Free agency is so close that you can almost taste it, which means it’s a great time to look at a few of the best fits for the Cowboys in free agency.

With over $75 million in cap space and 25 unrestricted free agents, there are almost limitless directions the team could go in free agency - both in terms of signing their own or bringing in outside free agents - which should make the next couple of weeks extremely interesting.

Let’s dive into some of the players who would be great fits for the Cowboys:

Mike Pennel, NT

It would be wise if the Cowboys made upgrading the nose tackle position the No. 1 priority in free agency, which is stacked with starting-caliber players. Javon Hargrave and DJ Reader are the two best players on the market, but it’s likely they will price themselves out of the range that Dallas would feel comfortable allocating toward the NT position.

With that in mind, NT Mike Pennel would be an outstanding fit for the Cowboys in free agency. He’s not projected to break the bank and would provide a considerable upgrade over Christian Covington.

That's future #Cowboys DT Mike Pennel to you! Does a great job maintaining his gap discipline while expanding laterally with the zone run. Excellent footwork and hand use lead to block destruction and a tackle at the LOS. pic.twitter.com/IaSCsRGgL0 — John Owning (@JohnOwning) January 21, 2020

Listed at 6-4 and 322 pounds, Pennel eats opposing run games for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He’s a linebacker’s best friend, as his ability to anchor and occupy double teams enable LBs to get off their spot and pursue the ball without being immediately encumbered by blockers.

Pennel’s upper body strength enables him to stack blocks on the line of scrimmage, putting offensive linemen on their heels upon contact. If a blocker is on his heels, it eliminates their ability to create vertical displacement.

(Try it at home - put all off your weight on your heels and try to walk forward. Now imagine doing that with a 320-plus-pound human pushing against you.)

Moreover, Pennel’s lower body strength enables him to strain and anchor against single and double teams at the point-of-attack.

The box score scouts would certainly be in their feelings over signing Pennel, as the former Kansas City Chief’s stat line is rather unimpressive. In the last two seasons, Pennel has just 51 tackles, one sack and 20 total pressures.

However, that ignores that Pennel’s skill set is complementary in nature and despite his modest stat lines, Pennel’s presence has a huge impact on the team’s run defense as a whole. That is easily identifiable when looking at Kansas City’s splits on defense with and without Pennel on the field.

Without him, the Chiefs allowed 5.12 yards per carry and a 53.8% run success rate. With him on the field, the Chiefs allowed only 3.73 yards per carry and a 31.3% run success rate, according to The Quant Edge.

That kind of impact would be a welcome addition to a defense that gave up over 100 rushing yards in 11 of their 16 games.

Vonn Bell, S

Safety is another position for the Cowboys where there are a number of capable free agents who could fill the need for the Cowboys.

We’ve discussed why Jayron Kearse and Adrian Phillips would be outstanding fits extensively recently (with Kearse being my personal favorite safety fit) but to avoid being redundant, we are going to discuss another safety who would be a great fit for the Cowboys in free agency: Saints free agent Vonn Bell.

His skill set would provide Dallas with an upgrade over Jeff Heath. Plus, Bell has a connection with Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Nolan from their three seasons together in New Orleans.

Moreover, Bell’s strong safety skill set complements Xavier Woods’ very well. At 5-11 and 205 pounds, Bell is very good against the run, showing the ability to play the run from depth, in the box or as an overhang defender (force player outside the box).

Bell was extremely effective defending the run against the Cowboys last year’s Week 4 contest. Bell finished with a team-high 10 total tackles and his forced fumble on Ezekiel Elliott right before halftime, which the Saints able to turn into a field goal before the half expired and proved to be the difference in the 12-10 Saints victory.

There’s a reason why Bell isn’t a high-priced free agent, as he is merely average in coverage. He tends to struggle when forced into man coverage situations against talented receivers and tight ends. Nevertheless, he’s no worse than Jeff Heath in that area and the Cowboys can opt to give Xavier Woods the more difficult coverage assignments.

Bell isn’t the sexiest signing, but he’s young (25), fills a position of need, won’t break the bank and already has familiarity with Dallas’ defensive coordinator. Sounds like a pretty good fit to me.

Kyle Van Noy, DE/LB

This one seemingly comes out of left field, but if Nolan does truly want to be multiple with his fronts, then why not pursue the most versatile front-seven piece available in free agency?

Kyle Van Noy has grown into one of the NFL’s best hybrid defenders during his time in New England, which could make him the versatile piece to connect the multiple fronts that Nolan plans on using. In 2019, Van Noy finished with 56 tackles, 6.5 sacks and 58 pressures (20th among all edge defenders, per PFF).

Van Noy is truly a well-rounded defender who is capable of contributing in all three phases of defense (pass rush, run defense and coverage); however, he’s most impactful against the run.

Van Noy is one of the few defenders who can take on and slip blocks with equal vigor on the edge when defending the run. Moreover, Van Noy is an excellent backside pursuit defender who can chase down zone runs or take away backside cutback lanes.

Don’t get it twisted though, Van Noy is also an effective pass-rusher who can also add value as a blitzer when he plays off-ball. He possesses good hand technique and a deep repertoire of pass-rush moves. He’s also extremely effective on stunts and when blitzing from depth, as he has great timing and understands how to disguise his rush.

In coverage, Van Noy is very effective spot-dropping to a zone before using the QB’s eyes to bring him to the ball. Moreover, Van Noy has some ability to match RBs and TEs in coverage if need be.

For the Cowboys, Van Noy can align as the Sam (strongside) LB when the team is in its base 4-3 defense and he can reduce to a stand-up defensive end when the team moves to nickel defense.

If Dallas decides to incorporate some 3-4 fronts, Van Noy would be a perfect fit on the edge at one of the OLB spots. Nolan’s creativity would be the only limit on the number of ways the Cowboys could utilize Van Noy.

Van Noy should also have a positive impact on the Cowboys locker room, as Bill Belichick has often praised Van Noy for his leadership.

The previous Cowboys coaching staff would have never signed off on acquiring a player with Van Noy’s skill set; however, when Mike McCarthy was hired, he made it clear that the coaching staff with be much more amenable in the future, saying (per DMN’s own Calvin Watkins):

“Let’s get as many good football players as we possibly can. It’s our job as coaches to make sure our scheme boundaries are plenty wide enough to fit any excellent football player into our program. That’s always been a philosophy of mine on offense, and that’ll continue to be so on defense.”

Van Noy’s presence also doesn’t inhibit the Cowboys from re-signing Robert Quinn or drafting a defensive end. Imagine the kind of blitz and stunt packages Nolan could devise with Quinn, DeMarcus Lawrence and Van Noy on the field together - that kind of stuff gives opposing offenses nightmares.

He is going to cost more than the other players on this list (Over The Cap projects him to make $10.5 million per year), but Van Noy is worth every penny. He’s an excellent football player, and the Cowboys would be wise to bring his versatile skill set, intelligence and leadership into the fold.

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