DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys have spent the offseason getting the band back together on defense. It won’t look exactly like the same unit as last year, but it’s going to be a very similar group coming back for defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.
That’s good news for the Cowboys, who led the NFL in takeaways in 33. Their 2022 season backed up their first campaign under Quinn in 2021, in which they forced 34 turnovers, which was also tops in the league. Takeaways are known to be somewhat of a fluky stat, so it’s rare that a defense leads the league in the category in back-to-back years but Quinn seems to have found the right formula.
There is no doubt that the Dallas defense is legit after allowing 20.1 per game – tied for 5th best in the league – and they return 10 of their 11 starters from last season. The only change is inserting recent Defensive Player of the Year cornerback Stephon Gilmore in for Anthony Brown. Otherwise, it’s the same defense lineup filled with difference makers at each level.
A reunion wasn’t guaranteed heading into the offseason, as the Cowboys had many free agents to sort through. Had Dallas not committed to bringing back their players, the defense could have looked like a much different unit. The team re-signed most of their priorities to keep Quinn happy, only missing out on defensive tackle Carlos Watkins, who signed with the Arizona Cardinals.
Watkins’ departure came after Dallas re-signed DT Jonathan Hankins to keep the middle of the defensive line strong. Hankins clearly left a good impression on the Cowboys after they acquired him in a trade mid-season last year and he remains one of the best run stopping DTs in the league, which is something Dallas coveted.
The Cowboys also managed to keep pass rusher Dante Fowler around on a one-year deal. The former draft pick from Quinn’s days in Atlanta had six sacks with Dallas which tied him for third on the team last year.
At linebacker, the team made the decision to bring back Leighton Vander Esch on a two-year deal. With linebacker depth thin, retaining Vander Esch felt essential for the Cowboys. Vander Esch was the second leading tackler last season, and is coming off one of his best seasons after a few years of injury issues.
In the secondary, the team re-signed their leading tackler with safety Donovan Wilson returning. 2022 represented a career year for Wilson, who had 101 tackles, seven tackles for a loss, and five sacks, which lead all defensive backs in the league. Keeping Wilson means Quinn still has his three-headed safety monster with Jayron Kearse and Malik Hooker that he can use as chess pieces to slow opposing offenses.
Trading for Gilmore, who is expected to be the only new starter, gives Dallas a standout to line up across from All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs. Gilmore is an upgrade and pairing him with Diggs gives the Cowboys one of the best starting CB tandems in the league.
The draft could also help bolster the defense, but the starting unit looks loaded and ready to go again. Dallas ranked eighth in passing yards against at just over 200 yards per contest and were tied for third in sacks, with 54. All those numbers were better than the previous year, Quinn’s first with the Cowboys.
Adding Gilmore and having Hankins for a full season should only help the defense improve. Stopping the running game has been the defense’s biggest issue recently, and more snaps from Hankins helps solve that problem.
Gilmore’s sticky coverage should also help a pass rush get home more often, a scary thought for quarterbacks who were harassed by edge rushers Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Dorance Armstrong, and Fowler, among others, last season. To combat the Cowboys’ pass rush, offenses were getting rid of the ball faster and attacking the CBs opposite of Diggs. That won’t be as easy heading into 2023.
Dallas’ defense also has depth behind their starters. Defensive line is particularly deep with a rotation that runs at least eight deep. Defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa pairs with Hankins in the middle as the starting DTs but the backup group includes Fowler, second-year pass rusher Sam Williams, versatile third-year defensive lineman Chauncey Golston, and defensive tackle Neville Gallimore. Big bodied DT Quinton Bohanna and veteran DE Takk McKinley are in the mix as well.
Linebacker could use some depth, but Vander Esch and second-year LB Damone Clark are solid starters. Third-year pro Jabril Cox and Devin Harper are the projected backups, with LB a potential target area in the draft, but the Cowboys use two LB looks for much of their defensive calls which makes up for the lack of talent after the starters.
The secondary looks stacked with Diggs and Gilmore as the starting corners, while Kearse, Hooker and Wilson are usually all on the field at the same time at safety. Jourdan Lewis will be back as the slot cornerback after missing much of last season with injury, and last year’s top rookie CB DaRon Bland, who had five interceptions, will be seeking another step forward in his sophomore season.
Young players also looking to step up in 2023 include CBs Kelvin Joseph and Nahshon Wright, who are entering their third season. Joseph hasn’t lived up to his potential, but he’s still only 22-years old, while Wright has blossomed in special teams. Third year CB/safety hybrid Israel Mukuamu also turned some heads last year with his versatility, so he’ll be trying to work his way into more playing time in the upcoming season.
The Cowboys’ defense can get even better in 2023, it’s a stacked unit that is bringing back almost the entire group. Somewhere, Dan Quinn is smiling at all the tools in his defensive toolbox.
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