Aldon Smith, EDGE

There will naturally be questions surrounding a player who hasn’t participated in an NFL game for a while. The final season he took part in occurred in 2015 as a member of the then Oakland Raiders. After more off-field problems, he hasn’t played since.

The level of production Smith provided the San Francisco 49ers to start his career was nothing short of phenomenal. He racked up 33.5 sacks through two seasons and appeared set for a career that featured him being elite at his position for years to come.

After refocusing on a return to football, Smith is in great shape and is motivated to the Cowboys that he can perform at a high-level. It’s difficult to count on that happening until it actually does, but if…lining up an impactful edge player opposite of DeMarcus Lawrence is intriguing.

The decision to sign Smith was a low-risk move with tremendous upside. He appears to be in the right place mentally and that’s really been the greatest obstacle that he has struggled to overcome. These are precisely the types of gambles teams who want to take the next step have to at least try.