The Dallas Cowboys offense was again in the upper echelon of units in the NFL as coach Mike McCarthy's first season as play-caller saw Dak Prescott finish second in the MVP voting.
CeeDee Lamb had an All-Pro year as he broke several franchise records on his way to having a 1,749-yard, 12-touchdown season as he solidified his standing as one of the top receivers in the game.
But after Lamb, the next best receiver was Brandin Cooks (657 yards, eight TDs) as the veteran, after a slow start to life as a Cowboy, found his groove down the stretch.
Despite Cooks finishing joint eighth for receiving touchdowns, NFL.com thinks that there is a glaring hole in the offense behind Lamb. ... and rather outrageously, thinks the solution to filling that hole is to ... fire everybody?!
"The Cowboys are currently projected to be $19.7 million over the cap (second-most in the NFC) and are yet again searching for the right piece(s) to make a run into February," NFL.com writes. "Neither Gallup nor Cooks seem like a fit for the WR2 shoes behind CeeDee Lamb and either/both would save the team money if released. (Gallup would likely need to be a post-June 1 cut.)
"Hopefully for Dallas fans' sake, the 'Boys can find an answer for that glaring WR2 hole in free agency or the draft."
Sorry, but we've got all sorts of problems here.
First, the Gallup situation is obvious. He's underperformed, and as a post-June 1 cut Dallas can gain $9.5 million in space. (By the way, the Cowboys could circle back and re-sign him later, in theory.
Next: There seems to be a misunderstanding about the value of cutting Cooks. Our calculations mean that's only a savings of $6 million. And if we're right?
Wouldn't it cost $6 million or more to sign a worthy veteran replacement? If you agree to that concept in general ... what will Dallas really gain here?
And third: So NFL.com thinks Dallas has a "hole'' in the second receiver spot ... and thinks throwing guys out of the receivers room is the solution? Wouldn't "cutting everybody'' actually create a bigger "hole''?
Given that Cooks finished the regular season by catching a touchdown in three consecutive games as Prescott often looked his way in the fourth quarter when a catch needed to be made, and eight times Cooks had four or more receptions, he wasn't the problem on offense. He wasn't a "hole.''
Gallup's situation is different, and everybody knows it. He could only muster 418 yards and two touchdowns on 34 receptions.
But Cooks was by far a better outlet for Prescott in the passing game ... and we can't figure out why he should be bundled together with Gallup.
Cooks managed 657 yards and eight touchdowns and was a classy locker room leader. ... and that hardly represents a "glaring" hole in Dallas' offense.
Free agency and the NFL Draft could in theory alter the outlook here. But our understanding is that Brandin Cooks is planning on being with the Cowboys in 2024 ... and we're interested in learning more about how NFL.com sees it so differently.
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