Cowboys are trying their hand at recreating Eagles' success in one specific way
The Dallas Cowboys front office has been criticized for not learning how to build rosters in the offseason. Dallas never spends on big-money free agents and generally aren't active early in the league year. This year, has been a bit different has been active early and is trying to hit on something they saw the Philadelphia Eagles do last offseason: get players with lots of potential on cheap deals and hope they break out like Zack Baun did last season.
Baun was seen as a top-50 prospect who fell to the No. 74 pick in the 2020 NFL draft and never made much impact for the New Orleans Saints. He never had more than 30 tackles in a season for the Saints, started only 14 games in four years, and had six tackles for a loss and two sacks. The Eagles signed him for one season for 3.5 million, and he blew up. He had 151 tackles, 11 for a loss, and added 3.5 sacks in an All-Pro season.
The Cowboys are attempting to hit that bolt of lightning this offseason by signing or trading for former first-round picks who never broke out for the team that drafted them, but may be full of potential. It sometimes just takes the right coach or scheme to unlock the full potential of a player.
DE Payton Turner
Payton Turner has the traits teams dream about. He is 6-foot-6 and weighs 270 pounds. During his combine testing, Turner ran a 4.33 shuttle and a 6.98 three-cone, and those traits led to him being drafted 28th overall in 2021. Unfortunately, injuries have stunted his development. He only played 15 games in his first three seasons and had no starts. Last year, he showed potential on the field, playing in 16 games and logging 335 defensive snaps.
Turner had 21 tackles, two sacks, nine pressures, four pass defenses, and two force fumbles. if new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus and defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton can unlock another level in Turner, they can turn a flier into an edge setting, difference maker in rotation on the defensive line.
CB Kaiir Elam
Kaiir Elam fits the criteria the Cowboys love at the cornerback position. He is 6-foot-1, 191 pounds, and ran a 4.39 in his 40-yard dash at the combine. Tall, athletic, and lengthy corners are what Dallas covets. After the Buffalo Bills drafted him 23rd overall in 2022, he had injuries that hurt his early career. He only had 12 starts in three seasons and had minimal impact on the field. Last season, he started four games with an overall PFF grade of 70.2 and a coverage grade of 67. His best attribute was his ability in the run game. He had a 75.6 run defense grade last year and only a 6.9 missed tackle percentage. Elam added 65 snaps on special teams, and that could be his role, as a depth corner that can help on special teams.
LB Kenneth Murray
Kenneth Murray is another first-round pick who hasn't made the impact the team which drafted him hoped for. However, his stats don't suggest he's been a bust. He has started 67 of a possible 73 games, has 271 tackles, 29 for a loss, 8.5 sacks, 12 passes defended, and three interceptions. In the last two seasons, he has averaged 100 tackles with a missed tackle percentage of just 3.8%.
Last season, he had 3.5 sacks on only 31 pass rush attempts. Murray's issues are in the analytics. He has had atrocious grades from PFF, especially against the run where he has had grades of 35, 48.2, 27.8, 43.3, and 60.1. Murray doesn't see plays developing quickly enough, and it shows up on tape. He is still productive on the field, and Eberflus has been known as the "linebacker whisperer", so if he can work his magic, then Murray could be his next great linebacker in the NFL.
You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or Bluesky @mike-crum-cdpiglet.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Free Agency: Dallas Cowboys trying to recreate this Eagles' success
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