Dallas Cowboys: 5 Moves that must be made to improve in 2021

2. Release Jaylon Smith

Back in 2016, the Dallas Cowboys changed their entire franchise with one of their more historic drafts. That was the year they added Ezekiel Elliott, Jaylon Smith, Dak Prescott, and Anthony Brown. As for Smith, he was a second-round pick who had to sit out his rookie campaign due to a severe knee injury and subsequent nerve damage.

He returned in 2017 but was playing with an AFO brace and really didn’t stand out. Then in 2018, Smith became a star. He was paired with rookie Leighton Vander Esch and they looked primed to be the face of the defense for years.

Dallas even rewarded Smith with a five-year, $64 million extension in 2019. It looked to be a great story for the young man who overcame so much. But unfortunately, things have soured since then.

Smith struggled in 2019 after signing the deal but then in 2020, he became an absolute liability. Far too often, Smith was out of position, played without discipline, and left his gaps wide open for opposing runners.

That didn’t stop him from racking up a lot of tackles, and he might have led the league in celebrating plays that didn’t actually help his team. Smith was the king of tackling a running back after seven yards and then doing his “swipe” celebration. He also was amazing at dancing following a blatant penalty while the refs were throwing laundry behind him.

While he has the physical tools, there’s something off with Smith and he clearly doesn’t agree. When asked if he will be with the team in 2021, he defiantly said to “watch the film” which means he won’t be addressing his issues since he clearly does not believe he has them.

It won’t be an easy move to make due to the cap ramifications, which K.D. Drummond of Cowboys Wire gets into here, but it is possible. And if they want to improve on defense, it absolutely has to be done.