Dallas still D-line shopping; is Dontari Poe set to become the next Cowboy?

The team is reportedly closing in on a deal with free agent Dontari Poe, who brings a unique skill set to the defensive tackle position.

The Cowboys continue to explore new building blocks for their defensive line as the free agency shopping spree goes on. While the signing of six-time Pro Bowler Gerald McCoy certainly softens the blow of losing Maliek Collins, uncertainty about Antwaun Woods’s future with the team and question marks surrounding Trysten Hill’s development leaves Dallas in a precarious spot when it comes to reliable defensive tackle depth.

While a few recognizable names- including Damon Harrison and Ndamukong Suh- have been linked to the Cowboys as legitimate options, NFL insider Ian Rapaport tweeted Monday morning that the club is in talks with free agent Dontari Poe, most recently a member of the Carolina Panthers.

A first-round draft pick by the Chiefs in 2012, Poe spent five seasons in Kansas City, where he earned two Pro Bowl nods. He played in Atlanta on a one-year deal with the Falcons after that, and then joined Carolina in 2018. He finished the 2019 season on injured reserve after suffering a torn quad in Week 12, marking the first time Poe missed more than a single game in a season. The Panthers declined his third-year option for 2020.

With 278 tackles and 20.5 sacks over eight NFL seasons, the durable Poe may actually be better known for his touchdown-scoring prowess out of the backfield on trick plays for the Chiefs. In 2015, the 346-pounder rushed for a score, becoming the heaviest NFL player ever to do so. (William “The Refrigerator” Perry tipped the scales at about 335 when he rushed for two during his rookie 1985 season in Chicago.) The following season, Poe did it again, on a lateral pass play called “Hungry Pig Right.” On Christmas Day 2016, Poe entered the league record books as the heaviest player to ever throw a touchdown: a jump pass after a direct snap and fake rush out of the Wildcat formation.

The point is, if Kellen Moore really wants to get nuts, Poe could be Secret Weapon X. (Or maybe Secret Weapon XXL.)

Even if a deal with Poe is, as Rapoport suggests, imminent, the Cowboys are maintaining their interest in Harrison, too. The player called “Snacks” is considered by many to be the best free agent left on the market after four years with the Jets, three with the Giants, and the past two in Detroit.

The Cowboys-Harrison mutual courtship became social media fodder after he announced that he already owns a residence in the Metroplex.