Around the NFL

July 18, 2018

Dallas pass rush

Will Gregory help? Couldn't hurt

The NFL conditionally reinstated Randy Gregory from suspension yesterday. You're probably familiar with the name, as he's a former second-round pick out of Nebraska who had 16.5 sacks in just 23 college games. But you may also be wondering what the fuss is, considering his nondescript NFL career (just 1 sack in 14 career games).

But although he's missed nearly all of the last two seasons due to violations of the league's substance abuse policy, he's clean now. And teams recognize the importance of a strong pass rush, something Dallas really hasn't had for quite a while.

Over the last six seasons, the Cowboys have ranked 20th or worse in sacks four times; no higher than 13th in any of them. Only five teams have fewer sacks than they do over that timeframe.

TEAM SACKS, 2012-2017
Team	12	13	14	15	16	17	Tot
Carolina	39	60	40	44	47	50	280
LA Rams	52	53	40	41	31	48	265
Denver	52	41	41	52	42	33	261
Green Bay	47	44	41	43	40	37	252
New England	37	48	40	49	34	42	250
Minnesota	44	41	41	43	41	37	247
Pittsburgh	37	34	33	48	38	56	246
Arizona	38	47	35	36	48	37	241
Tennessee	39	36	39	39	40	43	236
Baltimore	37	40	49	37	31	41	235
Seattle	36	44	37	37	42	39	235
Buffalo	36	57	54	21	39	27	234
Cincinnati	51	43	20	42	33	41	230
Kansas City	27	47	46	47	28	31	226
Philadelphia	30	37	49	37	34	38	225
Chicago	41	31	39	35	37	42	225
Washington	32	36	37	38	38	42	223
Houston	44	32	38	45	31	32	222
Jacksonville	20	31	45	36	33	55	220
Miami	42	42	39	31	33	30	217
New Orleans	30	49	34	31	30	42	216
Detroit	34	33	42	42	26	35	212
NY Jets	30	41	45	39	27	28	210
LA Chargers	38	35	26	32	35	43	209
Indianapolis	32	42	41	35	33	25	208
San Francisco	38	38	36	28	33	30	203
Dallas	34	34	28	31	36	38	201
NY Giants	33	34	47	23	35	27	199
Cleveland	38	40	31	29	26	34	198
Tampa Bay	27	35	36	38	38	22	196
Oakland	25	38	22	38	25	31	179
Atlanta	29	32	22	19	34	39	175

But note that Dallas has made a climb toward respectability the last two years, with 36 and 38 sacks. A lot of that is due to defensive end Demarcus Lawrence (pictured), who will play this season under the franchise tag. If Gregory, despite nearly two years off, can show flashes of the pass rusher he was in college, sprinkle him in on passing downs across from Lawrence, and who knows? Maybe a climb into the top 10 is possible.

I don't think anyone should be overly interested in Dallas in fantasy drafts. But I'm willing to keep an open mind on potential contributions from Gregory. He's 25 years old and there's some talent there. If he can show something in the preseason, the Cowboys' patience could pay off.

--Andy Richardson

Randy Gregory Dallas Defense

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Aaron Jones has run for 1,046 yards for the 13-2 Vikings, positioning himself to join the small fraternity of players who’ve run for 1,000 yards for two different playoff teams in the same division. (He went over 1,000 yards for two Green Bay teams that went 13-3.) In the 32-team era (that is, since 2002) who is the only other running back who’s done this? (Need not just multiple 1,000-yard seasons, but for playoff teams in the same division.)

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