Thread by @JoeyIckes

I did this exercise in the #groupchat last week...

Let’s rebuild this DAL roster...

🗣 Longest Thread EVER me!

https://twitter.com/PatSportsGuy/status/1320844616829161473

Let’s look at the offense first bc this is easy..

For 2021 at positions that contribute you will have returning players at:

QB1-4
RB1-21
RB2-20
LT-77
LG-52
C-63
RG-70
RT-71
OT3 - 69 (nice)
iOL3 - 66
X - 13
Z - 19
F - 88
WR4 - 11
TE1 -89
TE2 - 86

So that means you need QB2, another iOL depth player, and some competition for Steele as OT4. And that’s pretty much it.

Those guys are all pretty easy to find, so in other words you’re pretty much set on that side of the ball.

Defense is where it gets interesting... I’m gonna use a 4-2-5 Nickel bc that’s base:

You have:
LDE - 90
DT - 72
RDE - 94
ILB - 55
ILB - 54 (more in a min)
Boundary CB - 27
Slot CB - 30

Then you have the list of guys who we don’t really know what they’ll be moving fwd but who SHOULD get a lot of run the rest of 2020, with the possibility of earning big roles for 2021 and beyond:

Anae, Hamilton, Gallimore, Bernard, Wilson, Robinson etc...

In addition to those guys you have:
NT2 - 99
DE4 - 92

Then there’s the 54 conversation... they can release him”post June 1” in the first 4 days of the 2021 league year and save $7.2m...

IMO their decision re: this player will set the tone for the entire 2021 season.

I would cut him so that’s our assumption here

So for that Nickel look you need:
DT
ILB
SS
FS
Boundary CB

and for other pkgs you also need
NT1
Base DE
CB4
S3

Yes that’s a LOT. So we start up front bc DL >>>

My primary initiative at DE is re-sign Aldon Smith, shouldn’t be crazy expensive, and can be that base DE, & adds some interior rush flex.

If he goes elsewhere: guys like Ryan Kerrigan, Trent Murphy, Justin Houston etc, can be 1 year answers.

Inside, there are just an insane number of guys available...

Start with the fat guys:

Snacks
Dalvin Tomlinson
Poona Ford
Jonathan Hankins
Mike Pennel
Would all be NT1 upgrades

At the other DT you can either pay big-ish $$ for
Suh
Leonard Williams
Sheldon Rankins
Larry Ogunjobi
Tyson Alualu

Or pay not as much for:
Gerald McCoy
Maliek Collins

Personally, I would probably add Snacks, Pennel or Hankins at NT, and add back Gerald McCoy at the other DT and aim to use a draft pick there if there’s a point any time a DT is one of the best players at any pick you have.

LBs dont matter, but someone has to play there... so let’s move the 2nd level.

Wanna spend some $$:
LaVonte David
KJ Wright
DeVondre Campbell

Wanna spend less:
Kevin Pierre Lewis
BJ Goodson
Anthony Walker Jr
Tahir Whitehead
Damien Wilson
Reggie Ragland
And more

My plan would probably be something like BJ Goodson or Reggie Ragland and plan on spending a pick late day 2-early day 3...

Throw Bernard, Gifford, the FA and the pick into camp and let the best guy start.

You MIGHT be able to convince me to add Rueben Foster for MFer factor

Now to the DBs... let’s start w/ SAF

There are a lot of guys here available:

Wanna spend some $$:
Justin Simmons
Marcus Maye
Anthony Harris
Marcus Williams

Wanna spend a little less:
Karl Joseph
Jaquiski Tartt
Keanu Neal

Wanna take a HR swing for not much $$:
Malik Hooker

I would probably do something like Tartt and Hooker, and plan on spending a relatively high pick on this spot too if it falls the right way.

The one spot I don’t feel great about the opportunity to get in FA, is that other starting Boundary CB...

Those guys usually cost pretty big $$ in FA, and that’s a spot that you wind up missing on a lot bc techniques and coverage preferences vary from team to team so much.

But you can’t go into the draft with a massive hole there, so you have to do something in FA...

If he doesn’t re-sign in SF, I would try like crazy to sign Jason Verrett... but it may have to be a Bashaud Breeland, or Kevin King...

Then my plan would be to take CB top of rd 1.

So that gives me the following defense:

Edge:
Tank
Aldon/Kerrigan/Murphy
Gregory
Anae

DT:
McCoy
Hill
Pennel/Snacks
Woods
Gallimore

LB:
LVE
Goodson/Ragland/Foster
Bernard
Gifford
4th rd Rookie

S:
Tartt
Hooker
Wilson
Robinson
2nd rd Rookie

CB:
Diggs
Verrett/Breeland/King
Brown
1st rd rookie
Day 3 rookie

This won’t make you a top 5 defense in one year, but with a sound scheme, this group probably gets you to the top half if the league, and this only includes 4 draft picks in a year where you’re likely to have 3 top 75 picks and another 3 in the next 50 picks.

Fin.