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What did we learn?"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Dallas Cowboys NewsFour Cowboys takeaways from the Chiefs-Seahawks trade of Frank ClarkNew Womens Michael Gallup Jersey ,238commentsWhat did we learn?CDTShareTweetShareShareFour Cowboys takeaways from the Chiefs-Seahawks trade of Frank ClarkMark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsWe’re still a few days away from the 2019 NFL Draft, but that doesn’t mean big moves aren’t happening.On Tuesday the Kansas City Chiefs traded with the Seattle Seahawks and acquired one of the better pass rushers in the NFL, Frank Clark. The terms of the trade have people questioning what exactly the Chiefs are doing.Kansas City receives:Defensive end Frank ClarkSeahawks 2019 third-rounder (No. 84 overall)Seattle receives: Chiefs 2019 first-rounder (No. 29 overall)Lower of Chiefs two 2020 second-rounders (one pick)Chiefs 2019 third-rounder (No. 92 overall)Earlier this offseason the Chiefs traded away Dee Ford to the San Francisco 49ers, that’s how they acquired that second second-rounder. The 49ers would sign Ford to a 5-year, $87.5M deal. That’s not quite the 5-year, $105.5M deal that Clark just got with the Chiefs.There’s a lot to take away from this blockbuster trade as it pertains to our Cowboys. Let’s begin.Could the Cowboys have gotten that for DeMarcus Lawrence?There was a pretty strong “we should trade Tank” camp before Lawrence signed his long-term deal with the Cowboys. If you knew then that you could pull off a 2019 first-rounder (the 29th pick in this case), a second-rounder next year, and a third-rounder this year... would you have done it?That’s a lot of draft capital to give any team to play with, and given that Seattle now has Russell Wilson on the richest contract in NFL history they’re going to need some cheap talent. While those picks would have been enticing for the Cowboys it’s fair to wonder whether taking that for a player of Lawrence’s caliber would have really been worth it. Kansas City was reportedly somewhat in on DeMarcus Lawrence before Dallas locked him down. They were obviously willing to give up this sort of compensation, it just went to Seattle instead. Given that the Cowboys are somewhat close to winning it all now (a matter that can be debated another day if you wish) it’s the better move to keep the star pass rusher. Speaking of...Having a pass rusher is a very nice thing in footballThe Frank Clark trade serves as the latest reminder for just how valuable pass rushers are in the NFL. Quarterbacks are the most important position in the game, the guys that ruin their abilities are right up there as well.Dallas knows this lesson which is why they made DeMarcus Lawrence the highest-paid player in franchise history. Lawrence is a better player thank Clark, that isn’t a slight to Frank, and he doesn’t have the checkered past that the newest member of the Chiefs does either. What’s more is that he is technically making less than Clark. Welcome to market rate.Dallas was wise to pay DeMarcus Lawrence when they didFrank Clark is technically going to make more per season with the Chiefs than DeMarcus Lawrence will with the Cowboys (a difference of less than $1M per season), but the fact remains... it’s more.Again, Frank Clark is a very good football player. No one here is disputing that; however, he is not as good as DeMarcus Lawrence. Reading his contract details is likely not super enjoyable for Chiefs fans. Why did Clark get more than Lawrence? Why? Lawrence is better, right? He got more because that is what the market dictated. In a supply and demand world if you’re demanding things you are in control. Clark had the leverage and was able to technically come out on top. It’s a small victory but one nonetheless.This is exactly why the Cowboys need to take care of Dak Prescott ASAPThe longer that the Cowboys wait to pay Dak Prescott the more likely it is that they’re going to have to pay more. It’s simply the way that the market works.Just like Frank Clark got more than DeMarcus Lawrence, every quarterback that signs between now and Dak is going to serve as another name and contract for Prescott to get more than. It’s simply the way that the market works. I wrote it a second time because it’s that important.Dallas is already dealing with Russell Wilson’s latest contract and that muddies the waters enough to cause riots. Whoever else signs between now and Dak is going to make matters all the more complicated. Get it done. As soon as possible. Please. The Dallas Cowboys offensive line took a hit as four different starters missed time last year. With the return of Travis Frederick and some young new additions, this unit is primed to regain its spot at the top." Dallas Cowboys 2019 Training CampThe evolution of the Cowboys offensive line and how they’re ready to dominate againNew,47commentsThe Cowboys’ offensive line took a step back last season, but they now have the pieces to return to the top.CDTThe Dallas Cowboys have been regarded as having one of the best offensive lines in football over the last several years. If they weren’t the very best during a given year, they were real close, and year after year they were always finishing near the top. But that wasn’t always the case. Prior to Jason Garrett taking over as head coach, the offensive line was ranked ninth in the league according to Pro Football Focus. The group consisted of four starting offensive linemen who were 32 years old - Marc Colombo, Leonard Davis Demarcus Lawrence Jersey , Andre Gurode, and Kyle Kosier. They also had the sprightly 26-year-old Doug Free protecting Tony Romo’s blindside. How about that! Over the next couple years, Garrett would start transforming the offensive line - out with the old, in with the new. It started in 2011 with Tyron Smith, who was the first ever offensive lineman to be selected in the first round of the draft under Jerry Jones. The transition was a slow one as players like Montrae Holland, Nate Livings, Phil Costa, and Ryan Cook all logged some time in the starting lineup over the next couple seasons. As one might expect, there were some growing pains.Things took a turn for the better when the team drafted Travis Frederick in 2013, and then followed that up with the selection of Zack Martin in 2014. In a span of four drafts, the Cowboys selected three first-round offensive line who turned out to be All-Pros.As soon as the trio of Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, and Zack Martin all joined forces, the Cowboys offensive line dominated their opposition. In 2014 and 2015, all three of them played in every game and they finished with the highest PFF grade in the league for both of those seasons. La’el Collins took over for Doug Free who retired, and the team plugged in different options at left guard each year. Other players shuffled along the line, but as long as Smith, Frederick, and Martin were there - the Cowboys offensive line was in great shape. Smith started missing games in 2016, and has now missed exactly three games in each of the last three seasons. The team felt his absence in 2017 as backups such as Chaz Green and Bryon Bell turned out to be a disaster.Entering last season, many were very optimistic about the improvements made to the offensive line. Connor Williams seemed like a nice second-round steal who took over the starting left guard spot. They even signed free agent Cameron Fleming to be the team’s new swing tackle. Unfortunately, the offensive line got hit hard with injuries. All three of the All-Pros missed action, including losing Frederick for the entire season. Despite a noble effort by the reserves, the absence of their star linemen was certainly felt as the Cowboys’ unit dropped to 14th in the rankings. In hindsight, maybe things weren’t as great as we all thought Womens Dak Prescott Jersey , especially when it came to their depth. The Cowboys were searching for anyone they could to fill out their roster, and it turned out to be a pretty big chore. Let’s revisit this O-Line shuffle starting with the players they had practicing in training camp.The loss of Frederick pushed Looney into the starting center position and that put a huge damper on things right out of the gate. But things went from bad to worse as their depth started dropping like flies.Free agent acquisition Marcus Martin (third round, 49ers 2014) suffered a torn ligament in his toe during the team’s first preseason game and was placed on IR before the season even started. Chaz Green (third round, Cowboys 2015) struggled keeping himself hydrated and missed several practices due to cramping. To the surprise of no one, Green didn’t make the 53-man roster.None of the undrafted free agents they had on the roster showed enough to earn a spot. Damien Mama (UDFA, Chiefs 2017), Dustin Stanton (UDFA, Bengals 2017), and Jake Campos (UDFA, Cowboys 2018) didn’t make the final roster. Mama did manage to earn a starting job with Mike Martz’ AAF team, the San Diego Fleet, before it disbanded. Stanton was signed to a futures contract this offseason, but was released after the team drafted Connor McGovern and signed a new crop of undrafted free agent offensive linemen (Mitch Hyatt, Brandon Knight, Larry Allen Jr., and Derrick Puni). Campos was signed to the practice squad and he’s still around. With none of these guys panning out, the Cowboys were forced to take other measures to find viable backups.As their OL options slowly dwindled, the team felt compelled to trade away some of their cornerback depth when they shipped Charvarius Ward to Kansas City in exchange for Parker Ehinger (fourth-round pick in 2016). The Cowboys also signed Adam Redmond (UDFA, Colts 2016), who was released by the Buffalo Bills at final roster cuts.Before the Cowboys second regular season game against the New York Giants, the team made some roster moves. Kadeem Edwards (fifth round, Buccaneers 2014) was released. The Parker Ehinger experiment was short-lived as he suffered a knee injury right away and was placed on injured reserve. The team then signed Xavier Su’a-Filo (second round, Texans 2014) to round out their depth.Of all the backups the team had trying to earn a spot on the team, only Cam Fleming remained as Su’a-Filo and Redmond were added after final roster cuts. And it’s a good thing the team kept churning to find suitable bench guys because all three of them were thrown into action. If you count Looney replacing Frederick, the Cowboys had four different offensive line backups seeing playing time last season:Joe Looney Demarcus Lawrence Jersey White , 16 games started, 1076 snaps (100%) - most by any playerXavier Su’a-Filo, eight games started, 494 snaps (46%)Cam Fleming, three games started, 232 snaps (22%)Adam Redmond, no starts, 96 snaps (9%)Redmond got most of his snaps in the Cowboys 23-0 loss to the Indianapolis Colts after Martin got hurt.<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="ID4Sup">When you think about it, what happened last year was a little scary. The team endured so many injuries and the guys mostly filling in weren’t even on the roster this time last season. The good news is the team looks to be in much better shape this season. The return of Travis Frederick is a big part of that. He now moves back into the starting lineup, sliding Looney into the backup center role. Not only that, but Connor Williams should be better in year two, so the team’s starting unit looks much stronger than they did a year ago.But more than that, the team is more stacked with their depth. The Cowboys caught a nice break when Connor McGovern fell into their laps in the third round of April’s draft. Some think he could challenge for a starting spot, but at the very least, he’s going to provide a nice addition to the bench. And players who were asked to start last year are moved to the bench and are now fighting just to hold down a roster spot. The Cowboys got a good look at Redmond and Campos last season, and if you add some of the new undrafted free agents like Mitch Hyatt and Brandon Knight - even one of the third-stringers might impress his way onto the roster. Check out the team’s depth entering training camp this season.When you look at Dak Prescott’s 56 sacks (second-most last year) or the team’s 14th ranked yards per attempt running attack despite having the league’s leading rusher in Ezekiel Elliott, that doesn’t paint a flattering picture. And a big reason for that was deficiencies along the offensive line. It wasn’t so bad that the team wasn’t able to overcome it to still win the division and make the playoffs, but it still hindered the offense quite a bit.Hopefully, the Cowboys improvements this season will help them work out some of their issues from a year ago. Better protection, a better running game, and more efficiency in the red zone will definitely help. With this much deeper cast of characters along the offensive line, you have to like their chances.