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In terms of speed, are the Dallas Cowboys better than the average bear?
Now that the draft is over, the Cowboys have a room full of new toys to play with. We’ve established that the front office went looking for defense and kept hitting the problem, with seven of their nine picks devoted to the defense. They also managed to get five of their nine picks from their Top-68 prospects on their board.
In the never-ending world of building the roster, it’s pretty clear that the Cowboys are looking to add speed as well as youth to their defense. A few years into the system, we have become obsessed with fitting players to Rod Marinelli’s style. We know that the Hot-Rod likes to rush four, loves tackling machines at linebacker, prefers feisty cornerbacks with ball skills, and has a need for speed throughout. That speed he covets is not only from his rushmen but from his entire secondary too.
This year has the optimism running high after a defensive heavy draft because just maybe this team is on its way to balance. What could this team do with some substantial improvement on the defensive side of the ball? We all hope to soon find out. Just for curiosity, we went back and grabbed some of the testing results from the Combine and Pro Days for the most likely contenders on the Cowboys’ defense in 2017. It’s clear that the need for speed is present for this team. We decided to measure your Dallas Cowboys versus the averages of most NFL players according to this guide of Combine numbers from 2015. Let’s start with the defensive backs:
[Author Note: We did not factor in the entire roster, just guys with the best opportunities to play significant snaps.]
Position
Player
Age
40 Time
3-Cone
20-yard Shuttle
CB
CB
Chidobe Awuzie
21
4.43
6.81
4.14
CB
CB
Jourdan Lewis
21
4.54
6.88
4.38
CB
CB
Marquez White
22
4.59
7.28
4.36
CB
CB
Anthony Brown
23
4.35
7.03
4.19
CB
CB
Orlando Scandrick
30
4.32 (2008)
6.83
DNP
CB
CB
Nolan Carroll
30
4.42 (2010)
6.81
4.21
S
S
Byron Jones
24
4.43
6.78
3.94
S
S
Jeff Heath
25
4.48
6.88
4.36
S
S
Xavier Woods
21
4.51
6.72
4.13
S
S
Kavon Frazier
22
4.58
6.88
4.4
S
S
Robert Blanton
27
4.52
6.71
3.97
DB
DB
Average
24.2
4.49
6.87
4.21
First, we examine the 40 times and see that the Cowboys average is 4.49, but keep in mind that Carroll and Scandrick are probably not as fast as they once were. Still, when you measure up the Cowboys’ 40 times with the average for NFL defensive backs (4.59), Dallas comes out winners in the category. The same can be said for the three-cone drill where the Cowboys average is 6.87 compared to the NFL average of 6.95. As far as the 20-yard shuttle, the Cowboys are right at the NFL average. Still, by looking at this group of guys, the word speed is important to the coaching staff.
Now, we shift our focus to the defensive line, which for the most part is a mixed bag of guys that folks are hoping to see improve. They’ve certainly got younger with the additions of guys like Taco Charlton, Maliek Collins, and David Irving. Let’s see how their numbers shook out compared to the NFL averages.
Position
Player
Age
40 Time
3-Cone
20-yard Shuttle
DE
DE
Taco Charlton
22
4.86
7.17
4.39
DE
DE
DeMarcus Lawrence
25
4.69
7.46
4.31
DE
DE
Benson Mayowa
25
4.73
7.05
4.26
DE
DE
Charles Tapper
23
4.59
DNP
DNP
DE
DE
Damontre Moore
24
4.95
7.08
4.33
DL
DL
Tyrone Crawford
27
4.78
7.09
4.44
DL
DL
David Irving
23
4.84
7.27
4.52
DT
DT
Jordan Carrell
22
4.98
7.90
4.50
DT
DT
Maliek Collins
22
5.03
7.53
4.52
DT
DT
Stephen Paea
28
4.98
DNP
DNP
DT
DT
Cedric Thornton
28
5.29
7.7
4.71
DT
DT
Joey Ivie
22
5.14
8.09
4.72
DL
DL
Average
24.3
4.91
7.43
4.47
At 4.91, the Cowboys are just a tad faster than the NFL average of 4.95. In the three-cone drill, the Cowboys again come in just a hair faster with a 7.434 versus the NFL average of 7.49. The Cowboys did much better though in the 20-yard shuttle with their 4.47 versus the NFL average of 4.57. Again, by the skin of their teeth, the Cowboys current stable of defensive linemen pull out the win here.
Lastly, we’ll take a look at the linebackers, who don’t get enough love but could get a huge boost in the debut of Jaylon Smith in 2017. Let’s take a look at how they play out against the average linebackers in the NFL:
Position
Player
Age
40 Time
3-Cone
20-yard Shuttle
LB
LB
Sean Lee
30
4.60
6.89
4.16
LB
LB
Jaylon Smith
21
4.44
DNP
DNP
LB
LB
Anthony Hitchens
24
4.65
7.15
4.44
LB
LB
Damien Wilson
23
4.77
7.21
4.20
LB
LB
Kyle Wilber
28
4.64
7.83
4.43
LB
LB
Mark Nzeocha
27
4.56
DNP
DNP
LB
LB
Average
25.5
4.61
7.27
4.31
It’s pretty hard to judge some speeds of these guys when they continuously have come into the league with various injuries that kept them from tests. With that said, the Cowboys’ 40 time of 4.61 edged out the NFL average at 4.72. However, the NFL average beat the Cowboys’ badly in the three-cone drill with a 7.13 versus Dallas’ 7.27. Oh well, you win some and you lose some but the Cowboys bounce back with the narrow victory in the 20-yard shuttle where Dallas owns the 4.31 versus the NFL average of 4.32.
We all know that statistics can be used to win almost any type of argument and are subjective to the writer putting together the article. Well, these statistics were taken from NFLDraftScout.com and the aforementioned article above. It’s also one thing to look at these charts and completely another to see these speeds translate to the field.
All of the many variables considered it’s pretty encouraging to see that not only are the Cowboys going to be young on defense but they’re looking to be a quick-strike defense. The need for speed is prevalent in many of the selections the Cowboys have made that have filled out this roster. One thing that the Cowboys’ defense has done over the past few years above all else is the hustle to the ball. It’ll be interesting to see if any of these numbers translate once the season kicks off.
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