INDIANAPOLIS — Someone is missing.
The Cowboys have CeeDee Lamb at wide receiver. They have Tony Pollard at running back, not planning to allow the impending free agent to sign elsewhere this month. While other quality skill-position players are on the roster, including wide receiver Michael Gallup, multiple people familiar the club’s thinking said the team has ambition here.
Another dynamic weapon, it believes, is needed.
Another dynamic weapon will be added.
He could come in the draft. He could come in the veteran market. While entertaining all avenues, the Cowboys are actively pursuing a difference-making playmaker to bolster quarterback Dak Prescott’s arsenal. This comes at a time when every indication is tight end Dalton Schultz will reach the open market.
Little momentum currently exists toward a Schultz return. Barring a shift in the situation’s winds, he will begin negotiating contracts with other clubs on March 13 and can sign elsewhere as early as March 15 when his contract expires.
The outlook is much different for Pollard, a strong candidate for the $10.1 million franchise tag in the days ahead. His recovery from a fibula fracture in the Jan. 22 playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers is on a promising trajectory. Executive vice president Stephen Jones said Tuesday here at the NFL combine that Pollard is expected to be ready for training camp.
So, the team has Pollard. The team has Lamb, hoping to sign him to a long-term extension as early as this offseason. In the meantime, one person close to Lamb described as “automatic” the Cowboys’ decision on whether to place the fifth-year option on him by May 1. The option keeps Lamb under contract through the 2024 season.
That leaves a to-be-determined third core talent at a skill position.
Free-agency options are limited at wide receiver. The Cowboys began Thursday and will continue Friday with a series of meetings with player agents at the combine. So, the ball is just beginning to roll in their player-acquisition process.
If the Cowboys are to acquire a veteran wide receiver via trade, they are not close to doing so. No such trade is actively developing, a person familiar with the situation said Thursday. Likewise, in free agency, nothing is imminent with Odell Beckham Jr., a person close to the former Los Angeles Rams wide receiver said. He is eligible to be signed before the March 15 start of the league year.
However possible, it would be a mistake to assume the addition the Cowboys make is at wide receiver. Adding a tight end with top-five positional potential also would qualify. This draft class is widely considered to be very strong at tight end, and Dallas owns the No. 26 overall pick.
Last offseason, the Cowboys subtracted firepower from their offense, moving on not only from Amari Cooper at wide receiver but Cedrick Wilson. While a debate can be had as to whether they erred in not retaining at least one of those players, the club has openly acknowledged it faltered in its pivot from them.
Too much faith was placed in Gallup’s ability to rebound quickly from left ACL surgery that February. He struggled to make a consistent impact before undergoing arthroscopic ankle and knee surgeries — his right knee, not left — shortly after the 2022 season. Likewise, Jalen Tolbert’s learning curve as a rookie third-round pick from South Alabama took longer to navigate than anticipated.
Foot injuries to James Washington did not help matters. Tolbert’s one reception in 2022 exceeded Washington’s catch count.
Looking to right a wrong, the Cowboys courted Beckham late in the season before concluding on a free-agency visit that, because of his ACL tear in the Super Bowl, he wouldn’t be physically ready to contribute until 2023. T.Y. Hilton was signed for short-term relief.
A new offseason comes with a new opportunity.
The Cowboys are committed to doing more to help Prescott this year. Some of that involves developing the receivers they already have. Other changes will be philosophy-driven. As coach Mike McCarthy described Wednesday, a thorough self-scout is underway, examining how to improve the offense conceptually.
A segment of the coaching staff did not attend the combine at all to work on the project. McCarthy was in Indianapolis for only a few hours Wednesday because of it.
Some of these changes will result, the Cowboys hope, in a more quarterback-friendly offense. That means a reduction in the number of hits Prescott absorbs along with better continuity and disguise in the relationship between the run and pass game.
Personnel improvement is an integral piece to the puzzle.
It is too early to say which impactful skill-position player will join Pollard and Lamb in Dallas. But at this stage, the Cowboys are evaluating their options and are committed to make sure that one such player does.
