Cowboys practice #6 position battle: Safety Malik Hooker continues to stand out over the field

Matt Eberflus seems to be finding a lot of success early on.

The Dallas Cowboys completed their second padded practice in Oxnard on Monday, beginning the transition into drills that resemble actual football. This is also the start of where the Cowboys can back up their talk about being a more physical, imposing team in the only area it matters – between the lines instead of in some of the skirmishes and dust ups that were a theme of the very first few practices for Brian Schottenheimer’s team.

The search for players that can bring physicality and juice to practices is wide open. Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus’ side, with his unit doing what they do best in a player-friendly scheme and flying around, finishing at the ball, and creating turnovers, is leading the way.

Veteran safety Malik Hooker has taken a liking to this style of play in a very noticeable way. After all, it was Eberflus that had a huge say in drafting Hooker after he left Dallas and became the defensive coordinator for the Colts. Hooker had an interception in Thursday’s practice, and this hit in padded work Monday that borders just slightly past where the Cowboys would probably like to see their “live” tackling go at this stage of camp, but don’t tell that to the rest of the defense.

Also on Monday, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer’s practice report, Hooker had a pass breakup, run stop against Javontae Williams, and coverage on Luke Schoonmaker to force an incompletion.

The defensive player of the day might have been safety Malik Hooker. He had a pass breakup, met Javonte Williams on a run, blanketed tight end Luke Schoonmaker for an incompletion and hit Jalen Moreno-Cropper, which drew a loud cheer from his teammates.

The Cowboys defense under Eberflus may be having fun on the field so far, but the task of having this unit gameday ready by week one is no laughing matter for the coach now in his second stint with Dallas. Eberflus is the third defensive coordinator in three seasons to get his hands on this cast of players, at this point a completely jumbled up compilation of those that played under Dan Quinn, both Quinn and Mike Zimmer, or are new to just Eberflus’ style.

The demands by all three coordinators from the safety position has varied a lot, reaching it’s most drastic point under Quinn, but the Cowboys overall feel towards valuing the position enough to put top resources into it has not changed. This is why many of the safeties still on the roster go back to Quinn’s time with the Cowboys, including Hooker. This has not seemed to bother Eberflus one bit, using all of his depth here to disguise coverages well enough for HC/play-caller Brian Schottenheimer to point out, and even using hybrid player Israel Mukuamu at cornerback in a pinch while Dallas works through who can start the season at corner while nursing injuries to Trevon Diggs, Shavon Revel, and Josh Butler.

“We run an outside zone play to our right—the offense’s right,” Schottenheimer described. “And basically, (Luepke) is supposed to block the support player, the strong safety who started down on the snap. The safety went running back because our defense does a really good job of disguising and rotating their shells, changing it up.

The fluidity between safeties and linebackers may not be as high for the Cowboys in 2025 as it ever was under Quinn, but it can’t be forgotten that Eberflus’ specialty has always been the linebacker position. Eberflus runs a linebacker-friendly scheme that prioritizes the defensive front getting penetration, which allows linebackers to flow freely and shoot gaps to make plays. Having safeties that are also capable of walking down to the second level and excelling in this role, while also possessing needed cover skills on the backend, is incredibly valuable.

It is even more valuable considering the Cowboys also aren’t injury free at linebacker right now, having to wait possibly until late in the regular season to welcome back DeMarvion Overshown. Malik Hooker is this player to a tee, and is already being recognized and rewarded as such. The more trust the Cowboys can have in Hooker to be a true safety but also a swiss army knife, the more it will help slightly more niche players like Donovan Wilson and Juanyeh Thomas at this position fit into their roles. Thomas was another player who flashed with a takeaway in Saturday’s practice.

The Cowboys safeties are being asked to do a lot right now, and even still are helping a secondary in need of playmakers do just that. The defensive line certainly feels like the more set and ready to roll unit for this group, and they’ve had their say in turning up the pressure on Cowboys quarterbacks to aid the secondary in getting their hands on the ball, but major credit is due for guys like Hooker stepping up to finish plays. While it may raise some slight concerns for Schottenheimer and the state of his offense in the early going of camp, this is a coach that’s been here for winning seasons that were sparked by extremely opportunistic defenses. So far in Oxnard, that is precisely what the Cowboys defense has been.

A competitor through and through as the Cowboys new HC, Schottenheimer will learn to relish the chance for the offense to actually get better by sharpening their iron against a defense this athletic and fast every day in practice. Going into his ninth NFL season and fifth with the Cowboys, Malik Hooker has enough left in the tank to continue being an impact player and part of an answer to a secondary group that came to Oxnard with more questions than answers. Seeing both him and Donovan Wilson looking to move the safety position forward and bring other young players along on this defense will be a very fun thing to monitor through the rest of training camp.