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Dallas Cowboys: 5 Early targets in 2021 free agency

By Randy Gurzi

Dec 20, 2020; Inglewood, California, USA; New York Jets free safety Marcus Maye (20) wears a helmet with an Oakley visor during the game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. The Jets defeated the Rams 23-20. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 20, 2020; Inglewood, California, USA; New York Jets free safety Marcus Maye (20) wears a helmet with an Oakley visor during the game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. The Jets defeated the Rams 23-20. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dallas Cowboys free agency targets
Dallas Cowboys free agency targets. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

These five 2021 free agents would be great for the Dallas Cowboys

It’s safe to say that the 2020 season didn’t go as planned for the Dallas Cowboys. After moving on from Jason Garrett as their head coach, Dallas signed Mike McCarthy and hoped the former Super Bowl winner would be able to get them back on track.

That ended up not being the case for them as they finished 6-10 and out of the playoffs — although, they were in the mix for the NFC East up until Week 17 which says a lot about how bad their division really was.

Of course, the loss of Dak Prescott to a broken ankle had a lot to do with their struggles but even with him under center, there was a lot wrong with this team. With that being said, we look ahead to the 2021 offseason and select five early free agency targets for the Cowboys, most of which are understandably on the defensive side of the ball.

5. Jarrad Davis, Linebacker

In 2018, the Cowboys had one of the best linebacker corps in the NFL. Leighton Vander Esch burst onto the scene as a rookie and Jaylon Smith had found his groove in the league after shedding the AFO brace he had the season prior. Then in 2019, LVE struggled with health, and Smith’s performance took a nosedive despite the Cowboys paying him and ignoring Dak Prescott.

2020 was even worse as Smith spent more time celebrating a play where he was flagged than he did making impact plays and Vander Esch was hardly noticeable on the field, when he was able to suit up. The front office is singing their praises publicly still, but there’s no way they can go into 2021 with these two as their primary linebackers.

For that reason, adding a veteran such as Jarrad Davis makes sense. A former first-round pick out of Florida, Davis fell out of favor with Matt Patricia but still had his best season as a pro in 2020 despite not being a full-time starter. Due to Patricia being Patricia, the fifth-year option on the linebacker’s contract and he’s set to hit the open market.

Davis could be an affordable option as well due to the fact that he didn’t start much of the 2020 season and could be motivated to prove his worth as well. Seems like a couple of good reasons for Dallas to make the call.

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