The Cowboys secondary has changed a lot in a short amount of time.
Looking back at the 2024 Dallas Cowboys season, there wasn’t much that went to plan or left fans feeling great about the direction of a team that fell from first to third in their own division. The obvious weaknesses this team had going into the campaign predictably held them back, and even the few strengths they needed to lean in to to have any success were hampered by injuries, inconsistent play, or just too many unforced mistakes. One of these potential strengths was in the secondary, where defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer was brought in to team up with secondary coach Al Harris. This duo’s expertise in coaching defensive backfields paired with the excitement of potentially having DaRon Bland and Trevon Diggs together for a full season for the first time, along with veteran Jourdan Lewis and a deep safety group, made the Cowboys secondary a group to expect big things from.
After getting only 11 games out of Diggs and seven from Bland, just one of which came together in a Week 12 primetime loss to the Bengals, both Zimmer and Harris are no longer here. Neither is Lewis who became one of the first departures in free agency to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
We’ve documented how the Cowboys have stepped out of their comfort zone to work the roster this offseason, but also how the reason their approach truly feels any different is simply because of how inactive last offseason was. Put the two together, and at least on offense, the end result is humbling when looking at some of the familiar issues this team is facing heading into the draft. This being the side of the ball where the Cowboys also have the most new coaches and a new play-caller in charge with HC Brian Schottenheimer, perhaps a more long term view is needed to evaluate the scheme fits these coaches have brought in so far to make a difference.
Taking the same look at the Cowboys defense now, the same patience may not be afforded if this team has any ambitions of being close to the level of either the Washington Commanders or Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Matt Eberflus is back in the building as defensive coordinator, and with his arrival comes an expectation of what he’s already capable of from a past stint as linebackers coach for the Cowboys. The team prioritized signing Osa Odighizuwa at the all-important 3-technique position in Eberflus’ scheme, shuffled the depth chart considerably at linebacker by signing Jack Sanborn and trading for Kenneth Murray, and added a former first-round pick to help replace Lewis at cornerback with Kair Elam. Clearly, the expectation is to field a competitive defense right away under Eberflus. However, the Cowboys’ much more pressing needs at skill positions on offense have completely stolen the spotlight away from the possibility of this team addressing the secondary early in the draft. If they fail to do so, this is a cornerback group that is going to need a lot of work to be game ready between now and September.
Let’s look even closer at the transformations the Cowboys secondary has gone through from last offseason to now.
Cornerback
2024 Additions: Andrew Booth Jr., Caelen Carson
2024 Losses: Nahshon Wright, Noah Igbinoghene, Stephon Gilmore
2025 Additions: Kaiir Elam
2025 Losses: Jourdan Lewis
Even without a “big name” leaving the Cowboys stable of cornerbacks a year ago, the fact they didn’t do more to add depth at a constant position of need in today’s game is once again hurting them as the page turns to the 2025 team. Andrew Booth Jr. was never a reliable defender on the outside, and the same could be said much more unfairly about rookie Caelen Carson – thrown into the fire early when DaRon Bland missed the first ten games of the season.
It is actually this offseason where the Cowboys have the better departing player to replace in Jourdan Lewis, which dulls the excitement of trading for Kaiir Elam a bit. Elam was pushed down the depth chart in a strong overall secondary for the Bills. If the Cowboys retained Lewis and still added a player like Elam, there wouldn’t be such pressure to perform right way, but now as his replacement he will be the latest first-round reclamation project the Cowboys are putting a lot of faith into.
When it comes to further depth options behind Diggs and Bland, who Dallas is still heavily dependent on right now despite even more injury concerns, the Cowboys have Josh Butler (when he is recovered), Troy Pride Jr., Kemon Hall, Booth Jr., and special teams ace C.J. Goodwin. Versatile safety Israel Mukuamu is also capable of playing corner in an emergency, though the team will not want to count on that.
Hall flashed in the preseason with a pick-six against the Raiders but only appeared on special teams during the regular season in six games. Pride Jr. appeared in the final two meaningless games of the season, and did also flash a few times, but the former fourth-round pick has still only started nine games since 2020 and is on his fourth team. He has a long way to go to become anything close to a dependable player the Cowboys can feel good about lining up at cornerback.
The Cowboys defenses that Eberflus was a part of in the past always had a knack for getting a lot out of a little, and through his first offseason back as defensive coordinator so far, that trend seems destined to continue at cornerback. This is a group that is going to need to rely on the overall structure of their coverage schemes, getting linebackers and safeties involved as well, to not give up big plays or get caught in single man coverage too often. A year two leap from Carson who took his lumps as a rookie is probably the most promising and tangible thing to look for when it comes to the Cowboys being surprisingly better off than expected at CB, but the need is still there for at worst one more starting-caliber player in late free agency or the draft.
Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images
Safety
2024 Additions: None
2024 Losses: Jayron Kearse
2025 Additions: None
2025 Losses: None
How the Cowboys would look at safety going from Dan Quinn’s unorthodox approach to the position, to what turned out to be just one season of Mike Zimmer, was one of the offseason questions for this team a year ago. The Cowboys had depth at safety with Malik Hooker, Donovan Wilson, Juanyeh Thomas, Mukuamu, and added to it by moving Markquese Bell back to his natural spot after he played at linebacker under Quinn.
For a team that played the majority of the season with a backup quarterback, virtually no running game, a complete lack of pass rush depth behind Micah Parsons, and the absence of two starting cornerbacks, it is hard if not impossible to get an honest evaluation of how this safety group performed through it all. This is simply not a position deciding games on a regular basis in the NFL, although well-below average play can sink a defense. Knowing this, it’s at least safe to say the Cowboys kept themselves afloat at safety with the experience of Hooker and Wilson leading the way. There is more than enough of a starting point for Eberflus to work with getting his hands on this group as is.
Considering the Cowboys have done well to at least add some outside players to the depth chart at a wide variety of positions, the spots they haven’t touched could be more telling than usual towards their draft plans. They also could be positions they truly just “like their guys” for old time’s sake. Which category safety falls into will be interesting to watch for a franchise that hasn’t drafted one higher than the sixth round since 2021. Their last top 100 pick spent on a safety was over two decades ago with Roy Williams in 2002.
Even with Eberflus’ experience as a former coach in Dallas standing out over the newness of the rest of the staff, one that’s wasted no time digging into finding players that can help this team move forward quickly, the Cowboys DC will have his hands full trying to convince the front office that safety needs to be prioritized over much more pressing needs right now. It is much more likely to be targeted in the draft once Dallas is concerned about both current roster depth and the replacement of future expiring contracts. Wilson and Mukuamu will both be unrestricted free agents next offseason, and Thomas will be a RFA.
The time is quickly coming for safety to be a more dire need for the Cowboys, and not having a dominant group here under Zimmer is far from the top of the list of things that caused their regression in 2024. This is a position group with something of a clean start under new coaching and a new scheme to attack in 2025.
