NFL Draft: Cowboys - With Jaylon & LVE - Deny 'Heightened Need' to Add Linebacker

How have the Dallas Cowboys done in free agency to this point? Today we review the linebackers. Plus, we update our draft need meter. ... with an eye on rumors about Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch

The Dallas Cowboys, on the record, believe they've accomplished something at the linebacker position with the recent high NFL Draft selections of Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch.

But is there more to their stories?

PLAYERS AT POSITION ENTERING FREE AGENCY: Sean Lee (starter), Jaylon Smith (starter), Leighton Vander Esch (starter-IR), Ray-Ray Armstrong, Luke Gifford, Justin March, Joe Thomas, Chris Covington, Malcolm Smith.

2020 COWBOYS FREE AGENTS: Armstrong, Lee, March, Thomas, Smith.

COWBOYS LOST: None.

COWBOYS RETAINED: Lee (signed a one-year contract), March (signed a one-year contract), Thomas (signed a one-year contract).

COWBOYS GAINED: None.

COWBOYS UNSIGNED: Armstrong, Smith.

THE BREAKDOWN: On paper, one can’t argue with what the Cowboys did here. Retaining Lee, March and Thomas means the Cowboys are deep at the position with veteran players that know how to adapt to a new system. There’s a chance, I suppose, that the Cowboys could bring Smith back, which would further bolster that depth. 

The only question mark is Vander Esch, who left at the end of last season with a neck injury. It bears monitoring, only because he does have spinal stenosis.

That is, unless some low buzz on Jaylon Smith is also true. Our Mike Fisher, who has a fine relationship with Jaylon, has termed this a "do-or-die'' year for Smith - meaning that both Jaylon and the club have high expectations for where they want his career to be.

So is that it? A fully-focused Jaylon and a fully-healthy Leighton?

Cowboys COO Stephen Jones' answer to the buzz? “That would be news to me,'' he told The Fan, "in terms of a heightened need for the linebacker position.”

DRAFT NEED: Low - if Stephen is being truthful. Just in case ... We're going to make sure to have our research bases covered on potential first-round linebackers Kenneth Murray of Oklahoma, Patrick Queen of LSU and Zack Baun of Wisconsin. But we can’t really call linebacker a “need.”