This offseason has been good to the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones and company have retained several impending free agents, acquired veteran playmakers via the trade and used the draft to address the defense's issues stopping the run a year ago.

It hasn't been the perfect summer just yet, however. It still feels like the Cowboys are missing one more strong acquisition to set them up for a championship push in 2023. A lot of people thought that piece might have been DeAndre Hopkins after he was cut by Arizona earlier this summer. Adding D-Hop would certainly be a major boost for the Cowboys‘ offense, but it is unlikely to

happen. Perhaps the perfect move for Dallas is to bring in another veteran free agent pass catcher: Julio Jones.

Julio Jones

It has been a long career for Julio Jones. After 10 nearly unstoppable seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, Jones' last two seasons with the Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the least productive of his career from a volume standpoint. Let's be frank; Jones isn't the player he once was. He didn't log a single game over 75 receiving yards last season and he only scored three touchdowns. So why would Dallas consider bringing him in? There are a couple reasons.

The first, and maybe the most important, is because the money would make sense. The Dallas Cowboys only have about $20 million worth of cap space left to play with in 2023 and they can't afford to ink any multi-year commitments with impending obligations to CeeDee Lamb, Trevon Diggs, and Micah Parsons. Hopkins is sure to get a multi-year deal, and it will likely be one of the richer wide receiver deals in football in terms of average annual value. The Cowboys can't afford him. They can, however, afford to bring in a Canton-bound receiver in the twilight of his career on a one-year contract.

Jones has not been productive in his last two seasons, but things could be different in Dallas. The Cowboys could put the 34-year-old vet in a favorable position by asking him to play a supporting role behind Lamb, Brandin Cooks, and Michael Gallup. Jones needs to play in an environment where he can maximize his ability in short spurts. Filling out the Cowboys' wide receivers room as a depth piece is a place where he can do that.

So what is Jones' utility in the Cowboys' offense? It's not in running slants across the field and making defenders miss, that's Lamb's gig. It's not as an over-the-top speedster either, Dallas brought Cooks in for that. Jones still probably has some strong ball skills, but if the Cowboys are trying to toss up a 50-50 ball they're probably looking towards Gallup. Jones' real value at this stage of his career is his ability to get open and secure gritty yards near the line of scrimmage.

Pro Football Focus clocked Jones' reception rate at 85% when targeted fewer than 10 yards from the line of scrimmage last year. Jones also averaged 6.75 yards after the catch per reception in that range. That means two things: Jones is still incredibly efficient at getting open and securing the football from short distances, and he's still nearly impossible to bring down right away.

The Cowboys aren't looking for a major playmaker any more. Those players already exist on the roster. What Jones brings to the table is a measure of consistency that a team like Dallas with other parts of the passing game already shored up should be chomping at the bit to bring in. Should the New England Patriots be considering Jones? Absolutely not. They have bigger fish to fry in their offense which is why they're amongst the front-runners to sign a top receiving talent like Hopkins.

Julio Jones showed a season ago that he is still capable of producing, just in a different way than fans are used to seeing him. The future Hall of Famer's days of flying through the air and ripping down contested balls 60 yards away from the line of scrimmage may be over, but he still has value to offer a team like the Cowboys.