It’s combine weekend, everyone! And already there’s been some huge excitement surrounding some talented young football players. One of which we drafted first overall in our latest mock draft 2.0 (cough Nolan Smith cough First Round cough). That link is below.

And as always, the Dallas Cowboys continue to find a way to be front and center when it comes to any possible angle the networks are trying to narrate. I don’t know why I say this like it’s a surprise, anymore.

Here are the top stories for the Dallas Cowboys from the last week.

Pollard Getting Franchised

*Tony Pollard shrugging off the franchise tag.*

All signs point to running back for the Dallas Cowboys Tony Pollard getting the franchise tag.

TP20 will get $10.1m if the tag is placed on him and the Dallas Cowboys aren’t able to work out a long term deal with the highly skilled football player from Memphis, Tennessee.

I don’t think the Dallas Cowboys really want to sign TP20 to a long term deal, to be honest, and I don’t blame them after what we are seeing unfold with Zeke Elliott’s contract.

The smart thing here is to franchise Pollard and draft a RB who can take over that #1 RB spot on the Dallas Cowboys roster.

Yes, Tony Pollard has only carried the ball 510 times in his career spanning 4 years, which is roughly 125 average attempts per season.

That’s super low, and so there’s an argument that he has nearly a full gas tank left, and he’ll only be 26 when the season kicks off in 2023. He’s definitely warranted a big contract. But, I think the Dallas Cowboys are too gun-shy to pull the trigger.

I love TP20, I do! I bought his jersey in 2020, whatever that means.

The point is, second contracts for most running backs don’t work often enough in the favour of the organization.

Jerry Wants Zeke To Stay

*A Young Zeke Elliott and slightly less old Jerry Jones after drafting the RB 4th overall.*

Continuing with running back stories, Jerry Jones had something to say about the current situation with Zeke Elliott. I think this one is just lip service.

Jones talked about the running back duo in TP20 and Zeke, and how he “wouldn’t change a thing” when referring to the Slash and Dash combo that ran the ball for the Dallas Cowboys in 2022.

The reality is already on the table; Zeke Elliott will have to cut his contract significantly to warrant staying on the roster, and the Dallas Cowboys would be better off bringing in a younger athlete of the same calibre.

It’s a rough business, this NFL stuff, but teams have to be consistent in the way they process information.

Can you rely on Zeke Elliott to repeat production and stay off the injury list?

Or is his nearly 900 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns something that can be reproduced from a much more affordable athlete?

Cowboys Committed To Prescott For “Years To Come”

*Jerry Jones and Dak Prescott shaking hands for 45 minutes straight.*

The most polarizing topic for #CowboysNation is who is taking the snaps.

Dak Prescott is in line to be the Dallas Cowboys quarterback for at least the next 2 seasons, but it seems that the front office at AT&T Stadium want to extend that contract.

First, it would free up cap space, probably in the neighbourhood of $14m over the next two seasons, and second, it would solidify the Dallas Cowboys with a quarterback who has played at an elite level at times throughout his career.

If he had another legit weapon last year, maybe some of those interceptions wouldn’t have been thrown…

Wanted: New Dynamic Offensive Weapon For Dak

Which brings us to the next big news item; the Dallas Cowboys are searching for a new offensive weapon for Dak Prescott.

No, this isn’t a recycled story from last year; although it feels that way, doesn’t it?

More than likely, they are going to be looking for this weapon at the upcoming NFL Draft.

Trading for the “dynamic” weapon in free agency is going to be costly. Not only in draft picks, but cap space, also, too, as well!

*Hopkins, Diggs, and Cooks want a new place to call home.*

DeAndre Hopkins, Stefon Diggs, and Brandon Cooks have all been involved in trade rumours with the Dallas Cowboys. But none of these scenarios make sense.

Just look at the cap hit for each of this players over the next two seasons:

DeAndre Hopkins

2023 $30.8m
2024 $26.2m

Stefon Diggs

2023 $20.2m
2024 $26.5m

Brandon Cooks

2023 $26.5m
2024 $24.6m

The more likely scenario, besides the draft, is one of these players: JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jakobi Meyers, Allen Lazard, Darius Slayton, Mack Hollins.

Their cap hit is going to be significantly lower, and although they had some respectable numbers in 2022, their contribution on the field is not as beneficial as Hopkins, Diggs, or Cooks.

If I’m seriously considering any of these players, JuJu and Jakobi are the two dudes I’m interested in the most, but they do not solve the “dynamic weapon” problem.

CanFan Mock Draft 2.0

We did our second mock draft, and it’s the last mock draft before the draft combine is complete, which means that HOPEFULLY the draft boards will start to make more sense next week!

And this draft was BEFORE the combine started, so when we pulled Nolan Smith in the first round, we didn’t know he was going to blow up social media with his insane athleticism.

Nolan Smith pretty much punched his Top-15 card, but we were able to scoop him with the 26th overall pick.

You can watch our full episode here. 🔥🔥🔥 Draft starts around the 54-minute mark.

The History Of The 26th Overall Pick

Our brother in arms, Matty V, wrote an article on the history of the 26th pick.

And unfortunately, it doesn’t look great!

Datone Jones, Marcus Smith, Breshad Perriman, Paxton Lynch, and Takkarist McKinley were all drafted with the 26th overall pick from 2013 to 2017. Not a stellar roster, is it?

You can read the full article here.

Jones Family Could Be Stinkin’ Genius

*Jerry Jones slips out a toot during a press conference.*

IF Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys agree to a contract restructuring, THEN the Jones Family look like geniuses!

This gets a lot of Cowboys Nation’s blood boiling, and I don’t blame them. That’s a BIG “IF”. Capital letters necessary.

But hear me out: these quarterback contracts are INSANE, but the Dallas Cowboys front office might just be playing 4D chess.

Read the full article here and tell me if you agree or disagree.

Cowboys CanFan Weekly Wrap Up | March 4th, 2023