The Dallas Cowboys Defense was good last year. They had a Defensive Player of the Year nominee in Micah Parsons, a vet leader who stops the run in DeMarcus Lawrence, a ball hawk in Trevon Diggs, a healthy Leighton Vander Esch and consistent Safety play. They also had Jonathan Hankins stuffing the run in the middle. The question that I pose is what can take this Defense to the next level? How can they go from being a good Defense to a great one?
For starters, we will need everything that made this Defense good, to be present in 2023. If that is the case, then what we need next is for Stephon Gilmore to be a constant force at CB2. Between Anthony Brown (589), Nashon Wright (242) and Kelvin Joseph (219) the CB2 position gave up 1,050 yards. Not only did we constantly get torched, but we were getting guys off the street to come and try to compete. Last season, Gilmore gave up 577 yards for a completion percentage of 56% for the Colts. He had 11 pass deflections and 2 INTs. He should excel in this Cowboys defense, but even these numbers would be good here. Consistent play will also give Trevon Diggs more opportunities for Interceptions.
If this Defense wants to be better, we will need a big year bump from Sam Williams, Damone Clark and Daron Bland. All played admirably in year one. Damone Clark didn’t get an offseason and came on half of the year from injury and Daron Bland saved our season when Jourdain Lewis and Anthony Brown got hurt. For Sam Williams, in just over 270 snaps, he had 4 sacks, 10 TFLs and 11 QB pressures. This was a good appetizer for what we should expect from him with more growth and development and increased snaps. The team was 3rd in sacks. The first 12 games, they had 45 sacks- 3.75 sacks a game. The last 5 games, they only had 6 sacks. Williams showed he has the juice needed to help this team as a pass rusher and a playmaker.
Clark sparked as a solid LB and even was used as a blitzer off the edge. The two main things that impressed me was how he was ready when his name was called and how he did not record a missed tackle. To get better this year, he will need to be better in coverage (86.3% completion rate for 116 yards), read plays better and get home more on his blitz opportunities. Daron Bland started 8 games for the team, but he led them in Interceptions. Of course this meant that he was targeted a bunch. He was targeted 63 times for a completion rate of 71% and 5 TDs. By being thrown into the fire like he was, Bland earned my respect. If he can have a year two jump playing along Diggs and Gilmore, this Defense can be nasty.
My last two points merge together a little bit. The Cowboys both need better production from the 3Tech position and for rookie Mazi Smith to step up in his rookie year to show that he can be a DUDE. We have guys that we put at 3Tech. Osa Odighizuwa is our best guy right now. He might make a jump this year, but is a very serviceable player. He finished 2022 with 4 sacks and 11 pressures. Besides him, we didn’t have a threat. Carlos Watkins did a nice job filling holes and pushing the pocket, but he left in free agency. We need another guy there, but not just a guy. We need a dude. A guy does his job. A DUDE wreaks havoc. This brings me to the Cowboys first round pick Mazi Smith. This is a tough ask since most Rookie Defensive Lineman struggle their first year. Perhaps Mazi Smith can have a bigger impact due to his play strength and athleticsm. I have no doubt that he can clog up lanes and collapse the pocket. He is a run stopper. The question is rather he can develop this year into a pass rushing threat. Maybe Mazi Smith can be that game wrecker that would take this Defense to another level.
The Cowboys are a Top 5 Defense as they enter a new year. All they need is for their young guys to step up and their new Corner to continue to be the pro he has been all his career. If these happen, they could be dominant in 2023.
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