How does this team get to being an average defense?

[J12B]

Cowboys drfense ranked 23rd in yards against per game. Averaged giving up 29 points a game (28th) and opponents rushing against them averaged 5 yards per attempt (29th). That's flat out awful.

What moves need to be made to just be average?

I like the idea of signing the best NT in free agency, or going after Justin Simmons. Drafting a CB or DE round 1, and pretty much drafting best Defensive Player available throughout the rest of the draft.

 

[JoeKing]

Stop ignoring the safety and interior line positions. Release Crawford. Give our new DC, Quinn a chance.

 

[Risen Star]

Fix the middle of the defense. DT, MLB and S.

 

[JohnnyHopkins]

Draft all new players

 

[Ranched]

Coaching Coaching Coaching

Decent coaching=decent defenses
Great coaching=great defenses

 

[Vinnie2u]

Cowboys can’t get both sides of the ball competent at the same time. They always concentrate on one side of the ball and let the other get bad. Then they decide to fix the other side.

 

[Jfconrow]

I say fix the offense, that’s the best defense. Make sure the OL is solid and they have a QB.

 

[J12B]

Cowboys can’t get both sides of the competent at the same time. They always concentrate on one side of the ball and let the other get bad. Then they decide to fix the other side.

It seems like this season will be their best shot.

Really no key pieces are moving on the offensive side of the ball. Free agency and the draft can easily be their main focus and they just gotta hit on a few moves.

 

[visionary]

Get intelligent and disciplined players

NEED STARTERS at

DT 1T
DT 3T
MLB
FS

presto: good defense

 

[jazzcat22]

Swap defenses with TB. Straight up, plus they get Rowdy and Jerry's Yacht.
And a case of Jerry's JWB.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

About five or six new starters who can actually play.

 

[charron]

They will need to not only draft guys who can play day 1 but they need to hit on free agents who can still play.

Last year they hit on diggs. Gallimore was ok. But they missed on too many free agents like McCoy, Poe, and I forget the safety they cut. Even smith was only good for about 5 games. All looked good on paper but not the field.

 

[Section446]

Starts up front, need a front 7 that strikes fear in teams.

 

[Flamma]

Cowboys drfense ranked 23rd in yards against per game. Averaged giving up 29 points a game (28th) and opponents rushing against them averaged 5 yards per attempt (29th). That's flat out awful.

What moves need to be made to just be average?

I like the idea of signing the best NT in free agency, or going after Justin Simmons. Drafting a CB or DE round 1, and pretty much drafting best Defensive Player available throughout the rest of the draft.

We're probably not that far off from getting to average. I like our CB Diggs. If we draft another one, pick up Simmons, then shore up our interior line, that might put us above average.

The thing is, I don't see any interior lineman or CBs worth a 10th overall pick. Dallas can and should trade back to around the 18th pick. They can still probably get a top 3 CB or the DL from Alabama. And get an extra 2nd rounder to boot. Of course, easier said than done. Simmons will cost a lot. Dak will cost a lot, and they still have to give Gallup an extension unless they plan on trading him. Crap or get off the pot Jerry. He's not getting any cheaper. Jerry likes to watch.

 

[CATCH17]

Bend don’t break like we played before.

 

[viman96]

Get strong up the middle at all 3 levels.

 

[thunderpimp91]

I would make a goal to add 3 new starters to this defense then add some lower depth signings. The three new starters are hopefully at DT, S, and CB. Prioritize 1T and FS. Not landing at least league average players at these positions would continue the years of failure.

im fine rolling with the main LB group we have if we can shore up the interior DL. I might go after a few depth players in fa or the draft at the position and give LVE/ Jaylon another go around. You can’t realistically fix everything in one offseason and those are the two I think with the best chance to rebound.

the tricky piece to me is CB. Can you afford to keep a Awuzie? After targeting 1T and fs + possibly tagging dak do we have funds for a starting CB in fa? We could target at CB at pick 10, which wouldn’t make a bag starting 3 with a rookie, diggs, and brown.

You would still need a lot to go right with 2nd/3rd year player development + better LB play but I think this team can put together middle of the pack unit for 2022, and that’s where my expectations stand.

 

[NEODOG]

Fix the middle of the defense. DT, MLB and S.

This

 

[RoadTo6Superbowls]

It looks like the Cowboys are gonna need some corners. So although it might not be DT or S, I see some expiring contracts at the CB position. I dont claim to know much, but is Brown gonna be a starting corner now? I mean I get DT and S, but if they draft a young stud CB at 10 ive seen worse things. But I get the DT and S talk, that might be a bigger need..

 

[Jake]

Coaching Coaching Coaching

Decent coaching=decent defenses
Great coaching=great defenses

You could take me and 10 other dudes from this site and no one is coaching us up.

Great coaches can coach up average/good players, but none of them can polish a turd. Bad coaches can hold back good players, but the great ones will still shine.