Dallas City News

This is the fourth in a series detailing who is currently under contract and the decisions the team has to make.

Offensive backfield and specialists review is here.

Wide receivers and tight ends review is here.

Offensive line review is here.

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We’re to the defensive part of the Dallas Cowboys roster. Here are the players under contract Mike Zimmer has to work with.

Defensive line

DE Starters: DeMarcus Lawrence, Micah Parsons

DT Starters: Osa Odighizuwa, Mazi Smith

Depth: Sam Williams, Chauncey Golston, Viliami Fehoko, Carl Davis, Durrell Johnson

While the departure of Dorance Armstrong to the Washington Commanders and the impending free agencies of Johnathan Hankins, Dante Fowler, and Neville Gallimore leave some holes, this area is actually in pretty good shape to start the league year. We all know how good Parsons is, and Lawrence is often undervalued as he not only gets good pressure but is a beast in run defense. Odigizhuwa has been a great value since he was drafted. We’re listing Smith as the starter at DT/1T for now. It is a position where players often need a season or two to reach their potential, and it will be very interesting to see how Zimmer coaches him. Hopefully he will take a big step forward to help salvage the 2023 draft class.

Williams and Golston are good depth pieces. Williams may face some discipline for an off field incident last year, but when he is available, he can be a beast on the field. Golston is primarily used in passing situations with Odighizuwa to try and generate pressure up the middle. The others are just hole pluggers, really.

This is one place where internal players could be important in free agency. Our Dan Rogers estimated the cost of bringing back any of the free agent defenders:

The low cost for Hankins jumps out. Gallimore is also affordable, but with his proven ability at the NT spot, Hankins is the better value. Armstrong was obviously too pricey, but Fowler might also have a chance to return for that price. Outside free agents are not going to be a big part of this equation, although they might find another Fowler or Hankins that can contribute for a low outlay as the market settles down.

Depending on what the team does or doesn’t do, the defensive line could be a high priority in the draft. There is a good crop of pass rushers this year. But the team would only be really interested in a big body for the 1T job, and that is a lot thinner. That just adds to the argument for bring Hankins back to provide needed insurance for Smith’s development.

Zimmer’s arrival will factor into all of this. Dan Quinn liked to move his linemen around to come from unusual spots, like lining up Parsons in the interior of the line to rush up the middle. We’ll have to see if that will be significantly different under the new regime, and that is not unlikely. In any case, there will be additions made. We just have to see how they go about it.

Linebackers

Starters: Leighton Vander Esch, Damone Clark

Depth: DeMarvion Overshown, Markquese Bell, Buddy Johnson, Tyrus Wheat

That is thin, even if Zimmer continues to go mostly with the nickel as the base defense. Linebackers are also a big part of the special teams packages for John Fassel. And there is a big asterisk that can be inserted for Vander Esch. Comments from the management seem to hint that the veteran may be mulling retirement, and might even be encouraged to do so. He has taken the beating you expect at linebacker, and it may be time for him to put his health first and move on to the next stage of his life.

That leaves a big hole at MIKE, given that Overshown looks more like he is going to be valuable at WILL, and that is all Bell is really suited for. We don’t even know if Zimmer is going to keep Bell in the linebacker room. The smaller hybrid LB/S was definitely a Quinn thing. Zimmer seems much more traditional in that aspect, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Clearly, this needs to be fortified. Additionally, there is a fairly widespread presumption that Overshown is going to come in and make an immediate impact based on his performance in camp before the injury that forced him out for his rookie season. That depends on his recovery as well as seeing what he actually does against NFL competition. What has happened with wide receiver Michael Gallup should be kept in mind with Overshown.

The draft is the primary avenue for the Cowboys to bring in top level talent. It is unfortunately not a draft class with a lot of potential for using day one or two picks, especially for the middle linebacker category. If they do choose to address the linebacker needs, they risk making a reach unless the draft falls just right for them. If it doesn’t, they might be forced to turn to free agency, and their approach is not likely to yield a strong addition.

It is possible they only carry five linebackers on the 53-man roster, but that seems dangerously thin and may well run counter to how Zimmer wants to do things. This is one place to watch very closely in the coming days. It seems something has to happen in free agency, given the thinness of the draft class.