Cowboys' Team Needs to Fill in 2022 NFL Free Agency

The Dallas Cowboys head into free agency with a fair bit of work to do. They have several noteworthy players set to reach free agency, including Michael Gallup, Cedrick Wilson, Dalton Schultz and Randy Gregory. 

Dallas is also projected to be $21.2 million over the salary cap.

This means that replacing key contributors and addressing needs—like Dallas' 20th-ranked run defense—may largely have to be done through the 2022 draft.

Dallas will first have to create cap space to be relevant in free agency, and they will likely have to seek out budget options on the open market. However, they can still address some problem areas if that happens.

Here we will examine three team needs that the Cowboys should address in free agency.

Re-signing or replacing pass-catchers like Gallup and Schultz will be difficult given the market and Dallas' cap situation. However, if the Cowboys can create some cap space, addressing the secondary will be feasible.

The Cowboys were great at creating takeaways in 2021, leading the league with a whopping 26 interceptions. However, their pass defense was a boom-or-bust unit that too often gave up as many big plays as it created.

Dallas ranked 20th against the pass and 18th in passing yards allowed.

Fortunately, some valuable budget options at cornerback should be available when free agency opens March 16. Seattle Seahawks cornerback Sidney Jones IV, for example, has a projected market value of just $4.25 million for a one-year deal, according to Pro Football Focus. That's a low price for a corner who allowed an opposing passer rating of only 84.3 in coverage last season.

San Francisco 49ers cornerback K'Waun Williams is another possible option. He's a versatile slot corner, and PFF projects him to earn a one-year, $2.5 million deal.

Dallas should be able to find cornerback help at a fair price in free agency, and it needs to do exactly that.

The Cowboys should also look to bolster a run defense that ranked 23rd in yards per attempt surrendered. Again, this was a turnover-dependent defense in 2021.

"About those 34 takeaways," Mickey Spagnola of the team's official website wrote. "The Cowboys totaled four takeaways in the season-opening loss to Tampa Bay. But in the other five losses, they had only three more, and finished a minus-one in turnover differential in the six losses this year."

The good news is that low-priced options should be available at linebacker too.

Cleveland Browns linebacker Anthony Walker Jr., for example, is projected to earn just $4 million annually, per Pro Football Focus. Walker was a tackling machine in 2021, finishing with 113 total tackles, 69 solo stops and two passes defended.

Tennessee Titans linebacker Jayon Brown is another potential budget option. PFF projects a two-year deal worth $4.75 million annually for the 27-year-old, who tallied 55 tackles in only 10 games this past season.

Targeting a player like Walker or Brown to replace impending free agent Leighton Vander Esch would be a wise move for a team that was often bullied in the run game last season.

The Cowboys should also look at their defensive interior this offseason, both to improve the run defense and to boost the pass rush.

Some quality defensive linemen may be available when the Cowboys pick 24th overall in the draft. However, This is also a deep receiver, offensive line and cornerback class, and Dallas will want to give itself options in Round 1.

Adding a playmaking defensive tackle won't be the cheapest move in free agency, but it doesn't have to consume every bit of cap space that the Cowboys can create. Last offseason, for example, the Cincinnati Bengals inked Larry Ogunjobi to a modest one-year, $6.2 million deal.

Ogunjobi responded with 49 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, seven sacks and 24 quarterback pressures. He will be a free agent again this offseason, as will Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson. He's projected by Pro Football Focus to earn a one-year, $3 million deal on the open market.

If the Cowboys can shore up their defensive front ahead of April's draft, they will have valuable flexibility in the early rounds. Signing an interior defender like Ogunjobi or Richardson could help them accomplish this goal.

Cap and contract information via Spotrac. Advanced statistics from Pro Football Reference.