The Cowboys seem to have a few guiding principles in their current approach to free agency. Two of them are financial conservatism and player familiarity, and both of those boxes are checked by Defensive End Takkarist McKinley. The former 1st-round pick was in yesterday for a visit as Dallas continues its first week of training camp.
McKinley was the 26th-overall selection of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Falcons. Dan Quinn, now serving as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator, was Atlanta’s head coach at the time.
Dallas drafted two spots behind the Falcons and selected another defensive end, the legendary Taco Charlton. It’s been widely speculated since 2017 that the Cowboys would have taken McKinley at the 28th pick had Atlanta not scooped him up.
Of course, neither guy would’ve been the right pick over T.J. Watt. But I digress.
Takk has had a marginally better career so far than Taco but is the only one currently looking for work. Charlton is in camp right now with the Saints while McKinley remains unsigned, largely due to a torn Achilles suffered last December while playing for the Browns.
While Dallas’ visit with Takk was reportedly a good one, he is still considering options and visiting other teams. Whether or not his reunion with Dan Quinn is happening or not remains to be seen.
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The Cowboys are still trying to figure out their DE rotation for 2022 after the departure of Randy Gregory. They re-signed Dorance Armstrong and added another Quinn-connected player in veteran Dante Fowler, plus drafted Sam Williams in the 2nd Round of the last draft. Dallas also has DeMarcus Lawrence, Chauncey Golston, and Tarell Basham returning on their existing contracts.
If McKinley is added he will likely be competing with Fowler and Basham for one, maybe two, roster spots available at defensive end. Dallas could afford to go shorter at DE this year depending on how much they intend to use LB Micah Parsons as a pass rusher.
Takk’s production dropped off in 2019 with Atlanta and led his 5th-year option not being picked up. Feeling on the outs, McKinley requested a trade and was eventually waived in November of the 2020 season. Failied physicals with the 49ers and Bengals led to his waiver claim eventually falling to the Raiders, who signed Takk and immediately placed him on IR with a groin injury.
The Raiders didn’t re-sign McKinley the following offseason and he wound up with Cleveland on a one-year deal. Takk only appeared in four games before the Achilles injury in Week 14.
Obviously, things haven’t gone as expected for the former 1st-round pick.
McKinley’s 13 sacks in his first two seasons as a Falcon are what the Cowboys and Dan Quinn are remembering. Still just 26 years old, Takk could present an opportunity to acquire untapped talent with minimal financial investment.
