Name: Jerry TillerySchool: Notre DameHeight: 6’7”Weight: 305 lbs2018 stat line: 12 games https://www.dallascowboysfanshop.com/Antwaun-Woods-Jersey , 28 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, 2 forced fumblesThe offseason has begun and the Cowboys are likely to be moving on from David Irving, meaning the 3-technique defensive tackle spot could use some help. There are a few free agents the Cowboys might try to target to fill that hole, but there are also some great prospects in this draft, which is saturated with talent along the defensive line. Notre Dame’s Jerry Tillery is one of those prospects to look at. Originally recruited to Notre Dame to play offensive tackle, the coaches quickly realized he fit better as a defensive tackle. Over the next four years, Tillery played in 42 total games and became the full time starter as a junior. Throughout his full career in South Bend, Tillery notched 12.5 sacks and 23 tackles for loss. The first thing that sticks out about him is his sheer size DeMarcus Ware Jersey , which translates to great strength in taking on interior linemen. He has length that allows him to knock blockers backwards when he fully extends and times his punches correctly. The issue there is that Tillery sometimes gets lazy with his arms and tries to simply overpower blockers instead of using his full potential. He can compensate for that because of how quick and overwhelming he can be. When watching the Notre Dame defense in 2018, nine out of ten times the first guy to react to the snap of the ball was Tillery. He gets out of his stance quickly and does a good job of channeling his size into engaging with offensive linemen. It’s when he engages with those blocks that trouble starts to happen. In running situations, Tillery doesn’t offer much in the way of lateral quickness or ability to move along the line of scrimmage. His hand placement sometimes makes tackling more difficult than it should be, but Tillery’s great size and length makes up for it, as he’s able to bring down running backs with just one arm. Tillery also doesn’t appear to have a deep repertoire of pass rushing moves, he prefers to just rely on his overpowering strength to reset the line of scrimmage and pressure the quarterback. He took a step forward in his senior year with getting home on those pass rushes, but doesn’t fit the ideal mold of a 3-technique in the Cowboys defensive scheme. Tillery is admittedly hard to project because he showed steady improvement each year in college, and if he is given ample patience in the NFL he could develop into a star. And perhaps Rod Marinelli is exactly the kind of teacher he needs to make that leap. However, watching his tape leaves the impression of an underachiever when considering Tillery’s natural gifts. He can be effective in a rotational role in Dallas that focuses on using his insane strength properly, but if the Cowboys want Tillery to become their long term answer at the 3-technique spot Ezekiel Elliott Color Rush Jersey , they better sign someone in free agency for now, because they’ll have to wait and see if they draft him.The other problem is that he might not even make to the Cowboys spot in the draft. Already, some mocks are putting him at the tail end of the first round. At this point that seems a little high, but for him to slip all the way down to the 58th spot would take some serious luck. The Dallas Cowboys didn’t draft themselves a starting safety, but that doesn’t mean they can’t get on by pulling of a trade with the Oakland Raiders to acquire Karl Joseph."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Dallas Cowboys NewsDallas Cowboys GeneralHow the Amari Cooper trade could still land the Cowboys a former first-round safetyNew,196commentsThere is only one box left to check off this offseason and here’s how to do it.CDTShareTweetShareShareHow the Amari Cooper trade could still land the Cowboys a former first-round safetyIsaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY SportsIn a draft that seemed to line up perfectly for the Dallas Cowboys in terms of landing one of the top safeties available, the team opted to let them pass by in favor of high-upside defensive tackle Trysten Hill. You can’t fault the team for choosing talent over need, but the safeties available were pretty darn good. In fact, it came down to Hill or Virginia safety Juan Thornhill, but Rod Marinelli favored the under tackle from Central Florida.Hill is a nice add to the defense https://www.dallascowboysfanshop.com/Rod-Smith-Jersey , but the team still lacks talent at the safety position. You can go up and down the roster and see some pretty nice depth at just about every position with the lone exception of safety. And with another draft in the books, what are the Cowboys to do?Enter the Oakland Raiders, the Cowboys favorite trading partner. In just a year’s time, the Cowboys have made three deals with the Raiders acquiring Amari Cooper, Jamize Olawale, and Jihad Ward. It just so happens that the Raiders have made some pretty nice upgrades to their safety position this offseason. First, they signed free agent Lamarcus Joyner to a four-year, $42 million deal. Then, they used one of their three first-round draft picks to grab strong safety stud Johnathan Abram. Combine those guys with 2016 first-round pick Karl Joseph and just like that the Raiders are crowded at safety.The new moves by Oakland could relegate Joseph to a reserve role. It’s been an interesting start to his career with the Raiders. Early struggles have made some believe he was a first-round bust. During the first half of last season, he was hardly being utilized. He logged only 55 snaps over five games in the first half and was even a healthy scratch at times. That’s not promising.Many thought he would be the next victim of the Jon Gruden fire sale and shipped off before the trade deadline. The second half of the season turned out to be completely different as Joseph came on strong.Joseph has been on the Cowboys radar for a while as he was one of their 2016 official pre-draft visitors. He’s far more valuable to the Cowboys in a starting role than on the bench in Oakland. Joseph still has one more year left on his rookie deal as well as a fifth-year option that could be exercised. This could buy the team a couple years to sort things out at safety while having a good strong safety for relatively cheap. It seems like a great deal for Dallas Kavon Frazier Jersey , but why would the Raiders be interested in doing this?Oakland entered the draft with several needs. They addressed a couple of their biggest needs at defensive end and running back by drafting Clelin Ferrell (4th overall) and Josh Jacobs (24th), but still have a couple glaring holes. Allow me to introduce exhibit A. Notice anything unsettling about this ESPN depth chart if you’re a Raiders fan?The Raiders drafted nine players this past weekend, but not a single one of them was an offensive linemen. That’s a problem.Oakland could mitigate this issue by trading for Cowboys offensive lineman La’el Collins. The Cowboys would love to retain Collins for the long haul, but the financial aspects likely mean this will be the last year he’s playing for Dallas. And with the team using a third-round pick to select Connor McGovern, the Cowboys now have an abundance of depth on the offensive line.A trade like this makes a lot of sense for both teams who are deep at one position, but are lacking in another. If Joseph or Collins aren’t expected to be a part of their current team’s future, then it would be a great opportunity to ship them off to help strengthen a weak spot on the team. All this was made possible by the team’s new draft acquisitions, including Abram who coincidentally was the pick the Raiders received from the Cowboys for Amari Cooper. Wouldn’t that be a nice little act of fate if the Cooper deal had this type of trickle down effect?