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By Bob Sturm 3h ago
The project has been obvious for all to see. Aside from the national shows pontificating about the relative merits and buying power of having Dak Prescott under contract with the Cowboys, there is no bigger project than dealing with a defense that needs to be improved and then improved again for this entire operation to work properly.
Because we have all been distracted for the past two months with literally anything else, we should go over a few things.
Yes, the offense was poor in 2020 — everyone knows this. Lose your QB1, your left tackle, your right tackle, your tight end, your center retires without much notice, and then ultimately your one remaining high-quality lineman also succumbs to a season-ending injury once you decide to move him to right tackle from right guard.
Nobody wants to shield anyone or anything from blame for a disastrous 2020, but let’s be fair: If ever there was a free pass for an offensive debacle, this would be the time. The entire offense was gutted of quality, save for most of the skill-position players and they were rendered somewhat useless for a huge part of the center of the season because four quarterbacks were playing significant amounts. When Prescott plays 31 percent of the offensive snaps and none of that was with his offensive line, you have to believe you are not going to be pleased with how things work out.
The good news: After a catastrophic season for health, there is every reason to believe the offense can snap right back to being an explosive group of weapons. As a bonus, the depth of the offense was aided by backups playing so much in 2020. We assume this bolsters the ability to withstand future injuries as long as they don’t all hit at the exact same time to the biggest spots on the offense.
Now, about that defense …
I don’t wish to speak out of both sides of my mouth, so I will assume that we are all on the same page with regards to how football works as a symbiotic relationship between offense and defense. Yes, the defense was done no favors last year because the offense repeatedly put them in bad spots. They never enjoyed playing with a lead or with a field-position advantage. They rested little and never got to play downhill.
We know all of this, but in case anyone wishes to defend the following truths with blame for the defensive collapse on the offensive debacle, we are here to agree to some degree but obviously not all of it.
To the truths …
The Cowboys were bad.
What is crazier than just that visual aid from the end of the season is that at the end of 2019, we deduced that the only solution was to “fix the defense.” Did it work? No. Here are the league rankings (1 to 32) of the Cowboys defense in 10 key categories from 2019 and 2020.
Once again, we see the difficult truths. If things were tough, fine. But, this is how you get a one-year tenure that will sit poorly next to Monte Kiffin’s 2013. Mike Nolan and his staff took bad and ended up with significantly worse. He did not have Byron Jones or Robert Quinn like the staff before him (and now reap the compensatory picks which will help), but this will never do.
We have established it is really broken. We have established there is not a ton of cash. Is there a path to fixing it?
Let’s figure that out.
In January, I took a spin at trying to figure out what Dallas’ full shopping list was for the offseason. As you might imagine, it centered on the defense. Check it out if you want a deep dive, but the short and sweet version is this:
The team needs help badly at four spots on the defense.
Defensive tackle is probably the most severe need, but this draft does not have the high-end tackle talent that would be beneficial on Day 1.
Cornerback has many promising pieces so the Cowboys probably need to figure on that at pick No. 10 if things break like we assume they will. Dallas has a reasonable chance at taking the very best defensive player in this draft and it sure seems that they are mostly corners who would qualify for the “best defensive player in the 2021 draft” — at least that matches up this year.
I wrote that the Cowboys should be able to get a strong and cheap free-agent safety last week. The issue will be how far up the list of preferred options they wish to go because shopping early in free agency can get expensive fast. Dallas has cleared some cap room, but can’t get crazy.
Linebacker has the best chance to “fix itself” somewhat in 2021 with a healthy Leighton Vander Esch and a scheme that uses Jaylon Smith in an efficient and smart way. Smith was all over the road in 2020 and it wasn’t good, but the investment in both players is substantial so nobody wants to hear that it is a position of weakness. It certainly is, but this is where it needs to be fixed internally with what we assume will also be some young blood cover in the draft that should assist in case there is reason to look for replacements in 2021. Dan Quinn has to know this is where he will be most judged.
I would probably make a substantial change right now at linebacker, but if I know the Dallas front office, it will ride out one more year before giving up hope on one of its favorite sons. Smith will be able to push most of his 2020 on Nolan and will get the full opportunity to fix it all in 2021. Maybe he can, but seeing some of the available free agents at this spot makes me think I would consider making him a post-June 1 cut.
Let’s establish how many sure starters they have at the moment. I count five or six.
• Left edge DeMarcus Lawrence
• Right edge Randy Gregory
• LB Leighton Vander Esch
• LB Jaylon Smith (like it or not)
• Safety Donovan Wilson
• CB Trevon Diggs
Now, let’s sort those other spots.
Defensive tackle (1 technique): This position has not been addressed with a major investment in years. It would be foolish for us to believe that this year will be different. Just in case, there are a few names to watch. Giants big man Dalvin Tomlinson, 27, is easily the best option for this (and most expensive) but, if Dallas wants to transform things quickly, I can think of a much worse plan than this. He is the best combination of age, ability and resume on the market at this spot. Otherwise, you can grab a stop-gap measure and go draft a guy. Honestly, in this league, where you are looking for a run-stopper who won’t be expected to rush the passer (nor be on the field on third down), you are probably smart not to go spend $40 million to $50 million on a 1-tech.
Defensive tackle (3 technique): We find plenty of maybes. Maybe last year’s third-rounder Neville Gallimore can be that guy he showed against Pittsburgh and San Francisco. He was special in those games. Maybe 2019 second-rounder Trysten Hill can continue to show the improvement he did before his ACL injury in 2020 in Week 5. I thought he was coming on in doses (aside from a couple moments of discouragement). Maybe Gerald McCoy wants to try again and bring that alpha-dog mentality that this defense could use and cause havoc like the good ol’ days if the price is right. That’s a lot of maybes. Maybe add in the mix a nice name on a cheap deal with plenty of flash and a proper age like UFA’s Larry Ogunjobi (Cleveland) or Solomon Thomas (San Francisco and Coppell, Texas). I feel OK here.
Safety: Malik Hooker, Keanu Neal, Ricardo Allen and friends all seem like smart plays. Of course, the entire league thinks Hooker would be a smart and cheap play, so let’s understand the landscape. Also — I think this is vital — we are assuming that the Cowboys are going to play “single high till we die,” but with the trends in the league going back to two-high safeties, it is possible Dallas might be doing different things than we have figured. Not likely, but at least possible.
Cornerback and nickel corner: This is where the league has shown us time and again not to get caught up in paying free agent corners when the draft can do way better and way cheaper if you are willing to invest. Dallas has a chance at some significant red meat here at pick No. 10 and I suspect they get that done. If free agency can provide a nickel corner better than Anthony Brown — like K’Waun Williams or Mike Hilton — at nickel corner prices, I would give that significant thought, too.
Then, with four picks in the top 100, aside from corner, you keep hammering away at your defensive depth and create more competition. Safety, linebacker, edge rusher, you name it. But, then you aren’t obligated to start them right away. You can almost redshirt them: like Bradlee Anae and Reggie Robinson in 2020 and plan on big help in Year 2.
These are all good theories. But, the big work begins now.
