As the Dallas Cowboys enter the draft process of their 2024 offseason, the team has many questions. Most of those questions didn’t arise until after the embarrassing Wildcard loss at home to the 7th-seed Green …
The Dallas Cowboys have a lot of uncertainties as they begin their 2024 summer draft process.
The majority of those queries didn’t surface until following the humiliating home defeat by the 7th-
seeded Green Bay Packers in the Wildcard round.
It’s possible that “embarrassing” isn’t strong enough to adequately characterise the completely
repulsive performance they gave for Cowboys Nation.
Once again, the offence had a poor start to the playoffs, but this time, the defence was just as bad.
The 2007 New England Patriots would not be able to drag Dallas out of a 27-0 hole.
I finished grading each offensive position group yesterday, and now it’s time to begin reviewing the
defence.
Let’s start by concentrating on the inside defensive line.
In the NFL rankings, players who did not participate in ten or more games this season are
excluded.
Interior Defensive Line
Under Dan Quinn, the Cowboys shifted around their defensive line fairly often. Several players
were able to go from outside to inside or vice versa, but today we will focus on the men that usually
played defensive tackle.
Osa Odighizuwa
PFF Overall (NFL Rank): 81.4 (15th)
PFF Rush Defense (NFL Rank): 70.2 (19th)
PFF Pass Rush (NFL Rank): 80.0 (13th)
The only Cowboys interior defensive lineman to rank in the top 20 across all three graded metrics is
DT Osa Odighizuwa, using PFF criteria.
46 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 13 quarterback hits, and 3.0 sacks were his season totals.
Osa’s 25 stops at or behind the line of scrimmage were the most notable.
Osa played a significant role in the Cowboys’ victory when they were able to stop the run, despite
their defense’s inability to do so.
Grade: B
Osa has been a reliable player for the Cowboys, but he is approaching his contract year in 2024 and
will need to have a strong season in order to get a second deal.
Dan Quinn’s move to Washington will result in the arrival of a new defensive coordinator.
Osa’s second season saw an improved trajectory, therefore we were all anticipating him to make a
bigger jump this season.
Osa must improve if the Cowboys are to win the Super Bowl in 2024.
Johnathan Hankins
PFF Overall (NFL Rank): 51.8 (104th)
PFF Rush Defense (NFL Rank): 49.9 (92nd)
PFF Pass Rush (NFL Rank): 62.8 (79th)
Although we all had Jonathan Hankins in mind as our primary run-stopper in the middle of the
defence, his statistical output doesn’t match our expectations.
While he was on the field, the rush defence did improve, but it was only little and not by a miracle.
Hankins ranked 92nd in the NFL with a disgusting 49.9 rush defence grade at the end of the
season, according to PFF.
Hankins managed 3.0 sacks, his most since the 2016 campaign, despite being in on few passing
downs.
Grade: C
Hankins wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t particularly outstanding either.
Even Hankins’ presence was insufficient to stem the bleeding while the Cowboys were being run
over by teams like the 49ers and Bills.
I don’t care if he remains or leaves the Cowboys; we don’t know if he will be offered another one-
year contract.
Neville Gallimore
PFF Overall (NFL Rank): 57.8 (88th)
PFF Rush Defense (NFL Rank): 52.8 (84th)
PFF Pass Rush (NFL Rank): 65.7 (64th)
Neville Gallimore, a fourth-year defensive tackle, had a season similar to his last three.
Although he can have moments of brilliance, he is not dependable enough to leave a significant
impression.
In every significant category, including snap counts, where he played in only 27% of the defensive
snaps, Gallimore recorded career lows.
Grade: D-
For the majority of the 2022 season, Gallimore was a healthy scratch, and I was positive he
wouldn’t be added to the squad this offseason.
Gallimore was one of the better alternatives, though, because the Cowboys didn’t do anything to
improve the defensive tackle position.
His contract is up in 2024, and I would be shocked to see him wearing a Cowboys uniform.
Mazi Smith
PFF Overall (NFL Rank): 49.8 (114th)
PFF Rush Defense (NFL Rank): 34.9 (134th)
PFF Pass Rush (NFL Rank): 70.3 (40th)
Mazi Smith, a rookie defensive tackle, makes it hard to think that the Cowboys selected him in the
first round of the 2023 draft.
Dallas has been so successful with first-round talent that we find it offensive when a player doesn’t
make an impact right away.
Smith did nothing to help with the run-stopping issues and made very little defensive contribution
to the Cowboys.
It is rumored that Smith lost nearly 40 pounds throughout the season, and it would explain how he
got pushed around all year.
Grade: F
Mazi Smith was selected with the 26th overall choice in the first round of the draft, raising a lot of
hopes for him.
His reputation as a lane-clogger was the icing on the cake for the Cowboys defence, which was
considered the best in the draft.
The Cowboys’ bubble was crushed by reality as they witnessed superior opponents bully their way
through the middle of the defence, proving that all of the excitement had been for nothing.
We’ll see if the new defensive coordinator can unleash the talent that Michigan showed us all.
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