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The Dallas Cowboys, as usual, have a list of the best. Dallas has almost always leaned toward the so-called star and scrub style, preferring to pay for elite talents and supplement them with inexpensive veterans and rookie-scale bargains elsewhere on the list. Now that their stars are paid even more than at any time in the recent past, Dallas needs more of those veteran and rookie bargains than ever.
Luckily for them, the Cowboys have been one of the best recruiting teams in the league for the past half-decade or so. That successful project (with a few exceptions, of course) has given them some fantastic values, with players whose roles and contributions far exceed their salaries. In the space below, we will go through the top five for the 2020 season.
2020 salary cap blow: $ 972,495
The following players averaged more receiving yards per game in 2019 than Gallup: Michael Thomas, Chris Godwin, Julio Jones, Mike Evans and Davante Adams. That’s. And if it wasn’t for his uncharacteristic case of dropsides, he might have ranked even higher on the list. (Gallup had eight falls on 163 college goals, then fell 11 of 113 passes thrown on his way last season. That’s a doubling of his drop rate.) For the privilege of employing it, the Cowboys have to pay … the highest cap among amphibians in the NFL. It is not a typographical error.
He and Amari Cooper formed one of the best receiver duos in the league, and with CeeDee Lamb joining them this year, everyone should have plenty of room to operate. Gallup has already become a deep and strong threat and an even better type of catching and running on biases and other penetration routes, and with defenses likely unable to cover his way in almost any snap in the coming season, he could be in line for your best year yet.
2020 wage cap blow: $ 4,950,000
When the Cowboys paid Collins offseason, I was one of the skeptics. Why were the Cowboys locking up their fourth best offensive lineman at a time when their quarterback, No. 1 in the end zone and No. 1 in the corner were still waiting to get paid? Even before Travis Frederick retired, Collins served as perhaps the team’s best overall lineman last season. Yes, he even (possibly) beat Zack Martin.
Constantly a beast as a career blocker throughout his career, Collins had his best season yet in pass protection in 2019. After allowing 51 and 47 pressures in 2017 and 2018, Collins reduced that number to 26 in 2019. Add It’s the third-best league score to block runs between regular tackles, by PFF, and it’s a wonder that Collins has somehow missed a Pro Bowl spot. The terms of the extension of your contract are extremely team-friendly (at least until the Cowboys restructure it, as usual), with Collins ranked 35th among tackles at the top of the 2020 season.
2020 wage cap blow: $ 3,231,213
If we knew that Vander Esch was going to be completely healthy, he could very well be number 1 on this list. After a fantastic rookie campaign that saw him emerge as one of the best linebackers in the NFL, LVE took a small step back in 2019, before a neck injury ended his season entirely. Whether he and Jaylon Smith end up swapping positions, as rumored, Vander Esch has the talent ceiling to remain one of the most effective 4-3 linebackers in the game.
He is an absurd athlete, ranking at the 98th SPARQ percentile, which helps establish the foundation for his skills as a cover player. He is equally adept at working against backs and tight ends, and if the Cowboys manage to improve the game up front this season, both he and Smith will have more freedom to flow ball carriers into the running game. Considering the silver lining, Vander Esch’s chapter 26 success among 4-3 backers is relative theft.
2020 salary cap blow: $ 2,172,972
Woods has not yet fully lived up to the playing potential he demonstrated at Louisiana Tech, but he is a former sixth-round pick who has been an average or better full-time starting safety in two of his three NFL seasons. He splits time between corner and college safety, picking up 14 interceptions, six forced fumbles, four sacks and 16 passes defended during his three seasons as a starter. The Cowboys haven’t really taken advantage of that versatility, and Woods has been primarily a solid but unspectacular contributor. Perhaps a move toward a less stringent defense style than Kris Richard and Rod Marinelli’s Cover-3 vanilla scheme will unlock Woods’s game. He’ll earn a salary of just $ 2,172,972 in the final season of his rookie contract, giving him the 55th cap among securities in 2020.
2020 wage cap blow: $ 841,945
Chosen in the fourth round a year ago, Pollard had an excellent rookie season working behind Ezekiel Elliott. He averaged 5.3 yards per carry across his 86 bags, and while you may want to attribute much of that production to Dallas’ offensive line, you’d be wrong. Pollard led the league in yards after carry contact last season, according to Pro Football Focus, where he also led the league in Elusive Rating.
He broke tackles and created welcome games at a significantly higher rate than Elliott, and should have earned himself a bigger role on offense under new coach Mike McCarthy. His versatility to line up as a slot runner or receiver surely helps in that regard, as it seems unlikely that the Cowboys will significantly reduce Elliott’s work rate anytime soon. Still, Pollard’s $ 841,945 salary this season, which ranks 76th among runners across the league, is a bargain, especially since he’s also the top player to kick back.
