PFF’s 3-Step Plan for Cowboys to be better in 2021

The Dallas Cowboys were set up to make the playoffs in 2020 after a successful NFL draft and what many believed to be a productive free agency period. Things quickly began to fall apart as nearly all of the offseason additions were off the roster by October and the Cowboys injury report looked like a scene from A Nightmare on Elm Street every week.

America’s Team finished 6-10 and missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season. However, many think the Cowboys can bounce back and win an NFC East in 2021 whose division winner, the Washington Football Team was a below-average 7-9 last season. Pro Football Focus recently ranked six teams that are most likely to improve from their 2020 campaign and the Cowboys came in the third spot.

PFF’s offseason to-do list for the 2021 Cowboys

Re-sign Dak Prescott

Re-sign Aldon Smith

Draft CB Caleb Farley with the 10th pick

Prescott is the Cowboy’s most important priority heading into the 2021 season. He’s entering his third round of negotiations with the organization to lock up a long-term contract. Two years ago, Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones said a deal was “imminent” after Prescott threw for 405 yards and four touchdowns against the New York Giants in the season opener. After nothing materialized, 2020 seemed like the perfect time to end the contract saga. Unfortunately, with Prescott’s desire to ink a four-year deal as opposed to the team’s five-year offer, the former fourth-round pick played on the franchise tag for $31.4 million.

There’s been some positive momentum lately for Prescott to receive a lucrative extension. Talks between the Cowboys and Prescott agent are “better than they have been” as the March 9 deadline for the franchise rapidly approaches. The 2016 Offensive Rookie of the Year is looking to land a deal “right behind” Patrick Mahomes’s $45 million per season average, and slightly above Deshaun Watson’s $39 million annual salary.

The Cowboys and Prescott remain adamant that a long-term deal is what both sides want to avoid a second franchise tag that would cost $37.7 million in 2021.

Smith was one of the NFL’s feel-good stories from last season. He spent five years away from the NFL after multiple suspensions which forced him to face some troubling off-the-field issues. After getting his life back together, with much help from Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, Smith got another shot at redemption when the Cowboys signed him to a one-year deal last April.

The former All-Pro came out on fire with four sacks in the first three games, highlighted by a three-sack performance against the Seattle Seahawks. However, that flame quickly extinguished as he would only record one sack in the final 13 games. Nonetheless, Smith showed some flashes of his dominant days with the San Francisco 49ers, and bringing him back to join DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory would give the Cowboys quite the trio rushing the passer from the edge in Dan Quinn’s scheme which will go back to a traditional four-man front.

The cornerback position has been a big talking point in Dallas since they lost Byron Jones to free agency a year ago. They hit a homerun with Trevon Diggs in the second round of last year’s draft, and the addition of Farley could give the Cowboys their two starting corners for the foreseeable future.

PFF’s assessment of Farley.

“As for the draft, Dallas is in a great spot to secure PFF’s CB1, Caleb Farley. He has all the physical tools one could want in an outside corner — with his trump card arguably being his blazing speed — and displayed a true lockdown season in his final year at the collegiate level. Before opting out of the 2020 season, Farley allowed one or fewer catches in seven of his 11 starts in 2019 while intercepting four passes and breaking up nine, leading to a 26.8 passer rating allowed and 90.5 coverage grade.”

Farley would opt-out of the 2020 college football season due to the coronavirus pandemic. In his two seasons on the field for Virginia Tech, the First-Team All-ACC performer displayed amazing ball skills with six interceptions and 19 pass breakups. His playmaking ability would be a welcomed addition opposite Diggs who led the Cowboys in interceptions (3) and pass breakups (14) as a rookie.

Only time will tell how the Cowboys will approach things before the 2021 season begins. However, if this plan were to be executed, along with other strategic offseason moves, the Cowboys could put themselves back among the top contenders in the NFC.