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Cowboys 1st & 10: Gauging WR needs and Top 10 Storylines for Today at Eagles

In this edition of Cowboys 1st & 10 we start to break down, position-by-position, 2020 NFL Draft needs, along with everything you need before the Cowboys take on the Eagles this afternoon in Week 16
Matthew Postins|
Cowboys 1st & 10: Gauging WR needs and Top 10 Storylines for Today at Eagles
Cowboys 1st & 10: Gauging WR needs and Top 10 Storylines for Today at Eagles

CowboysSI.com is in Philadelphia for the big game ... and we're covering the present and the future, too.

In this edition of Cowboys 1st & 10 we start to break down, position-by-position, 2020 NFL Draft needs, along with everything you need before the Cowboys take on the Eagles this afternoon in Week 16

1) 2020 DALLAS COWBOYS DRAFT NEEDS: WIDE RECEIVERS

CURRENT PLAYERS AT POSITION: Amari Cooper (starter), Michael Gallup (starter), Tavon Austin, Ventell Bryant, Randall Cobb, Devin Smith.

2020 FREE AGENTS: Cooper, Cobb, Austin.

DRAFT NEED: Medium.

THE BREAKDOWN: Wide receiver always seems to be one of those positions the Cowboys are constantly looking to upgrade. With Cooper, Cobb and Austin all set to hit the market in 2020, wide receiver seems to be a position the Cowboys might want to draft early. But Cooper is not an equal free agent to Cobb and Austin.

Cooper is highly unlikely to go anywhere. 

The Cowboys will either sign him long-term or tag him. The Cowboys rightly see him as a career-long WR1 and, when paired with Gallup, the Cowboys have a tandem to be reckoned with. Cobb and Austin are veteran players who could find more lucrative deals on the open market. In fact, based on the landscape I could see both departing. That would leave the Cowboys with four wide receivers, not including Jon’Vea Johnson (injured reserve), Cedrick Wilson (IR), Noah Brown (PUP) and Cyril Grayson (practice squad). Do any of those players have a chance to make it on the active roster? Wilson and Brown have both been there and would get the first available shots in 2020, assuming the Cowboys want them to return.

So, assuming Cooper stays, and Cobb and Austin go, the Cowboys would probably look for a wide receiver in the middle rounds that could work as a No. 3 or No. 4 to Cooper and Gallup. That makes this need a medium.

2) LAST CALL FOR THE HALL

Earlier this week the Pro Football Hall of Fame released the 38 finalists for its ‘Centennial Class,’ the expanded Hall of Fame class that will allow 15 new members to enter the Hall of Fame, along with the normal four to six members that are usually inducted each year. Our Mike Fisher outlines the finalists here.

Not counting Dan Reeves (a Broncos coach, mostly) there are three Cowboys on the list — former head coach Jimmy Johnson, former safety Cliff Harris and former wide receiver Drew Pearson. With apologies to Johnson — who led the Cowboys to back-to-back Super Bowl titles — it’s beyond time for Harris and Pearson to get their due.

Why? Well, consider the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1970s, as voted on the Hall of Fame selection committee in 1980. This was basically an All-Pro team for the entire decade, so it featured the best players at each position for the decade. Most of them, as you might expect, are in the Hall of Fame. Guess which two first-team position players are not?

Yep, Harris and Pearson. It’s almost illogical when you consider that three-quarters of the second-team selections are in the Hall of Fame as well.

The Centennial Class gives the Hall of Fame the perfect opportunity to right this wrong. There are 10 spots available for players and while I believe Harris and Pearson make a strong case, just about every player on this list can make a strong case as well.

So we’ll see on Jan. 8. That’s when this Centennial Class will be narrowed down to its final 15.

3) SPEAKING OF THE HALL OF FAME …

Our Mike Fisher asked readers earlier this week when former head coach Jimmy Johnson should be inducted in the Ring of Honor. I answered. Did you?

4) TROY AIKMAN, GENERAL MANAGER?

Troy Aikman went on the Dan Patrick Show earlier this week and talked about his interest in, one day, being a general manager in the NFL, a la another Hall of Fame quarterback with multiple Super Bowl rings in Denver’s John Elway. So, of course, Cowboys fans went into overdrive thinking that, hey, maybe Aikman as Cowboys GM one day would be a fantastic idea. Only thing is Aikman told Patrick that him being the Cowboys GM was the “unlikeliest” of scenarios. Plus, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones told Fisher and 105.3 The Fan morning host Shan Shariff that Aikman would do it “exactly how he did it,” which doesn’t sound as foolish as one might think. Give it a read and a listen. Plenty of links included.

5) DAK GOOD TO GO TODAY

Throughout the week reporters have been swarming Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott to determine if there is anything more to his AC joint sprain from last week’s win over the Rams. Our Mike Fisher was among them and on Thursday he filed this report about Prescott’s prospects for Sunday (it’s looking really good, even if he’s didn’t practice much with the team).

And then came a Fish Exclusive-Exclusive video from the streets of Philly, with the scoop on what Prescott was able to do in a special Saturday walk-through. 

Stick with Fish in Philly today, here and on Twitter, and you'll get updates on Dak's day, complete with news on special protection he'll be wearing for that shoulder.

6) A BOOK FOR ALL COLLEGE FOOTBALL FANS

Looking for a great Christmas present for your college football fan? The 2019 College Football America Yearbook is out at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com and features Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence on the cover. Myself and our two other contributors, Chuck Cox and Kendall Webb, travel the country every fall covering college football games each week for using the following year’s book.

The College Football America 2019 Yearbook features more than 930 college football teams from the United States and Canada in more than 250 striking, full-color pages. That includes every team from the NCAA (FBS, FCS, Division II and Division III), NAIA, NJCAA, CCCAA and U Sports (Canada). It also includes updates on club football, one-year postgraduate prep/sports academies and Mexican college football, along with dozens of action shots and stadium photos taken by the CFAY staff.

Plus, the great thing about what I do for the yearbook is that I get to see great college football players each week that COULD become Dallas Cowboys next season, and I get to bring that experience to you through scouting reports and other stories throughout the next several months.

Get a copy today at the links below:

Amazon.com: https://amzn.to/2Gcb20X

BarnesandNoble.com: http://bit.ly/2jQUN1F

7) FOUR COWBOYS HEADED TO THE PRO BOWL

At least until other players get hurt and other Cowboys are named as injury replacements.

8) WEEKEND-ENTERING INJURY REPORT

Notice who’s doesn’t’ have a game status designation?

9) TWEET OF THE WEEK

For what it’s worth…

10) THE FINAL WORD

"“I’m getting better. It’s as simple as that. The mobility, the function of it, it’s all improving. That’s the key. That’s the goal. I’ll be good to go Sunday.” - Dak Prescott.

Wanna talk Cowboys? Head for the CowboysSI.com Community and hit up Postins on Twitter at @PostinsPostcard and Mike Fisher on Twitter @FishSports

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Matthew Postins
MATTHEW POSTINS

Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist writes for CowboyMaven. He also writes for Inside the Rangers, CowboyMaven,DallasBasketball.com, Longhorn Country, All Aggies, Inside The Texans, Washington Football, covers the Big 12 for HeartlandCollegeSports.com and is the Editor of the College Football America Yearbook.

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