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By Jon Machota 45m ago
We began breaking down the Cowboys’ 53-man roster on Tuesday with a report card grading of the 23 offensive players and four on special teams. We finish it up now with Part 2, the 26 defensive players.
Click here for Part 1.
Defensive line
DeMarcus Lawrence: B. It was surprising to see the combination of Lawrence, Randy Gregory, Neville Gallimore and Micah Parsons combine for no sacks and only two quarterback hits against Jimmy Garoppolo in the playoffs. But that doesn’t take away from how impactful Lawrence was when healthy. He was graded as Pro Football Focus’ third-best edge rusher and No. 1 overall run defender, among NFL edge rushers. Lawrence missed 10 games with a foot injury.
Randy Gregory: B. For most of the season, Gregory played like the right defensive end the Cowboys were hoping for when they drafted him in the second round in 2015. He finished second on the team in sacks with six and second in QB hits with 17. A calf injury caused him to miss multiple weeks as he played in 12 of 17 games.
Tarell Basham: C-plus. He was a solid backup edge defender, finishing with 3 1/2 sacks and 11 QB hits in 17 games. He should be in line to have a similar role next season, providing veteran depth.
Osa Odighizuwa: B-minus. The Cowboys weren’t great up the middle, but Odighizuwa showed promise as an interior defender, starting 12 of the 16 games he played in during his rookie season. He totaled 36 tackles, two sacks and six tackles for loss.
Dorance Armstrong: B-plus. He turned in the most productive season of his four years with the Cowboys, recording career-highs in sacks (5), tackles (37) and QB hits (12). Depending on what happens with Gregory and Lawrence in the offseason, Armstrong is a player the Cowboys should want to have back.
Carlos Watkins: B-minus. He was a solid free agency addition, signing for one year, $1.75 million last March. Watkins ended up starting 14 games. He was the Cowboys’ highest-graded defensive tackle on PFF, coming in at No. 63.
Neville Gallimore: C-plus. He was a tough grade because he missed so much time after injuring his elbow in the preseason. Some within the organization thought the injury would cause him to miss the entire season. He ended up playing five games. For the Cowboys to be good up the middle, they need to either make a bigger investment at the position or have Gallimore play at an A-grade level.
Chauncey Golston: C-plus. There were some bright spots during the season as he added depth on the edge and contributed on special teams. If he can develop into an Armstrong-type role, the Cowboys would have to be pretty pleased with last year’s third-round pick.
Quinton Bohanna: C-plus. The sixth-round pick played in 14 games as a reserve interior defender, averaging about 16 defensive snaps per game as a run stopper up the middle. He finished with 10 tackles.
Trysten Hill: C. There are times when the talent flashes and you can see why he was drafted in the second round. But there just haven’t been enough of those moments in his career. Hill has played in only 18 games in three seasons.
Brent Urban: B-minus. Before suffering a season-ending triceps injury in Week 6, Urban had played a significant amount of snaps on the interior of the defensive line, starting four games as the Cowboys raced out to a 5-1 start.
Linebacker
Micah Parsons: A-plus. It would be nearly impossible to have a better rookie season than Parsons just turned in for the Cowboys. The do-everything linebacker/edge rusher was easily the NFL’s top rookie defender and arguably the league’s best overall defender. All signs point to Parsons potentially being the face of the Dallas defense for the next decade.
Leighton Vander Esch: C-plus. Early in the season, Vander Esch looked similar to the player we’ve seen the past two seasons. But he appeared to elevate his game later in the year and ended up turning in what was probably his best season since his standout rookie year.
Keanu Neal: C. There was a lot of hype last March when the Cowboys signed Neal. Many thought at the time he would be playing safety. But he only played linebacker and he was solid at times. But not nearly the impact that most were probably expecting from a former first-round pick who had played for Dan Quinn in Atlanta. Neal finished the season graded as PFF’s 78th-ranked linebacker.
Jabril Cox: C-plus. He showed signs of being the type of athletic linebacker who could pair nicely with Parsons for several years to come, but it was a very small sample size. Cox, who mainly worked on special teams, only played nine defensive snaps before having his rookie season ended because of a torn ACL.
Luke Gifford: C. He was a quality special teams contributor, playing a team-high 368 special teams snaps in 2021. He only played 32 defensive snaps in 16 games.
Leighton Vander Esch, left, and Jayron Kears (27) (Jerome Miron / USA Today)
Defensive back
Trevon Diggs: A. Could he take fewer chances on the back end? Sure. There were too many double-moves that he bit on, leading to big plays in the passing game. But 11 interceptions is 11 interceptions. Throw in 21 passes defensed, second in the NFL, and that’s a special season. Diggs earned first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in his second year.
Anthony Brown: B-plus. The Cowboys were focused on finding a starting cornerback early in the draft to pair with Diggs. They eventually did so in the second round. But Brown never allowed anyone to take his starting job. He started 16 games, recording 71 tackles, three interceptions and 17 passes defended, all career-highs.
Jourdan Lewis: C-plus. Lewis had a solid season working as primarily the team’s inside cornerback. He played in 16 games, starting 13 and finishing with career-highs in interceptions (3), passes defended (11) and tackles (61).
Jayron Kearse: A. Kearse exceeded expectations, playing at a Pro Bowl level for most of the season in his first year with the Cowboys. He led the team in tackles with 101, to go along with two interceptions, 10 passes defended and nine tackles for loss. He became a leader on the back end at a position that hasn’t been very productive for the Cowboys over most of the past decade.
Damontae Kazee: C-plus. He was a solid free agency addition, starting 15 games at free safety after missing 12 games last season because of a torn Achilles tendon. Kazee forced two fumbles, intercepted two passes and had 52 tackles.
Malik Hooker: C-plus. He played in 15 games after missing almost all of last season with a torn Achilles tendon. The former first-round pick had one interception, two passes defended and 44 tackles.
Donovan Wilson: C. There were hopes of a breakout season after a breakout season last year, but injuries caused him to miss half the season. He started three of the nine games he played in, finishing with 29 tackles.
Kelvin Joseph: C-plus. Because Brown was playing well, there weren’t that many opportunities for Joseph to show what he could do during his rookie season. He ended up playing in 10 games, finishing with two passes defended and 16 tackles. He will again go into next season competing with Brown for the starting outside corner spot opposite Diggs.
Nahshon Wright: C-plus. He was mostly used on special teams during his rookie season. His 255 special teams snaps were fourth-most on the roster. The Cowboys like Wright’s size (6-4, 185) as an outside cornerback, but it’ll be tough for him to get opportunities as long as Diggs, Joseph and Brown are healthy and playing well.
Maurice Canady: C. He was outstanding during training camp, making most think he was about to have a significant role on the team. However, that never happened after a concussion in Week 6 caused him to miss the next eight games. Canady ended up playing on defense in only six games for a total of 70 snaps.
