Dallas Cowboys: 3 Players Mike McCarthy could trade away this offseason
By Randy Gurzi
The Dallas Cowboys built their current roster around Jason Garrett’s vision. Could that lead to some stars being traded away by Mike McCarthy?
When Jason Garrett took over as the Dallas Cowboys head coach in the middle of the 2010 season, he sold Jerry Jones and the front office on a vision. That vision was simple to see — Garrett wanted to build an offense that could dominate in the trenches.
After never using a first-round pick on an offensive lineman since purchasing the team in 1989, Jones and company selected three in a four-year period. Not only did they draft Tyron Smith in 2011, Travis Frederick in 2013, and Zack Martin in 2014, but they also went for Connor Williams in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft and landed La’el Collins after he fell out of the draft.
In addition to this impressive offensive line, Dallas invested heavily in the ground game as they used the No. 4 overall pick in 2016 on Ezekiel Elliott — who has twice led the league in rushing. Before he was there, they also had DeMarco Murray lead the league in yardage in 2014.
However, that philosophy could be changing now. With Garrett now out, the Cowboys are turning things over to Mike McCarthy. The former Super Bowl-winning coach from the Green Bay Packers has a history of relying heavily on the pass.
While he is retaining Kellen Moore as offensive coordinator, it seems as though they could be even more pass-happy this coming season, and they still did air it out in 2019 which was Moore’s first season as a play-caller.
The changes don’t end there either as Mike Nolan was brought in to coach the defense. He brings a much different philosophy than Rod Marinelli and could look to move the team to a 3-4 defense, which is what he typically runs.
With that being a possibility, could the Cowboys look to trade some of their higher-priced players this season. Here are three names to watch should that be the case.