The Dallas Cowboys missed out on the playoffs in 2024, a season that was all but lost from moment last offseason began.
However, if the organization is smart, they should be watching the postseason results and learning how they can get back into the race next year. There are always lessons in failure, but if there’s one thing the opening weekend of playoff results prove it’s that the Cowboys’ recent approach won’t work.
Being aggressive in talent acquisition is part of building a team, and the Cowboys bypassing that part of the process isn’t a winning strategy.
Most of the teams who won their wild card games on Saturday and Sunday were aggressive in adding pieces to be better than they were the previous season, while the Cowboys used an alternate strategy. Jerry and Stephen Jones are no strangers to sitting out the first and second waves of free agency, but they have managed to find some players to plug holes and keep the team competitive later in the open market. That philosophy was altered slightly last offseason, where the organization decided to almost forgo free agency entirely.
It didn’t work and the Cowboys fell flat on their faces, just as many people predicted.
If the results from their own team during the 2024 campaign weren’t enough to convince the Joneses how broken their approach to talent acquisition is, perhaps the early stages of the postseason can shed a light for them.
Most of the winning teams got significant contributions from their offseason acquisitions, starting with the Houston Texans in the early kickoff last Saturday. The Texans traded a seventh-round pick for running back Joe Mixon, who had a second straight 1,000-yard season. In the win over the Los Angeles Chargers, Mixon led the way for the offense with 106 yards and a touchdown.
In the Baltimore Ravens’ win, Derrick Henry paved the way with a monster effort. The veteran RB rushed for 186 yards and two scores as the Ravens ran away with the victory. Henry was a free agent this offseason and had interest in the Cowboys, who didn’t reciprocate those feelings.
Instead of signing with the Cowboys, Henry was added by the Ravens, who signed him to a modest two-year deal. Not only did Henry have a ridiculous regular season, where he ran for 1,921 yards, but he had a stellar first playoff game with the Ravens.
Not to be outdone, RB Saquon Barkley proved why he was a smart addition with the Philadelphia Eagles. Barkley topped 2,000 yards rushing in the regular…
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