The Dallas Cowboys will look to bounce back in 2021 after a very disappointing 2020 season. The injury to Dak Prescott was demoralizing, but the offense was still passable. The defense, on the other hand, was downright putrid.
Dallas gave up the most points in franchise history in a single season and the second most yards ever. Mike Nolan is out as defensive coordinator and Dan Quinn was hired to take his place. There is optimism that Quinn will get more out of the unit that Nolan did with his scheme changes.
We are still a few weeks from training camp getting underway, but it is never too early to evaluate a team’s roster. Every year there will be some difficult decisions when it comes to trimming things down for the regular season and 2021 will be no different.
Here are three players the Cowboys could potentially move in a trade entering training camp.
3. Jaylon Smith, Linebacker
Jaylon Smith was a highly sought after prospect coming out of Notre Dame with an injury being the only thing that kept him from being a top pick. The Cowboys took a gamble on him in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft and it worked out.
Smith has not missed a game in his NFL career after sitting out the 2016 season. Week in and week out he is on the field at the heart of the Cowboys defense. However, while he had a career-high 150 tackles in 2020, Smith did not play well.
His PFF grade of 54.2 just won’t cut it. With Dallas using two selections on linebackers in the 2021 NFL, including their first round pick on Micah Parsons, a linebacker could be on the move this offseason.
Smith has already received trade interest and could be someone the Cowboys move on from as they continue to reshape that side of the ball.
2. Dorance Armstrong, Defensive Line
The Cowboys may have to make some tough decisions along their defensive line in training camp. It may be a numbers game ultimately and Dorance Armstrong could lose out in that case.
There was some hope for Armstrong entering the NFL after he had a dominant 2016 with the Kansas Jayhawks, compiling 20 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. Despite his numbers dropping in 2017, Dallas thought they had a steal on their hands when they selected Armstrong in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
After not compiling a sack in 2020, the Cowboys may be ready to move on from Armstrong this summer, especially if some of their other defensive lineman perform well in training camp.
1. Michael Gallup, Wide Receiver
The Cowboys have provided Dak Prescott with arguably the best wide receiver trio in the NFL to throw the ball too. However, that trio may not make it through the 2021 season, let alone training camp.
After trading a first round pick and giving a lucrative extension to Amari Cooper and selecting CeeDee Lamb with their first round pick in 2020, the writing was on the wall for Michael Gallup.
Gallup had a breakout 2019, catching 66 passes for 1,107 yards and six touchdowns. Despite Lamb being selected in the next draft and Prescott being hurt in 2020, Gallup still had a solid season with 59 receptions for 843 yards and five touchdowns.
Gallup is productive, but the Cowboys cannot afford to dump any more money and assets into the wide receiver position. Gallup will be a free agent in 2022 and with an unlikely return to Dallas, the team would be smart to try and get some compensation for him via trade.
