Here’s why Cowboys had such a lackluster UDFA haul in 2024
Now that the dust has settled on the 2024 draft, there’s plenty of fodder for each NFL team and who they brought into the fold. Recently, Thor Nystrom of Fantasy Pros went through the exercise of evaluating every team’s UDFA haul.
Normally, Dallas ranks among the best UDFA hauls around the league. They annually win the affection of some of the best remaining prospects who didn’t hear their names called, but probably should have, and that’s evidenced by the success they have in making Dallas’ 53-man roster and practice squad, then eventually working their way into playing time. That may not be the case for too many in 2024 and there may be a clear reason.
Nystrom ranks Dallas as just the 17th-best haul in undrafted free agency, a far cry from where they have been revered recently. The most prominent signing seems to be a blocking TE from Minnesota, Brevyn Spann-Ford.
The question is, what is the reason for the overall lackluster haul?
Perhaps it’s an issue with the coaching staff.
Agents play a very pivotal role in deciding which offer a prospect takes, as they are likely to steer a player towards the best place to latch on to try and forge a career.
And for UDFAs who have options, why would they sign with the Cowboys? Everything that’s been done this offseason has made Dallas an unattractive destination for 2024.
The biggest reason is the coaching staff are all on one-year contracts. When new coaching staffs are brought in, they look to bring in guys that fit their system. So Mike McCarthy, Brian Schottenheimer and Mike Zimmer not having a known shelf-life means that even if a prospect is able to get on the 53-man roster or practice squad, there’s a new regime loading the following year so they would lose all the capital built in practice.
The new staff wouldn’t have seen the growth or potential.
And while Quinn was known as a player’s coach, Zimmer is known as the exact opposite. That might be just what the veterans on the defense need, but that doesn’t bode well for prospects who need seasoning to have an uber-demanding coach with a complicated system to learn.
Meanwhile, owner Jerry Jones waxed poetic about the pending signing of Ezekiel Elliott, so while the lack of a star on the depth chart would’ve normally have been attractive to the top remaining running backs, Jones’ unnecessarily tipping the club’s hand likely hurt them in that regard.
