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Taking a good look at every position on the roster and asking the question: Did the Cowboys improve?
[In this series, we’ll take a look at the additions and subtractions at every position on the Dallas Cowboys roster. We’ll compare where the Cowboys were to where they currently sit and ask the ultimate question. Did the Cowboys improve or not? In other words, do you feel better about the state of the roster going into the 2018 season?]
Last season:
Sean Lee - 11 games played, 101 tackles, one pass deflection, one interception
Damien Wilson - 16 games played, nine starts, 35 tackles, one pass deflection, one sack
Jaylon Smith - 16 games played, six starts, 81 tackles, two forced fumbles, one sack
Justin March-Lillard - 7 games played, three tackles
Tre’Von Johnson - Practice squad
This season:
Sean Lee
Jaylon Smith
Leighton Vander Esch - drafted 19th overall (1st Round), College stats: three seasons (Boise State), 28 games played, 188 tackles, 13 TFL’s, six pass deflections, five sacks, four forced fumbles, three interceptions, one fumble recovery, led team with 91 tackles in 2017
Damien Wilson
Joe Thomas - signed two-year, up to $3.6M, $900K base salary gtd., $1M in incentives, 2017 stats (Packers): 12 games played, one start, 14 tackles, 0.5 sack, one pass deflection
Justin March-Lillard
Chris Covington - drafted 193rd overall (6th round), College stats: four seasons (Indiana), 27 games played, 118 tackles, 15 TFL’s, five sacks, five pass deflections, one forced fumble, one recovery
Tre’Von Johnson
Joel Lanning - UDFA Iowa State, College stats: three seasons, 35 games, 114 tackles, 11 TFL’s, two pass deflections, one interception, one fumble recovery
Eric Pinkins - UDFA defensive back from San Diego State 2009-2013
The linebacker position starts with Sean Lee, he’s the heartbeat of the defense and as we’ve learned, he’s pretty much the most important voice in the linebacker room. Lee missed five games last season and it certainly showed on the field for the Cowboys run defense. Whenever Sean Lee is present, it doesn’t take long for him to make his presence felt.
Jaylon Smith was better when his snap count was being monitored. Smith, still recovering last season, was exposed when he was asked to play the majority of snaps on defense. Still, Smith really started to show a lot of promise and another year removed from that horrific injury should allow him to gain more athleticism back. It’s not certain what his role will be, if he will be sharing duties with Leighton Vander Esch at MIKE or if he’s going be used more as a pass rushing SAM. There are a lot of things the Cowboys could do with him and reasons to be excited about his outlook this season.
Vander Esch is the presumed starting MIKE if you’ve been picking up what Bryan Broaddus has been putting down. He’s got great coverage abilities, which is essentially a must against today’s high-powered passing offenses. When the Cowboys lost Anthony Hitchens in free agency, they really placed a premium on linebacker. Vander Esch gives the Cowboys a young guy with tons of potential. Joe Thomas was an insurance policy signing in free agency as he had a decent three years in Green Bay. He’s at least going to supplement the loss of Justin Durant, who should have never un-retired.
Justin March-Lillard has received a lot of the snaps in the offseason practices and he’s turned a few heads in his direction. Damien Wilson has been a decent outside linebacker but has never really shown his ability on a consistent basis, it doesn’t help to be involved in the wrong offseason headlines. Chris Covington was essentially drafted for a role on special teams to help supplement the loss of Kyle Wilber. Johnson, Lanning, and Pinkins are fighting for a likely practice squad spot, it’s going to take great preseason performances to get a spot on the final roster.
Conclusion: With the moves the Cowboys made, they were making sure that they wouldn’t be completely reliant on whether Lee plays or not. He’s still vital to this defense as they are quite young and have a lot to learn. The Cowboys certainly improved their linebacker corps and it was clear that it was one of their top priorities this offseason. They have a nice group of talented starters but their depth is much better as well.
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