Starters: Robert Quinn, Maliek Collins, Antwaun Woods, DeMarcus Lawrence
Contenders: Taco Charlton, Tyrone Crawford, Christian Covington, Dorance Armstrong, Kerry Hyder, Trysten Hill, Daniel Ross, Joe Jackson, Jalen Jelks, Shakir Soto, Daniel Wise, Ricky Walker, Randy Gregory
Almost everything Dallas was forced to do on the defensive line this offseason begins with two failures. Randy Gregory was suspended indefinitely in February, forcing Dallas to seek pass-rushing help at right end, and David Irving's love for everything but football reached its sad but inevitable conclusion. Both players have proven to this point to be a waste of very good talent.
After spending most of his career suspended, Gregory finally got to play for a season last year and began showing what kind of pass rusher he could be as the season progressed. It was the type that Dallas has been hoping that first-round pick Taco Charlton would become, but right now Charlton is just a rotational, bit player who doesn't add much as a pass rusher. Maybe he will change that in his third season, but Dallas isn't counting on it, first taking a flier on Kerry Hyder to try to mitigate the loss of Gregory. Hyder was a find for Detroit in 2016, providing eight sacks primarily as a reserve. However, he missed the 2017 season with a torn Achilles and then didn't do much his first year back from it (one sack in seven games).
If Hyder recovers his form, he adds a pass rusher who has some thickness that will allow him to rotate in at end on run downs or even play inside as a pass rusher on passing downs. However, the Cowboys can't exactly just count on Hyder returned to 2016 form, so the team traded for Robert Quinn. Quinn at this point in his career is probably a better pressure player than Gregory (although Gregory could have passed him this year with continued development). He was once a 19-sack player, but hasn't come close to that number the past four years because of injuries. Last year (his first with Miami) was the first time he did not get 10-plus sacks when he played all 16 games for a team. However, the tape shows that he wins a lot more battles than his 6.5 sacks last year reflect in both pass and run defense. He's an active player who teams have to consistently account for, which is what we need opposite DeMarcus Lawrence.
Lawrence, our $105 million man, has been our main disruptive player on the line the last couple of years. He consistently gets into the backfield even with teams giving him extra attentions. The Rams' whole game plan in the playoffs was to force someone else on the line to make plays and it didn't happen enough, which is one of the reasons we needed to improve the line. It's hard to be a one-man wrecking crew, but too often Lawrence had to be one because we had other players who came up big sometimes, but weren't consistent with it. Lawrence has ended up carrying too much of the burden the last two years to the point that where the defense usually went as he went.
While Quinn and Lawrence should be expected to receive the bulk of the snaps, Dallas likes to have a good rotation, so in addition to Hyder, Dorance Armstrong and possibly Tyrone Crawford should be expected to contribute at end. Armstrong showed good run play and pass rush potential in the preseason and will be given opportunities to build on that as a reserve. Crawford plugs in wherever he's needed, so if our run defense at right end isn't stout enough, he'll be back out there. If he's needed on the inside as a pass rusher, he'll be used there and provide steady but not spectacular results. He's not a player you want starting, but he's a player you have to start if no one more talented steps up or because others can't stay healthy.
We also added a couple of young players in the draft, Joe Jackson and Jalen Jelks, so this has become a crowded position, although position flex means some of the end candidates (Hyder, Crawford and probably Jackson) could end up with roles inside. Jackson had good college production at end, but his lack of a quick burst along with having pretty good size could result in a shift inside as a pass-rushing tackle. Jelks seems to be more of a project more likely to make the practice squad than stick on the 53 this year.
In addition to the three hybrids, Dallas made a couple other moves to make up for Irving being an idiot. First, after our run defense was gashed by the Rams, the Cowboys signed Christian Covington in free agency. Covington is a strong run defender, with a little pass rush ability, who we can line up next to Antwuan Woods on run downs. Woods was quite a find at 1-tech until injury affected his play in the playoffs. In addition to playing next to Woods in run defense, Covington will serve as the backup 1-tech.
How much Covington plays at 3-tech likely depends on two things: the health of Maliek Collins and the development of second-round pick Trysten Hill. Collins is not a great run defender despite his size, but he's OK at it while having enough quickness to his game to contribute some as a pass rusher. Hill looks like he could be better at both of those things because of great initial quickness along with some raw power. However, Hill is more the direct replacement for Irving both in terms of ability and concerns about character. If he'll take to coaching and allow his abilities to be directed properly, he could be a force. If he proves to be a malcontent when things don't go his way, then we still don't have the kind of 3-tech this defense needs.
A surprise at the position, though, could be Daniel Wise. He's more of a pass-rushing 3-tech than run-stopper, but does have some clear potential in that regard. So the good news is that we have a lot of players who could potentially make this line better than it was last year. The bad news is that we didn't add any players that we absolutely know will make the line better, although I do think Quinn and Covington are safe bets.
ROSTER PREDICTION: I'd like to keep 11, but I think 10 will be the limit. We've got four clear ends (Lawrence, Quinn, Charlton and Armstrong), three hybrids (Crawford, Hyder, Jackson) and four clear defensive tackles (Woods, Collins, Covington and Hill). I believe one of Charlton, Hyder and Jackson won't make the team. If Charlton doesn't step up this preseason, we could look to trade him at the end of camp to recoup any pick we could get. Hyder isn't being paid that much, so if he doesn't recover his form or others are simply as good or better, he could be the odd man out. Jackson is a late-round draft pick, so his fate, along with Wise's, could be a season on the practice squad. If Charlton, Hyder and Jackson all look great (or if Wise does instead of one of them), it could spell the end of Crawford's time on the roster because of his high salary.
My prediction is we will end up keeping Lawrence, Quinn, Charlton, Armstrong, Crawford, Hyder, Woods, Collins, Covington and Hill, with Jackson and Wise going on the PS. My hope is that Jackson or Wise play at least equal to Charlton and Crawford and we can trade Charlton and/or Crawford for picks or players at other positions.
