Although the hiring of Brian Schottenheimer as head coach didn’t inspire much enthusiasm among fans, hype is building elsewhere. The 2025 Cowboys defense is getting people excited, and it may be for good reason.
Dallas, to this point, has been making moves that could lead to a major defensive improvement next season.
Whether that trend continues is yet to be seen. Between the re-signing period, free agency, and the draft, there is a lot of offseason left for them to damage their early progress.
For now, there are good signs for Dallas on the defensive side, and those signs could become even stronger if they play their cards right.
With that in mind, let’s look at three reasons why the Cowboys defense will improve next season.
Returning Talent: Healthy Stars Will Progress
If you look at the 2024 Dallas D on paper, it looks incredible, yet they ranked near the bottom of the league in both rush and pass defense.
The unit improved as the season went on and former Defensive Coordinator Mike Zimmer’s scheme started to take shape, but by the numbers, it was a disappointing season for a group of guys poised for much more.
There may be a better explanation for this than a simple underperformance, however.
Injuries killed the Cowboys in 2024, and the defense took the brunt of that trend; nearly every starter missed time at some point, and they didn’t have the depth to recover.
It bothers me that "injuries" is such a dominant point of conversation surrounding the Cowboys, considering their very obvious lack of depth was their own doing.
Losing Dak makes it a moot point, but they had him for 8 and a half weeks and did not look the part.
— Dave Helman (@davehelman_) December 23, 2024
Micah Parsons missed multiple games for the first time in his career, Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland played seven and eleven games respectively, and DeMarcus Lawrence appeared in a career-low four games.
If Dallas can have a healthier season for those guys, and young players like DeMarvion Overshown and Marshawn Kneeland, they’ll see improvement from that alone.
Coaching Staff: High-Level Hires In Dallas
Schottenheimer wasn’t a great hire, and the process to get there was a mess, but we can also give credit where it’s due.
The Cowboys are nailing their defensive coaching staff hires to this point.
Starting off with former Dallas assistant and recently fired Bears Head Coach, Matt Eberflus, the team acquired one of the best defensive coordinators in the game. His tenure in Chicago was bad, but his skills on defense are no joke.
They’ve also brought in Aaron Whitecotton, the former Jets defensive line coach, to take that same job in Dallas.
Aaron Whitecotton A+ hire.
Developed:
Bryce Huff ( 10+ sacks in 2023)
Jermaine Johnson
Will McDonald ( 10+ this year)Worked under Saleh in San Fran and Ny
Top 12 in pressure percentage and top 7 in sacks every year with Jets pic.twitter.com/6o8D2zU2o7
— (Foots The King) (@FootsDaKing) January 29, 2025
If you’re not familiar with Whitecotton, I don’t blame you, d-line coaches don’t exactly get much press. That said, he has developed a ton of pass-rush talent in New York, and Jets fans were crushed to hear he was leaving.
Two assistants to Eberflus in Chicago are also coming down, with Dave Borgonzi becoming the linebackers coach and Andre Curtis taking the secondary over.
All in all, this staff looks like one that could mold a dominant defense together, and fans should be excited about that.
NFL Draft: Elite Defensive Talent
If you’re already paying attention to the 2025 NFL Draft, you know how good the class is on the defensive side of the ball.
At the EDGE position alone, guys like Abdul Carter, James Pearce Jr., Nic Scourton, and Mike Green look like potential top-15 draft picks. Green, specifically, could garner interest from Dallas after a big-time Senior Bowl performance this week.
Mike Green isn’t an under-the-radar prospect. He’s firmly the darling amongst respected members within the draft community, to the point he should be in the Top 15 consideration. #Cowboys should be in the mix. pic.twitter.com/hASYAA7MBu
— Dominic White (@DomWWhite) January 20, 2025
All the talk to this point in the draft cycle has been around the offensive guys, like Ashton Jeanty and Luther Burden III, but do you remember what happened the last time the Cowboys defense added a 12th overall pick?
It was Parsons in 2021. If you think that won’t be on Jerry Jones’ mind heading into draft night, you don’t know Jerry Jones.
Regardless of where the Cowboys add defensive talent in the draft, you can bet they will at some point, and this class looks like one that could provide a ton of help in Dallas.
Zimmer was trash.
I understand the noise for Jeanty, but he will probably be gone by the time they pick. I can also see the reasoning for going defense on the first pick and then getting a really good RB in the second or third. Cowboys STILL need run stopping help for sure, so a DT makes a lot of sense in the first round (and maybe even another later on if value is there). It seems they just can’t get that problem figured out. They were 29th in the league vs the run this past year. Not good.
RB draft depth is very good, AND if Dowdle bolts, this scenario makes a lot of sense. Just one who may be drafted in the second is highly touted K Johnson (6.4 YPC) out of Iowa. I also like T Henderson out of Ohio State. He shared the backfield with Q Judkins and still got over 1000 yards and had a great 7.1 YPC average (a tad better than Jeanty). Sharing the backfield means he probably has less wear and tear on his tires which is obviously a good thing.
Filling two major holes effectively.