A recent list of top 101 Free Agents only contains four Cowboys, Does that play into the hands of the team's front office? If Greg Rosenthal feels that there are many better players out there, can Dallas retain their preferred guys at a lower cap hit? – Mike Wilding/West Kelowna, BC
Nick: Of course, this is just one person's opinion, and coming from someone that "covers" the entire league. Just covering one team is hard enough so when you're tasked with having to put a list together for the entire league, that's not easy. Also, you have to realize that when you see these lists of free agents or "big boards" for a draft, they are just generic lists of players, based off stats and potential/upside. But it's hard to quantify an actual fit for a specific team. Look at the Bills, they clearly had Connor McGovern in mind and went out and got him on the first day they could. He didn't make the list, but I bet he was on the Bills' list. My point, is that it's really hard to go off of stuff like that. Right now, these players and their agents are hoping for a lot of attention over the next few days. The Cowboys are hoping they can keep their guys without breaking the bank. My guess is that of those four - Pollard, Schultz, Wilson and LVE, they'll have three on the team next year. Which three? Hard to say right now.
Kurt: Kurt: I'm afraid that's wishful thinking. Rosenthal does a great job with his "Top 101 NFL Free Agents" feature on NFL.com, and his original list had Dalton Schultz at 22, Tony Pollard at 23, Donovan Wilson at 55 and Leighton Vander Esch at 77. But although it's a fun and informative read for fans, in truth the Cowboys' front office won't pay it much mind. And even if the team did try to use Rosenthal's list as some sort of bargaining chip, you can bet that the players, and in particular their agents, will largely ignore it. Both sides do their own extensive research into each free agent and how he stacks up to his counterparts around the league. So while Rosenthal's updated list is worth checking out, the Cowboys will stick to trusting their own experienced scouting department … and thankfully so.
