Cowboys defense: Ranking the confidence level in each position group ahead of week 1

The Dallas Cowboys defense is set to look a lot different than in recent years, bringing back former coordinator Mike Zimmer as Dan Quinn departed for the Washington Commanders head coaching job. Quinn left behind plenty of talent for Zimmer with many of these recognizable players sitting out the preseason and showing the Cowboys have no intention of taking a step back on this side of the ball.

Unfortunately, to do so early in the season they will need to overcome two significant injuries suffered in training camp. DE Sam Williams was lost for the season and last year’s record-breaking CB DaRon Bland will reportedly miss at least six weeks with a foot injury. The Cowboys should be fully embracing the chance to show a new defensive look to teams with the wisdom and experience from a veteran coordinator like Zimmer. Week 1 on Sunday afternoon is no easy task to get off on the right foot though, as the Cowboys go on the road to the Browns for a meeting against former WR Amari Cooper, as well as Elijah Moore, Jerry Jeudy, and a stout offensive line that plays in protection of potentially dangerous QB Deshaun Watson.

Where should the Cowboys, and their fans, have the most confidence throughout the defense expected to see the field on Sunday? Here is our ranking by position group.

Cornerback

Players: Trevon Diggs, Caelen Carson, Andrew Booth Jr., Jourdan Lewis, C.J. Goodwin

It says a lot about not only the way new players have stepped up at cornerback, but the coaching of both Zimmer and secondary/assistant head coach Al Harris, that this position group still leads off the list despite not starting the season with Bland. The ball-hawking pairing of Bland and Diggs playing in tandem will still have to wait a little longer, but welcoming back Diggs himself after an ACL tear in 2023 is big. Diggs is still more than capable of taking away an opposing team’s top weapon, and perhaps more importantly putting fear into quarterbacks to even test his side of the field. When paired with the pass rush the Cowboys can consistently expect to get from a player like Micah Parsons, Diggs is regularly put in position to play to his best strengths.

Of course, if fewer throws come in the direction of Diggs on Sundays, other Dallas defenders will be tested. Veteran Jourdan Lewis has looked rejuvenated in this new defense, seeing the field more as the Cowboys shift their trust on the backend to true defensive backs and less hybrid linebacker types.

Lewis has made the most of these reps by finding the ball and finishing with a patented competitiveness through the catch point. His best spot in the defense is still as a slot cornerback, leaving the Cowboys to look elsewhere on the depth chart for their early-season replacement for Bland’s outside position.

It looks like rookie Caelen Carson will get the first shot at replacing Bland. The Wake Forest prospect has done absolutely everything he can to stand out in his first offseason with the team, playing physical and never backing down from lining up against the Cowboys’ own top pass catchers in Oxnard, but the speed of regular-season games in the NFL can be jarring for rookies. The team will probably offer him plenty of safety help to start the year.

Behind Carson would be some combination of Andrew Booth Jr. and flexible safety/corner Israel Mukuamu. Booth is the newest addition to this group as a trade acquisition late in the preseason and natural scheme fit for Zimmer’s defense. Booth needs to work on tracking the ball over his head and locating it to defend passes, but he is a sure tackler on the boundary that can still play a role funneling routes to help defenders elsewhere in the secondary. Mukuamu would likely be a “break glass in case of emergency” guy.

Mike Zimmer has made a career for himself in football long enough to be two or three careers combined for other coaches that come and go, mainly because of his prowess in coaching defensive backs and getting the most out of a secondary. They may not be at full strength to start the season, but the Cowboys are more than ready to lean on the trust of Zimmer, Harris, and Diggs as a clear CB1 to start the season feeling very confident about this group.

2. Safety

Players: Israel Mukuamu, Donovan Wilson, Markquese Bell, Juanyeh Thomas, Malik Hooker

This was a fascinating position group to watch throughout the offseason, as once again the Zimmer effect will be in full effect as a coach not only renowned for getting the most out of cornerbacks, but also safeties. Just about every NFL fan can name a safety that’s played under Zimmer and had success, targeting a specific type of rangy, cerebral player that can chase down throws into coverage and play physical against the run.

However, instead of going out and getting these types of players for their new defensive coordinator, the Cowboys have left the safety position as perhaps the most recognizable carryover group from Quinn’s time as coordinator. Nonetheless, just like at CB, the immediate results have been there for a deep group of experienced safeties.

Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker may be the most obvious starters that fit the traits just mentioned that Zimmer covets, but both have dealt with durability concerns throughout their career. Even if this duo is able to suit up for all 17 games, the Cowboys are not going to hide their depth at safety, and have the versatility to use all of the players here to their advantage.

Markquese Bell is now back at his natural position of safety after playing linebacker for Quinn. Playing on the second level as an enforcing box safety against the run may still be a needed role for the Cowboys defense that Bell can handle while they sort out the rotation at linebacker, but he also flashed as a deep safety with an interception in the preseason opener against the Rams.

Juanyeh Thomas is a fan favorite of many at the position, not often having the easiest time seeing the field thanks to the players in front of him, but making the absolute most of it whenever he does. Thomas is a magnet for the football with great length to undercut routes and make interceptions when given the chance. If the Cowboys cornerback group fully lives up to their potential and forces throws that these safeties can make plays on, no player on the depth chart here may flourish more than Thomas this season.

The Cowboys showed great flexibility to constantly change the looks they give an opposing offense at safety this preseason, and look for it to remain a strength going into Cleveland on Sunday with plenty of confidence in a true five-deep at the position.

3. Defensive End

Players: Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, Marshawn Kneeland, Chauncey Golston, Tyrus Wheat

The first injury blow of training camp happened at this position, when promising pass rusher Sam Williams was lost for the season early on with a complete ACL and MCL tear. Williams was easily next in line to see the reps left behind by both Dante Fowler Jr. and Dorance Armstrong who departed in free agency. His loss leaves the Cowboys with an immediate need for rookie second-round pick Marshawn Kneeland out of Western Michigan to develop quickly.

Beyond Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, this position group does not look like an overwhelming strength on paper, but like we talked about on the offensive side of things, sometimes all it takes is one star player to elevate an entire group enough. This is the reason for defensive end being the first non-secondary position on the confidence meter, almost all thanks to the confidence the team has in Parsons.

Zimmer is a new set of eyes to look for unique ways to unleash Parsons, now playing for his second DC in Dallas, and he may plan on using him at linebacker some. Zimmer will also look to get one of the league’s premier pass rushers favorable matchups that he wins with stunning consistency. It is simply not a matter of if but when Parsons is going to make a game-changing play most weeks, as leaving him one-on-one with any linemen for even just one rep could be instant disaster for an offense. The Cowboys have made a massive effort to get the bodies at defensive tackle that can help Parsons get these solo matchups to take advantage on the edge.

While watching the development of Marshawn Kneeland will be a fun storyline, this is a player that will be elevated by the more veteran talent around him early on. Kneeland’s motor never stops on a play, and the more other pass rushers can collapse the pocket and cause havoc, the better chance this rookie has of being in position to finish plays. Luckily, the Cowboys still have the timeless DeMarcus Lawrence to excel in exactly this role and help bring Kneeland along.

4. Linebacker

Players: Demarvion Overshown, Eric Kendricks, Marist Liufau, Damone Clark

If safety is the position group left the most unchanged in the transition from Quinn to Zimmer, linebacker has undergone the biggest makeover. The Cowboys certainly needed a drastic change of attitude towards this position after being exposed on the ground one too many times, thanks in large part to smaller, non-LB type players in significant roles on the second level.

The Cowboys’ current linebacking corps is very much a work in progress with the season right around the corner, but one with no shortage of potential. Eric Kendricks was brought in as a Zimmer-certified free agent to provide the veteran presence this team desperately needs. Kendricks will help take some of the pressure off players like Overshown and Liufau, both making their regular season debuts this year. Overshown is a second-year player, but tore his ACL last preseason. The hype has only grown larger for the former Texas Longhorn to make an even bigger splash in his return to action, as his ability to play with range against the run and tackle in space are welcome traits for a defense needing improvements in those very areas.

Liufau is this year’s rookie addition to the group, a potential foil to Overshown as more of a coverage player that smartly fits run plays on the second level and can shed blocks with timeliness to finish around the ball.

This leaves Damone Clark as the perpetually forgotten about and underrated linebacker in the rotation, going into year three after setting a new career high in tackles in 2023. Clark and Kendricks need to find a consistency and ability to lead by example when on the field for this otherwise young LB group to reach its full potential.

If we were to revisit this list at midseason or late in the year, there is a strong case that linebacker has the most room to fly up the confidence rankings, but at the moment players like Overshown and Liufau are too much of unknown commodities to start them off any higher than fourth before week 1.

5. Defensive Tackle

Players: Mazi Smith, Linval Joseph, Jordan Phillips, Osa Odighizuwa

If Jerry or Stephen Jones are reading this list, they may strongly disagree with this lack of confidence in the team’s defensive tackle group, seeing as they answered the constant criticism over lack of free agent or trade activity by being aggressive at this exact position of weakness. The names are certainly more recognizable and proven on the interior for the Cowboys defense going into the season, but that doesn’t change the fact this is the definition of a “believe it when we see it” position group.

Osa Odighizuwa was kept in bubble wrap for the entirety of the preseason, a strong statement on how much the Cowboys are expecting him to hold down the starting three-technique spot and be a contributor to their pass rush. Veteran Jordan Phillips was also acquired from the Giants to mix things up at both the three- and one-tech spots, the latter being where Mazi Smith and Linval Joseph are also being counted on.

Zimmer and the Cowboys have been adamant that all of these moves and additions to the DT room are not an indication of any lost trust in Smith to develop as a second-year player. The Michigan man added weight and is in a more natural position after a tough rookie campaign of being asked to play in a way that wasn’t to his strengths.

Joseph would be a welcome addition to nearly any defensive line in need of depth, and the Cowboys are fortunate to reunite him with Zimmer and create options against the run in their front four, but the 35-year-old that will turn 36 a month into the season is truly the end of the line for where the Cowboys can turn beyond Smith to have a true run-stuffer in the middle of their defense.

Much like linebacker, this is a position group that could rise in confidence, but it is going to take time and it feels highly unlikely we ever reach a point where the feeling about the defensive tackles is anywhere close to as good as that of the cornerbacks or safeties going into a game week. Just coming out of the gates proving this group has gelled enough and can play disciplined with so many other new faces throughout the front seven would be a welcome start.