven draft picks total to use in 2021, they came out of the draft with eight defensive players and only three offensive players.  That shows some true commitment by the front office to fix the unit that was their Achilles heel all season.  

One of the most prominent holes they needed to fill was cornerback, which they did fill with Kelvin Joseph, who could definitely find himself in a CB2 role with some development.  With Trevon Diggs getting another year of development as well, he could look to improve into the CB1 role with a leap.  They also brought in two more CBs, in Nahshon Wright and Israel Mukuamu, who should look to fill any depth needs at the position.

The Cowboys also addressed the front seven, bringing in:

• LB Micah Parsons
• DL Osa Odighizuwa
• EDGE Chauncey Golston
• LB Jabril Cox
• DL Quinton Bohanna

Overall, these improvements should at the very least bring Dallas to the middle of the pack in defense, if not higher up.

Conclusion

With the Cowboys biggest issue fixed to an extent that should hold, and the return of a potentially (depending on injury healing) elite quarterback, the Cowboys should definitely be aiming for at the very least a wild card appearance.  In best case scenario they could find themselves in a deep playoff run, but that remains to be seen with all the question marks developing.

The post Are the Cowboys a playoff contender with a healthy Dak Prescott? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Reese Nasser

Dez Bryant. A wide receiver that once captivated the NFL. During his time with the Dallas Cowboys, Bryant appeared in 113 games where he hauled in 531 receptions and 73 touchdowns. At points, Bryant was regarded as one of the top receivers in the NFL. 

Bryant has been seen less in recent years. He missed the entire 2018 season due to a torn achilles and chose to not play in 2019. In 2020, he signed with the Baltimore Ravens. Bryant would only appear in six games for the Ravens. He managed two touchdowns on six receptions and finished with just 47 yards receiving. This performance clearly shows that Bryant is at a much different point in his career than what people saw during his time in Dallas. At 32 years old, this sort of dropoff is expected but Bryant has been adamant that he still has some gas left in the tank. So should the Cowboys reunite with one of their greatest receivers ever? 

The Argument to Bring Bryant back

While Bryant only halued in 6 receptions last season, he still turned two of those into touchdowns. The ability is still clearly there, even if it is just at a lower level than it once was. 

The Cowboys have one of the top offensive units in the NFL. Quarterback Dak Prescott will be returning from his season ending injury that he suffered last season. Prior to his injury, Prescott was playing like one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. Ezekiel Elliot had a down year but that can be attributed to injuries to the offensive line and him not having his QB1.

The Cowboys also have one of the best wide receiver units in football. A receiving core consisting of Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and Ceedee Lamb can and will excel in today’s NFL. With a core this deep, why not bring Bryant back. His presence alone could help elevate this team. In many regards, he is a Cowboys legend who would be welcomed back with open arms. He also would not impede on the wide receiver unit that is already there. The spots of the three receivers in front of him would be there and Bryant would instead be utilized occasionally. Specific sets could be utilized for Bryant that would still allow for him to flourish. The addition could add a whole new layer to one of the top offenses in the NFL. 

Why Not Bring Him Back?

As nice as a homecoming might be for Bryant, there are a few reasons why it may not happen. One of them being, there are simply better options available. With free agent receivers such as Dede Westbrook and Golden Tate still on the market, the Cowboys could go out and get one of them instead. There is no immediate need at wide receiver on this roster but if there was, it would make more sense to either sign a younger receiver or a receiver that has caught more than six passes in the last three seasons. 

The addition of Bryant may cause a young receiver to be pushed down the depth chart. The Cowboys may be opposed to this as it could stunt the progress of a young receiver that they have plans for. 

Even if it doesn’t amount to much, the chance to see Bryant back in Dallas is too good to pass on. He clearly believes that he still has some game in him so sign him and find out. If the Cowboys make a playoff run, it’s only right that Bryant gets to join them for the ride. So go out and make the reunion come true. Let the man throw the X up in Dallas one more time and see what happens.

The post Should the Cowboys make a reunion with free agent Dez Bryant? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

Why should you believe the Dallas Cowboys are actually going to have a better defense in the 2021-2022 season? I am going to give you three reasons–

Building the Defense through the draft

With a new season, comes new hopes and dreams for this franchise. The Dallas Cowboys have been on the chase for a super bowl ring for over twenty years and it seems to be an endless search for past glory. It is so cliché, yet so true, defenses win championships. The Boys seem to always fall short of having a good defense just about every year. That very well could change as this last draft has looked a lot like the 2005 draft. The Only other time the Dallas Cowboys have selected over 7 picks and came out with only 2 offensive players. That year they selected Demarcus Ware in the first round. They also acquired guys like””Chris Canty, Jay Ratliff, and Marcus Spears. Needless to say, after this year’s draft, the Cowboys have positioned themselves to get a lot better. Parsons was arguably the best defensive player in the draft and will immediately help the team. Kelvin Joseph and Jabril Cox are going to end up starters on the team as well. Jerry Jones literally drafted nine defensive players out of eleven picks. The team is bound to hit on a couple of them. Along with the three said players, the Boys drafted two defensive lineman that could fill the middle of the line nicely. The biggest issue for the Cowboys last season was stopping the run and defense in general, this draft helps fix that tremendously.

Bringing in the right personnel

Not only did the Cowboys have a defensive minded draft board, but before the draft, they have been actively trying to make it better. Jerry Jones brought in Dan Quinn to help fix the defensive woes. Quinn comes in as the defensive coordinator and possibly the answer to all the problems on defense. This is the same coach that was the defensive coordinator for the legion of boom in Seattle. He brings a fresh mindset and will have an actual offseason to get these guys prepared for the change in the system. He also has done everything in his power to get the guys he wants on that defense. That includes the free-agent signings like Damontae Kazee and Keanu Neal who both played for him in Atlanta. Also, with the drafted players like the skyscraper cornerbacks he wanted. Dan Quinn said he will be bringing more of a 3-4 look, but really it will primarily be a nickel set. He will have four players rushing the quarterback and two “mid” linebackers, along with five defensive backs as the base package. With a full offseason, this package could help the players that he is bringing in, strive to become the best players that they can be. It also allows the veteran players to play in a versatile system that can maximize their abilities to make plays. Things like having Demarcus Lawrence stand instead of coming out of a three-point stance. Having Jaylon Smith blitz the quarterback more often instead of being a liability in coverage. Allowing Leighton to play weak side and drop in coverage on passing downs. With Dan Quinn’s defensive scheme and mindset, this team could look a lot better in just one year if he brings that LOB swagger with him.

It Can’t get any worse”¦ right?

Surely the defense could not get any worse from the atrocious season they had last year. Even though the Dallas Cowboys only gave up the 21st most passing yards last season, the stats do not show the truth in that aspect. Teams passed all over the Cowboys all season long at the beginning of games. After they gained a lead, they would run all over Dallas. The Cowboys gave up the 2^nd most rushing yards in the league last season (2541 yards) and it was a franchise record. Not exactly a record you want to break. Offenses seem to have had their way against the historically bad Dallas defense. So, what is Jerry’s response? An overwhelming number of defensive players through the draft and free agency, along with a great defensive coordinator. It is also possible and likely that the Boys will be bringing in more veterans to maximize this rosters potential. The veterans that have returned from last year will be playing with some boulders on their shoulders. They all should want to come out this coming season and prove to everyone that the problem was the system they were in and not them. The Jones’ have said in recent interviews that they realize there was a major problem on the defensive side of the ball. All boxes have been checked off to deem that statement to be true. The Cowboys entire organization has done everything they can to get help on defense and I do not think they are done just yet.

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