The Dallas Cowboys defense was one of the bigger surprises of the 2022 NFL season.

After a disastrous 2020 campaign, the Cowboys defense emerged as one of the better units in the league in 2021. The hiring of Dan Quinn as defensive coordinator in place of Mike Nolan certainly had a lot to do with that.

However, the personnel on the defensive side arguably played a bigger role in the impressive turnaround that saw the Dallas defense become a nightmare for offenses.

To be more specific: the duo of Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs helped create a machine on defense. Parsons is one of the biggest stars in the NFL after a wildly impressive rookie campaign. Diggs is the definition of a ballhawk that every team is in search of.

It is safe to say that both are among the brightest young defenders in the entire league. The Dallas Cowboys have to be thrilled to have both on the same unit for the foreseeable future.

Pick 2 young stars to build your defense around pic.twitter.com/EmeKiB8FfV

— PFF (@PFF) April 8, 2022

Parsons and Diggs were both named to the NFL first-team All-Pro team following last season. Micah Parsons proved to be a phenom at multiple positions on the defense, while Trevon Diggs led the league in interceptions.

The two make up an impressive core for the Cowboys to continue to build the defense around. Parsons is a freakish linebacker that is also a force rushing the passer. Diggs is the playmaker on the back-end, who is as good as taking the ball away as anyone in football.

Trevon Diggs will be looking for a contract extension soon — especially after watching his brother, Stefon, ink a big deal with the Bills. It will be interesting to see how the Cowboys handle that situation.

Assuming that gets situated when the time arrives, the Cowboys have, arguably, the best young defensive duo in football. That is extremely exciting, considering all of the porous defenses that the Cowboys have put on the field over the last two decades.

Featured image via Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports