The lull of the offseason has become deafening and major media networks have no idea how to get viewership besides slandering anything and everything that is the Dallas Cowboys.
Instead of focusing on players rewarded with new contracts, they have to make their segment about how the Dallas Cowboys haven’t extended QB Dak Prescott or WR CeeDee Lamb.
They make a mountain out of a molehill with anything EDGE Micah Parsons says on his podcast and highlight vague social media posts as something bad.
July 23rd can’t get here soon enough. That’s the start of training camp in Oxnard, California. Dallas will resume joint practices after a hiatus of a few years. This time it’s the Los Angeles Rams.
Yesterday, I wrote an article about the top training camp battles for the offensive side of the ball. Today, we move to the defensive side.
The Cowboys lost a handful of players on the defensive side of the ball who were key contributors to Dan Quinn’s version of the defense. Enter Mike Zimmer to make the best of what’s left.
Dallas lost CB Stephon Gilmore, DE Dante Fowler Jr., DE Dorance Armstrong, LB Leighton Vander Esch, NT Johnathan Hankins, and S Jayron Kearse. Through the draft, they covered two of those positions and the rest are left to young players to battle for.
Here are my top training camp battles on the defensive side of the ball for the 2024 Dallas Cowboys.
Defensive End
In Mike Zimmer’s defense, the defensive line usually employs a heavy rotation to keep the players fresh for the 4th quarter. This makes the “starter” label not as important.
However, there are two main players at the top of that rotation, specifically the right defensive end spot.
Now entering his third season, Sam Williams looks to lead that rotation. Williams has shown flashes of good play over his first two seasons, but he always seems to balance every good play with an equally terrible one.
Penalties due to mental mistakes are Williams’ weakness. If he can improve on his discipline, the starting job is his to lose.
Behind him is the newest 2nd-round pick Marshawn Kneeland. Kneeland draws professional comparisons to his new teammate opposite the formation, DeMarcus Lawrence.
He is stout against the run but needs some development on the pass-rushing side. With players like Lawrence and Micah Parsons and coaches like Greg Ellis helping him, Kneeland could make an impact sooner rather than later.
He could push for the bulk of the rotational snaps at right defensive end if Williams doesn’t show up and show out as expected.
Nickel Cornerback
First, let me define the “Nickel” in Nickel cornerback. Nickel is a popular defensive package where instead of the usual four down linemen, three linebackers, and four defensive backs, one of those linebackers is taken off of the field in favor of another defensive back.
That defensive back is usually a cornerback, and for the purposes of this article, it will be.
Jourdan Lewis has been manning the Nickel cornerback spot for Dallas since he arrived from Michigan in 2017, and despite a couple of major injuries, he keeps coming back and resuming his role.
This year he is back on a one-year deal, but this time it doesn’t come without some competition.
Dallas used a 5th-round pick on Wake Forest CB Caelen Carson. Carson is what NFL scouts call a “field corner” (thanks Bryan Broaddus), meaning he has the ability to not only play on the boundary, but cover anywhere on the field.
Most Nickel cornerbacks are considered field corners because they have a heavy responsibility of covering in space. The battle between the veteran Lewis and the rookie Carson for the right to be that corner should be a good one.
Strong Safety
Strong safety is the first position that features a trio of players vying for snaps.
First, the incumbent Donovan Wilson is the favorite to keep the starting job, but he will have to play better than he did last season.
Wilson’s playmaking ability earned him a fat, new contract with the Cowboys just before the season kicked off, and promptly got injured. He struggled with a calf strain that limited him for most of the season.
Although he started returning to form later in the year, his absence opened up the door for two other players to show what they can do.
Markquese Bell is a strong safety who converted to linebacker last season in an emergency situation. Bell was excellent in run defense when he was able to run freely. He graded as one of the top linebackers in all of football but this season returns to his usual position.
If he can build on a strong 2023, he could supplant Wilson as the starter.
The other player with his name in the hat is Juanyeh Thomas. Thomas is another undrafted player to make noise on the Cowboys roster.
Thomas appeared in all 16 games of his rookie season, showing steady improvement as the season progressed. He will be another player who can steal a starting job with a strong training camp.