For all the Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and running back talk, the Cowboys defense may be the thing that makes or breaks their 2024 campaign. After all, it was a 40+ points allowed defensive meltdown that ended their playoff hopes in January.
Things must be different in Dallas this time around, and with new Defensive Coordinator, Mike Zimmer, at the helm, the hope is he can make that happen.
It was his attention-to-detail ability that got him the job, and it was an absolute collapse in that same world that killed the Cowboys against Green Bay. I mean really, how much blown coverage was there in that game?
The hope is Zimmer can right the ship and keep these guys locked in on the prize towards the end of the season. Whether that works is not entirely up to him, though.
For all the changes Zimmer might bring, player performance is the most important thing.
So, with that in mind, let’s talk about the three guys on the Cowboys defense that hold the keys to success this season.
Trevon Diggs: Carrying the Cornerback Room
In 2023, a mid-season ACL tear to Trevon Diggs put the weight of the entire cornerback room on DaRon Bland’s shoulders. In 2024, the opposite has happened.
The news broke yesterday that the 2023 All-Pro and DPOY candidate, Bland, suffered a stress fracture in his left foot that is expected to knock him out for 6–8 weeks. For Diggs, this means it is his turn to carry the load in the secondary.
Coming off the knee injury, expectations have been sky-high for the former NFL interceptions leader, but his responsibility has grown even more now.
He will have 5th-round rookie, Caelen Carson, opposite of him on the outside.
While I am a huge fan of Carson’s game, you can bet who teams are going to rather throw to between him and Diggs.
This means the defense will be reliant on Diggs to be stronger in coverage than he ever has before, following and locking down WR1s to blunt the potential early struggles of the rookie.
If the Cowboys defense is going to be elite this season, Diggs will need an elite year himself.
Mazi Smith: Crucial Bounce Back Year
If 2023 1st-round pick, Mazi Smith, can’t bounce back with a year worthy of the 26th pick, the Cowboys run defense might be dead on arrival.
The 23-year-old Michigan alum had about as bad of a rookie season as you can have: just three games started, nine solo tackles, one sack, three tackles for loss, and a weight-loss controversy that had fans placing blame all over the place.
For Smith, it was a rough start to his young career, but he has the chance to scrap the memory of it completely for one main reason.
Despite this poor performance, his importance has not changed. Smith is still the DT2 on the depth chart behind Osa Odighizuwa, and he will be the main run-stuffer on the defensive line until further notice.
Yes, Dallas has added guys like Linval Joseph and rookie Justin Rogers, but the starting job is still firmly Smith’s to lose.
If the Cowboys defense can get a good year out of him, it would be huge.
The run defense, or lack thereof, has been a killer for Dallas for years, and they are hoping Smith puts an end to that in 2024.
Eric Kendricks: Leader of the Defense
Is it fair to put the success of a defense on the shoulders of a 32-year-old linebacker who is a couple of years past his prime? Probably not, but that is the situation the Cowboys are in.
This spring, Dallas signed Eric Kendricks to do just that. As the former head of Zimmer’s defense in Minnesota, the hope is he will lead with experience in 2024.
The Zimmer system is a new one for everybody except Kendricks, Joseph and Nick Vigil, and the ladder is the only one of those guys who will start and call plays for the entire defense.
Needless to say, his responsibility is huge.
Kendricks is coming into a linebacker corps that has been desolate since the Sean Lee days, and with nothing but young guys around him, it will be on him to carry the group both on the field and off it.
At least for the time being, it is on him, not Damone Clark, DeMarvion Overshown, or Marist Liufau to run the show. Those guys need to follow his example right now.
If Kendricks can’t do that, we might see a deeply inexperienced and raw group of linebackers in the postseason.
Simply put, we’ve seen that film before, and we did not like the ending.
The performance of Kendricks, like Diggs and Smith, is critical to the Cowboys defense unlocking their full potential this season.