The 2023 Cowboys Linebackers: Grading the Group

The Dallas Cowboys will probably have a completely different approach to their defense in the 2024 season.

Dan Quinn has left to be the head coach of the rival Washington Commanders and has already poached a coach from the Cowboys’ staff.

Joe Whitt Jr., Cowboys’ defensive passing game coordinator, and Quinn protege, has also landed in Washington for his first defensive coordinator gig.

Al Harris, defensive backs coach, could also soon follow as a member of the Washington defensive coaching staff in some capacity.

I believe the Cowboys’ defense has enough talent in the secondary to be fine with the coaching losses, but another unit isn’t so fortunate.

Today, I continue grading the Cowboys by position group, and linebackers are on the docket.

We previously discussed the interior defensive line followed by the defensive ends.

It’s no secret that the Cowboys struggled to field proper personnel at the linebacker position this season.

We probably won’t ever know if the dilemma at linebacker was due to the stubbornness of the front office or Dan Quinn himself.

Quinn’s base look in 2023 was one linebacker supported by one or two safeties as the backup to defend the run.

It was a glaring weakness in the defense that was often exploited by good running teams.

The grades tell us just how poor the linebacker play was this season for the Dallas Cowboys.

All grades and ranks are provided by Pro Football Focus Premium.

Players who did not appear in at least 10 games will be excluded from the final rankings.

Linebacker

If we look at the situation from strictly an official position standpoint, the Cowboys only fielded one true linebacker after the Leighton Vander Esch injury.

Another player pantomimed as a linebacker from a different position, but only two players lined up at the linebacker position the majority of the time.

Damone Clark

PFF Overall (NFL Rank): 61.8 (62nd)
PFF Rush Defense (NFL Rank): 54.7 (83rd)
PFF Tackling (NFL Rank): 83.5 (2nd)
PFF Pass Coverage (NFL Rank): 69.1 (29th)

Damone Clark entered his second season with high expectations, but I don’t believe he was able to live up to the hype.

Clark led the Cowboys in tackles (109), and his 2nd overall ranked tackling grade means he was able to make the play when in position.

The problem is that he was often out of position or flushed out of the play by offensive linemen, and made the plays further down the field.

That is the main reason there is such a discrepancy between his tackling grade and his overall linebacker grade.

Grade: C-

Clark had the monumental task of being forced into the number one linebacker role on Dan Quinn’s defense after injuries to both Vander Esch and rookie 3rd-round pick DeMarvion Overshown.

Next season will tell us whether or not the poor play was a stunt in his development or if the scheme did him no favors.

For this season, he was often late to react or easily pushed out of the play by offensive linemen reaching the second level.

Markquese Bell

PFF Overall (NFL Rank): 79.9 (14th)
PFF Rush Defense (NFL Rank): 62.9 (72nd)
PFF Tackling (NFL Rank): 79.7 (10th)
PFF Pass Coverage (NFL Rank): 87.6 (3rd)

Markquese Bell is a favorite of Dan Quinn and was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Florida A&M University.

Bell, a safety in college, took on the challenge of switching positions to linebacker to help a defense decimated by injury.

He played well, grading out higher than true LB Damone Clark in overall grade and rush defense.

However, standing at just 205 pounds, Bell was easily pushed out of the play by offensive linemen versus teams determined to run the ball.

Grade: B+

Despite the Cowboys’ rush defense being poor as a whole, I do think Bell was a bright spot.

As an undersized linebacker, it was typical that he graded so well in coverage.

Bell allowed 68% of passes as the nearest defender to be completed and allowed just one touchdown pass.

He was graded as the 10th-best tackler in the league amongst linebackers, finishing better in that metric than big names such as Roquan Smith and Devin White.

For what he was asked to do this season, he played more than fair.