It was a disappointing first half of the season for the Dallas Cowboys. Despite impressing on offense for a majority of the first half of the season, the Dallas Cowboys defense was dreadful in almost every area. To start off the second half of the season, the Cowboys defense will be getting some fresh faces to hopefully improve as they hope to make a run towards the playoffs.
With Shavon Revel, DeMarvion Overshown, Quinnen Williams, and Logan Wilson expected to make their debuts for the Cowboys this week or soon after, we will take a look at what position group should be the move improved in the second half of the season for the 3-5-1 Dallas Cowboys.
LINEBACKER
With the addition of Quinnen Williams, you would expect the Cowboys defensive tackle room to really step up their game over the final eight games. But as disappointing as Osa Odighizuwa and Kenny Clark have been through the first half of the season, the linebacker group should be the most improved with the new blood being inserted into the lineup.
The Cowboys put investments in the linebacker position this offseason – signing Jack Sanborn in free agency, trading for Kenneth Murray, and drafting Shemar James in the fifth-round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Sanborn has struggled to stay healthy this season, and had his struggles on the field when healthy this season. Murray, a sixth-year veteran has been one of the weak links on the defense and his playing time should be heavily reduced with the additions of Wilson and Overshown. James, a rookie-fifth-rounder has had some ups and downs so far in his rookie campaign, but 2025 proved he still needs time before he can be relied on as a full-time starter in the defense. Marist Liufau had high hopes in his second-year in the NFL, but like the rest of the linebackers, he has struggled mightily on defense under Matt Eberflus.
The reason the linebacker position group will be the most improved is not solely due to the caliber of player that will now be on the field, but simply due to how poorly the linebacker position has been for the Cowboys over the first nine games. According to Pro Football Focus, Kenneth Murray is graded as the 78th linebacker in football out of 83 qualified candidates, Shemar James is graded as the 82nd linebacker out of 83 qualified candidates, and Marist Liufau has not registered enough snaps to qualify.
Replacing those players with Logan Wilson (59th out of 83) and DeMarvion Overshown should greatly improve the Cowboys ability to play the pass and the run in Eberflus’ scheme. Overshown has a lot of pressure on him coming off a catastrophic knee injury suffered last season, but even while he’s knocking off some rust and working back from the knee, he should provide a pretty heavy upgrade over the players who have been on the field for the Cowboys over the first two months of the season.
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