8 hours ago 3

Cowboys Get Poor Offseason Grade With Odd Reasoning

The Dallas Cowboys' offseason, for most, has been one of the better ones in recent memory.

Granted, the bar wasn't exactly set too high, but under first-time head coach Brian Schottenheimer, the Cowboys were proactive in free agency, despite no big splashes, instead getting bargain signings to help fill key roles on both sides of the ball.

Then came the draft, which, for many, saw the Cowboys knock it out of the park and potentially get a host of starters out of it with Tyler Booker, Donovan Ezeiruaku, and Shavon Revel Jr. the pick of the bunch.

There was still no No. 2 receiver, but now we add George Pickens as CeeDee Lamb's running mate, and suddenly, the offseason has a nice bow.

Yes, there are still a couple of moves the franchise could make with an interior defender, perhaps top of the wishlist, but right now, one can say it was a good, not great, offseason.

But PFF's Trevor Sikkema isn't a fan, giving Dallas a C+ but his reasoning is a little odd.

"This grade comes down to what Brian Schottenheimer is as a head coach," Sikkema writes. The Cowboys waited a long time to make a move to hire him (and determine Mike McCarthy's future), watching several good head coach candidates sign elsewhere in the meantime. They were also very quiet in free agency (not uncommon for them) when they had money to spend.

"Dallas' draft was a home run, though, especially the team's first three picks. I remain worried about how their offensive and defensive lines will come together in 2025, with Zack Martin retiring on offense and the duo of Mazi Smith and Osa Odighizuwa, who earned PFF run-defense grades of 35.9 and 50.8, respectively, slated to start again."

Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer

So the grade is purely about Schottenheimer?

As for the "quiet free agency" part, the Cowboys signed Robert Jones, Solomon Thomas, Payton Turner, Jack Sanborn, Miles Sanders, Javonte Williams, Dante Fowler Jr., and Parris Campbell.

That isn't exactly quiet, is it? Unless Sikkema is talking about top-tier guys, but as we know, that was never going to be Dallas' plan of attack. Still, that is far more than a year ago, with a host of starters and starting-caliber players coming to The Star.

The offensive line now has three first-rounders along it, and it will depend on how it can mesh together with Klayton Adams and Conor Riley overseeing it, so those "concerns" we can see if we squint.

As for Mazi Smith, that is warranted given his slow start, but Osa Odighizuwa, the Cowboys signed one of the better interior defensive lineman.

Yes, his grade against the run wasn't ideal, but his 78.5 pass rush grade ranked him 11 out of 219 players, and he posted an overall grade of 68.1, ranking him 38th among 219 defensive linemen. Plus, he was third in the league for pressures (80), so Osa isn't an issue. But he does need more help.

So while the C+ grade might be warranted for some, we think the Cowobys might have been hardly dealt here, with Schottenheimer as the main reason for the so-so grade, instead of looking at the work the new head coach has done.