What the Dallas Cowboys can learn from the Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams broke through and won the Super Bowl, validating all of the moves that the franchise has made over the past few seasons. Sean McVay and Les Snead have become notorious for making big moves to go all-in. Los Angeles parted ways with draft capital to acquire the likes of Matthew Stafford, […]
The Los Angeles Rams broke through and won the Super Bowl, validating all of the moves that the franchise has made over the past few seasons.
Sean McVay and Les Snead have become notorious for making big moves to go all-in. Los Angeles parted ways with draft capital to acquire the likes of Matthew Stafford, Jalen Ramsey, and Von Miller.
As a result, the Rams hoisted the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday evening in their own stadium. The win was years in the making. The Rams' philosophy of acquiring as much talent as possible — regardless of the money or draft capital given up — paid off.
WHAT THE COWBOYS CAN TAKE AWAY
If the Rams are on one side of the spectrum, the Dallas Cowboys are on the complete opposite.
The Cowboys have become as well-known for making safe and conservative moves as the Rams are for making bold decisions. Aside from the outlier that was the Amari Cooper trade in 2018, Dallas has preferred to play it safe much more often than not.
Sometimes that works out. For example, the Cowboys opted to not make a move for safety Jamal Adams, instead letting the Seahawks give up precious draft picks for the one-time first-team All-Pro defensive back. Dallas used the draft capital that they would have likely given up to grab CeeDee Lamb and other key pieces.
Still, the Dallas Cowboys need to be more aggressive in upgrading the roster.
Stephen Jones has an infamous phrase where he says that the team believes in "our guys". That is typically code for the front office would rather re-sign its own players, even if they are replaceable, rather than going out and making a splash.
Dak Prescott referenced the Rams going all-in as to why they were his pick to win the Super Bowl. It was almost like he was using the platform to tell the Cowboys to go out and invest rather than being too worried about the salary cap.
The Cowboys have a long list of impending free agents, highlighted by Randy Gregory, Dalton Schultz, Michael Gallup, and Jayron Kearse. Dallas cannot realistically expect to take that next step without addressing that in one way or another.
Dallas has a team that has the talent to compete for a championship. Having a franchise quarterback in place is the most important element to that equation. That said, in order to knock off the top dogs, aggressive moves must be made.
Whether it be through free agency or the draft, the Cowboys need to let go of its safe approach.
Featured image via Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
