D.J. Chark: How's WR Ranked On Cowboys Free Agency Board?
FRISCO - DeAndre Hopkins doesn't count; he's not a free agent. Odell Beckham Jr.'s free agency is so unusual that he's not included here, either.
But what does the "free agency board'' at wide receiver look like according to one NFL source who sits in evaluation and contract negotiation meetings?
It looks a lot like "D.J. Chark'' sitting near the top of it.
To be clear: This isn't necessarily the way the board in Dallas Cowboys personnel boss Will McClay's office looks. But as owner Jerry Jones weighs whether he has to "empty the bucket'' to build the 2023 receivers room - which is what it will take to land the Cardinals' Hopkins or the self-proclaimed "Mouton of Wideouts'' OBJ?
We'll bet McClay's board isn't far off of this.
It places at the top spot Jakobi Meyers, who has jumped from the Patriots to the Raiders. And bingo, Meyers was the first wideout moved last week.
It places Allen Lazard at No. 3. He's gone, from the Packers to GM Aaron Rodgers' Jets.
It places Juju Smith-Schuster at No. 4. He's gone, jumping from the Chiefs to replace Meyers in New England.
It places Parris Campbell at No. 5, and he's moved from the Colts to the Giants.
So ... it's possible.
And the No. 2 guy ... the only one on this "private'' ranking who hasn't been gobbled up?
D.J. Chark.
He's projected by some to make $9 million in 2023 - half what the "stars'' like OBJ and Hopkins will be commanding ... and yet there he sits.
Chark is a splash-play guy who, after being taken in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft, has dealt with injury issues. But he's got Pro Bowl credentials and 4.3 speed. ... and he's 6-4, which fits the Dallas mold.
Chark took a visit this week to Carolina, according to Jordan Schultz of the Score. (So did Minnesota ex Adam Thielen, who isn't on this ranking list because he was a late addition to free agency.)
Chark spent the first four years of his NFL career in Jacksonville before signing with the Detroit Lions last offseason in free agency. That was on a one-year, $10 million deal. ... and it didn't pay off fully as he only appeared in 11 games due to a nasty ankle sprain.
This isn't Hopkins or OBJ in terms of profile. But at the right price? There is an inside-the-NFL ranking that has D.J. Chark as the No. 2 receiver in all of free agency. And if Dallas is trying to "win the deal'' by not spending too much in a trade (or in Beckham talks)?
The ranking feels right.
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