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Now, I say this with a chuckle in my voice, but I think the Cowboys should get their linebackers in free agency and not the draft. I know that injuries are a part of the game, but we can't seem to keep our young, drafted linebackers healthy. Sean Lee (2nd round), Bruce Carter (2ndround), Jaylon Smith (2nd round), Leighton Vander Esch (1st round), DeMarvion Overshown (3rd round), and the list goes on. Think of all the positions over the years we could have improved by drafting others. So am I crazy to say fill those linebacker spots with proven free agents and use the draft on other positions of need?– Gary Hemming/Blackshear, GA**
Nick: Like most things in life, the answer isn't just one thing. Yes, get your linebackers through the draft. Marist Liufau and DeMarvion Overshown. But if they don't stay healthy, then cover it up with free agents, too.
That's the way it usually goes at a lot of positions, especially if they don't nail the picks with the draft. The linebackers you mentioned have all been talented but have had injury concerns over the years that have limited their play on the field. So yes, the Cowboys have been forced to filling holes at linebacker in free agency. But that's not always the answer either.
Plain and simple, it's a position that seems to be snake-bitten. The one linebacker they actually hit on - is now a defensive end. But yes, keep trying at free agency and the draft. That seems to be what they're doing.
Patrik: I don't think you're off base here at all, Gary. They have indeed been snakebitten over the recent years at the linebacker position, the exception being Marist Liufau to this point. But it's not simply the injuries that create the issue, but also in how, for one reason or another, healthy ones don't pan out, such as former fourth-round pick Jabril Cox or in how former fifth-round pick Damone Clark is still fighting to prove himself going into Year 4 of his NFL career. Then there's Chris Covington (yes, you forgot he existed) and though he flashed for a hot minute, Jaylon Smith fell off of a cliff with his production before he was sent packing.
They've had some hits, like Anthony Hitchens and, of course, Micah Parsons on a much, much higher level, but I agree they should do more first wave shopping in free agency at linebacker. Eric Kendricks proved invaluable in 2024, and names like Bobby Wagner would've landed like a helicopter delivering water in the desert. Until they can get their arms around the issue at drafting the position, be it due to injury or simply lack of fulfilled potential, hammering at it in free agency can only help.
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