Dallas City News

3 defensive backs the Cowboys are counting on in 2024 – Mark Heaney, Inside the Star

The Cowboys are relying on these players to anchor their defensive backfield.

The Star: Cornerback DaRon Bland

The aforementioned Bland has a huge season ahead of him. Coming off a record-breaking 2023, the expectations have never been higher for this former 5th-round pick. At just 24 years old, Bland has 14 interceptions, 23 pass breakups, and 123 tackles in his 23 career games.

That includes just 23 games started, as his starting reps mostly started in 2023. With Diggs coming back, the Cowboys are expected to have one of the best cornerback duos in the NFL. But, that has never been expected of Bland.

In his rookie season, he had virtually no expectations and had a great year. Last season, there was some excitement around his name, but nobody expected a nine-interception, 5 touchdown run from him. The same can’t be said this time around. In 2024, Bland is going to have to take a big step up in his coverage skills while continuing to improve his ball-hawk ability. Is he up for the task of being one of the league’s best, most consistent young corners?

The Vet: Safety Donovan Wilson

Time flies in the NFL, and that can certainly be said for veteran Safety Donovan Wilson. His explosive sophomore year that saw his first defensive reps is now five seasons ago. The former Texas A&M Aggie is now heading into his age 29 season.

Wilson has developed into a key part of the Cowboys’ defensive backs room, totaling 189 tackles, five sacks, and three interceptions in the last two years alone. Despite all the success to this point, however, he may be poised for his best yet in 2024. The addition of Defensive Coordinator Mike Zimmer has the potential to unlock Wilson in a way we have not seen yet.

Zimmer’s patented “double A gap” look will likely feature Wilson in the middle of the defensive front. Because of his fantastic run support and box ability, Zimmer will use him to blitz, drop into intermediate coverage, or chase down running backs. The former Vikings head coach loves using “hybrid” players like Wilson to his advantage.

Dallas Cowboys go international for added size, defensive line depth – Josh Sanchez, Sports Illustrated

Looking for interior help on the defensive line, the Cowboys go global.

The Dallas Cowboys have gone international to add some size and depth to the interior defensive line. Rookie free agent defensive tackle Denzel Daxon, who checks in at 6-foot-2, 304 pounds, played his college career with the Ohio Bobcats and Illinois Fighting Illini. He was born and raised in Nassau, Bahamas. Daxon qualifies as an international player, so he will not count against the team’s 90-man roster and can be added to the practice squad as an extra member.

The Cowboys previously had international offensive lineman Isaac Alarcón from Mexico on the practice squad for three years.

“It’s a big advantage for us, it’s a big advantage for him because that extra spot on the practice squad gives us the opportunity to develop him, it gives us an extra player, it gives him an extra opportunity to be part of the squad also from the point of view. “It’s a big advantage for us, it’s a big advantage for him because that extra spot on the practice squad gives us the opportunity to develop him, it gives us an extra player, it gives him an extra opportunity to be part of the squad also from the point of view.”

Daxon began playing football in 2016 when he moved to the United States. In his final year in college with the Fighting Illini, Daxon started 11 games at nose tackle and recorded 27 tackles. Daxon will now get a chance to develop with the Cowboys when the team heads to Oxnard, California in July for the start of training camp. As an international player, he is eligible to remain on the team’s roster with roster exemption for up to four years.

Zimmer zone-busters, like Bear fronts, could improve Cowboys run D – Reid Hanson, Cowboys Wire

Breaking down what makes Mike’s Zimmer’s defense tick.

The Bear front defense, popularized by the regular championship contender Chicago teams of the 1980s, is a defensive alignment designed to stop zone-rushing teams. Generally seen as a three-man front, it positions the three down linemen inside the opposing tackles in what’s known as a 3-0-3 alignment.

The returning rise in the popularity of the Bear front in recent years is probably directly related to a rise in usage of the outside zone offense. The Kyle Shanahan rushing scheme touches most of the NFL either through his coaching tree or through copycat coordinators. It’s an inescapable element of some of the best offenses in the NFL and most notably used by Dallas’ postseason rivals, Green Bay and San Francisco.

The Cowboys had an issue with their run defense in 2023. They gave up 4.2 yards/carry and finished dead last in rushing success rate against. Dallas’ thin defensive line, injury riddled linebacker corps, and poor run-fit discipline were the true Achillies heel for defense.

The Cowboys hope to improve that run defense largely through a coaching change and a touch of added accountability. The previous regime, led by Dan Quinn, was a well-regarded administration in which the defense thrived under throughout most his time in Dallas. But the player friendliness may have come at a cost of discipline and by the end of Quinn’s tenure in Dallas things were sloppy and changes needed to be made.

Mike Zimmer, the Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator, will be tasked with fixing the run defense that has recently plagued Dallas. Since the Cowboys did little to nothing to upgrade the roster over the offseason, scheme change and accountability will have to do most of the heavy lifting.

While Zimmer has been known to primarily lean on a traditional four-man front in both base and nickel looks, he has experience with odd-man fronts as well. Dating back to his time with Bill Parcells in Dallas and used sporadically in Minnesota in Bear and Tite fronts, Zimmer has played with different schemes to fit the objective at hand.

Dallas Cowboys and the Cooper Rush conundrum – Blogging the Boys, Brian Martin

Cooper Rush questions at the Cowboys quarterback position.

From the outside looking in, it certainly looks as if the Dallas Cowboys may face somewhat of a conundrum as to what to do with Cooper Rush. With Dak Prescott firmly entrenched as the unquestioned starter for at least the 2024 season, and with the need to find out what they have in Trey Lance, finding room for No. 10 may be a bit tricky.

The need to use training camp to prepare for the upcoming 2024 NFL season means Dak Prescott will command the majority, if not all, of the starting reps in Oxnard. Once the preseason games come along, Dallas will want to utilize those snaps to see what they have in Trey Lance. So, where exactly does Cooper Rush fit in?

The Cowboys already know what they have in Cooper Rush and what he’s capable of if/when he is needed. He’s served as Dak Prescott’s primary backup for years now and knows how to prepare for the life of a QB2. And, considering the personnel and system are the same as a year ago, any practice time he needs to get up to speed should be minimal.

Sadly though, all of that could also be his undoing. When Dak isn’t on the field in practice or preseason, it’s more likely than not going to be the Trey Lance show. Dallas is going to give him every opportunity to showcase his talent in the hopes of either facilitating a trade to a QB needy team or justify potentially keeping him around for future purposes.

There are those who believe there could be a QB2 position battle between Lance and Rush, but if there is it’s one that looks as if it’s pretty one-sided in favor of No. 19. Being pretty much a complete mystery, but one packed with undeniable intrigue, Lance’s upside as a QB prospect simply demands more attention right now.

.5 Dallas Cowboys predictions that will come true before 2024 NFL season kicks off – Mauricio Rodriguez, A to Z Sports

Five blazing takes that could come to reality.

1. Dak Prescott gets extended for $60M per year before the start of the 2024 NFL regular season

The Cowboys have absolutely no leverage and will be on the losing side of negotiations if this ends up coming to fruition because as Adam Schefter recently explained, no one in the NFL has more leverage than Prescott does currently. But really, what else can the Cowboys afford to do?

Sure, we could pretend like Trey Lance is their Plan B while conveniently ignoring the fact that they neither picked up his fifth-year option nor did they extend him. They don’t control Lance nor Prescott beyond the 2024 NFL season. Quarterback limbo is no fun and letting Prescott walk could end up being one of the worst mistakes in franchise history. I believe they end up budging and signing the check to make their guy the highest-paid player in NFL history. There’s no other way.

2. Stephon Gilmore is NOT brought back to the Cowboys

Cornerback depth could be much better in Dallas but they have yet to make a move that makes me believe bringing back Gilmore is an option at this stage. The Cowboys’ biggest signings have been around the $3M mark with Eric Kendricks and Ezekiel Elliott.

Gilmore is likely going to be closer to the $8-10 million mark and I don’t see Dallas pulling the trigger when they already have two All-Pros covering outside receivers in Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland. You never know, however. If the price is lower than anticipated, things could change.

3. Cowboys trade for a defensive tackle

Contrary to the cornerback position, the Cowboys absolutely need help in the trenches. Beyond Osa Odighizuwa, you’ve got a barrage of question marks. Can Mazi Smith keep his weight up and be a quality gap-eating nose tackle? Are they betting too much on seventh-round rookie Justin Rogers? Do the Cowboys have enough size at three-technique with Osa and Chauncey Golston both being sub-290-pounds?

The Cowboys replaced Dan Quinn with Mike Zimmer to fix the run defense but it’s hard doing so with a bad interior defensive line, which is what exists in Dallas right now. Without any enticing free agent targets available, it’s time to pull the trigger on a trade.