Lackluster LB Prospects May Incline Cowboys to Sign Their Own

The Cowboys brass are busy this week as they evaluate the next crop of NFL Prospects at the NFL Scouting Combine, and by most account they’ll be zeroing in on defensive players.

In particular, the Cowboys will have all eyes on the defensive line, but the Cowboys may be looking for more starters in the secondary and linebacker corps.

The linebackers wrapped up their drills today and they were very average and not all that impressive. Some of the bigger name prospects like Paul Dawson and Denzel Perryman left a lot to be desired after watching them today. We saw some pedestrian 40 times and stiffness in some of the other linebackers and as a whole the group is not deep.

Couple this not-so impressive linebacker crop and the recent troubles of Rolando McClain, the Cowboys may be more inclined to sign their own linebackers before free agency opens up in 2 weeks.

McClain is a free agent, so there’s no guarantee he’ll return to the Cowboys, but even if he wants to sign with Dallas, can we count on him? McClain was recently slapped with a 4-game fine for failing his 3rd drug test. A 4th drug failure would result in a 4-game suspension.

So, what should the Cowboys do?

If I’m Dallas, I’m looking at re-signing Justin Durant to a 2-3yr deal at an acceptable deal for both sides. Durant will be 30 in September, but re-signing Durant gives the Cowboys a solid Sam LB, leadership, and accountability. He knows Marinelli’s defense inside out and was a game changer for the defense until he was injured with the torn bicep.

I would also pencil in Anthony Hitchens as the Mike LB. You cannot stifle Hitchens progression, and he absolutely proved he could be a legit starter for us. This would give the Cowboys three solid linebackers with Sean Lee, Anthony Hitchens and Justin Durant.

If the Cowboys want to sign McClain, there should be some expectations as to what he will provide Dallas with. We know McClain will miss practice time and he’ll miss games, so the Cowboys better have some depth by signing Durant or even Bruce Carter if possible.

I’m not discounting the Cowboys taking a linebacker in the draft, but if it happens, we’ll probably be leaning on some more Will McClay magic in finding another Hitchens type quality player.

A few linebackers that caught my eye at the Combine were Shaq Thompson (Washington), Stephone Anthony (Clemson), and Eric Kendricks (UCLA)

Everything will come into focus with the Cowboys free agents in a few weeks, and by then we’ll have a better gauge as to what the Cowboys will do in the draft.