Dallas Cowboys free agency: 4 Defensive players they need to add

2. J.J. Watt, Defensive End

It’s not often a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year becomes available, but that’s what happened when J.J. Watt was granted his release from the Houston Texans. Of course, this isn’t the same player he was in his prime as a 32-year-old Watt won’t be posting 20-sacks per season as he did in his prime.

That doesn’t mean, however, that he’s not still an effective pass-rusher. In fact, Watt was still a top-10 pass rusher in the NFL in every season since 2011 — which includes this past year when several said he wasn’t as effective since he had only five sacks.

https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1360248433462939660?s=20

The question with Watt isn’t so much his age, it’s whether or not Dallas could convince him to sign with them. Despite leaving the Texans, Watt has an insane amount of love for the fans who have been cheering him on since the 2011 campaign. And those fans might hate the Cowboys more than any of their divisional rivals. For that reason, Watt might not want to join Big D and upset those who have supported him.

He could also elect to join the Pittsburgh Steelers where his two brothers — T.J. Watt (who should have been drafted by Dallas) and Drek Watt play. The elder Watt would need to take a discount to do so, but he has said he would love to join forces with his little brothers.

This doesn’t mean the Cowboys should just fold their arms and go home. Instead, they still need to make their pitch and hope Watt wants to continue to play in the state of Texas.