I believe nothing undermines a defense faster than a secondary that cannot be trusted.
Dallas struggled in all facets when it came to the secondary play. Issues in communication, missed assignments, tackling, and giving up explosive plays are just a few to be named.
Seattle avoided that by prioritizing discipline on the back end.
New defensive coordinator Christian Parker should be able to choose the secondary help he wants to bring in through free agency.
If so, we will see veteran players with familiarity with his defensive concepts be brought in to help teach his schemes.
The cornerbacks and safeties listed would be immediate upgrades who can help the current players get familiar with the concepts of the new scheme.
Cornerbacks Who reduce Risk
Seattle’s corners may not be the best in the NFL, but they understood their job. They stayed in place and forced contested throws.
The Cowboys need that type of consistency, not starpower.
Jaylen Watson plays with patience and understands leverage. He doesn’t panic when targeted repeatedly or when the play is extended.
Jamel Dean brings experience and length. He limits touchdowns and stays connected in zone coverage.
We watched as the cornerbacks constantly got burned last season. Trevon Diggs gave up, DaRon Bland didn’t look healthy, and we thrust a rookie coming off of a major injury into heavy playing time.
Now that Diggs is gone, Bland and Shavon Revel Jr. have a few more months to get completely healthy. Adding another cornerback with skills handpicked by the new defensive coordinator could turn this secondary around.
Safeties Who Hold Everything Together
After watching Seattle’s safeties, they communicated, tackled, and erased mistakes.
Reed Blankenship fits that role naturally, and he has a good connection with new defensive coordinator Christian Parker. Blankenship is decisive, physical, and assignment-sound.
Kamrun Curl offers versatility without confusion. Curl can rate, support the run, and maintain coverage discipline.
These are traits fans want to see in safeties in Dallas. The current group does not offer all of this, and it hurts the backend of the defense.
Why the Secondary Comes First
We have seen it in the past with Dan Quinn’s defense in Dallas. If the secondary holds up, the pass rush will get home. The Cowboys need to get back to this trend in 2026.
Seattle didn’t dominate passing stats, but they dominated situational football.
Fixing the secondary allows the entire defense to breathe.
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a Dallas Cowboys fan, since the 70’s the best way to fix the Cowboys secondary is through the N.F.L. draft not free agency
Can all these sites stop advocating for Reed Blankenship? Is anyone not scouting by their ears as Bruce Polian said of Mel Kiper (although Kiper was smarter)? Cody, I respect the vast majority of your work but could you really examine Blankenship. I don’t care if he knows Parker’s system, it sure didn’t help Blankenship perform well behind a better Eagles defensive line as far as DEs are concerned than those of the Cowboys. PFF rated Reed as 92nd of 98 qualifying safeties. He had a 32.7 coverage grade (making Jeff Heath look good, but there was no point in knowing his grade as it was better than Blankenship last season, I expect). Reed allowed a 115.6 passer rating against him. Lastly, Donovan Wilson and Blankenship were only a point apart in their respective PFF ratings in the mid-40s. What is going on in these sites as “The Trenches” on Blogging the Boys thought it was a great idea to sign Blankenship. I’m worried the Jones’s probably monitor the sites and might think this is a good idea. I’m sure Eberflus was “pounding the table” much like Rod Marinelli did for Taco over Watt, let’s avoid disaster. I implore you to take another look as I know you are thoughtful on this site and point out this materialj before the Cowboys spend valuable FA money on Blankenship so that he can then be the second coming of Donovan Wilson.
Do a story about the rankings by PFF (who is not the be all and end all) regarding available FA safeties.
I will do you one better. I’ve created my own rankings system and I will use it to show Blankenship’s ranking to other top safeties in the league.