The Dallas Cowboys have done an excellent job of finding defensive line talent in the NFL Draft and free agency over the last several years.

In 2022, the Cowboys ranked fourth in the league in sacks with 55, led by the 13.5 put up by All-Pro Micah Parsons. It's the pressure that Dallas gets up front on defense that has been the catalyst for leading the NFL in turnovers for the last two seasons. 

Pro Football Focus recently dropped its rankings of the best defensive lines heading into the 2023 campaign, and the Cowboys came at No.8 on the list. 

The Cowboys defense led the NFL in pressure percentage last year, but only edge defenders Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence earned PFF grades over 70.0 on the defensive line.

While Parsons is undoubtedly an unstoppable pass-rusher and one of the best defenders in the NFL, Lawrence is entering his 10th season and just earned a PFF grade below 75.0 for the first time since 2016.

Although Dallas added interior defender Mazi Smith in the first round, the talent around the two edge defenders stops Dallas from ranking higher on this list.

The praise for Parsons and Lawrence is warranted. However, PFF misses the boat on the talent inside. 

Probably the most glaring oversight is Osa Odighizuwa, especially considering PFF gave props to the depth of the interior in Dallas last month. In addition to his 849 reps in the B-gap, Odighizuwa has logged 92 in the A-gap and nearly 300 over or outside of the tackle during his career. His four sacks last season doubled his rookie total and his pass-rush and run-defense grades took significant jumps in 2022 as well.

Bringing back nose tackle Johnathan Hankins is one of the most underrated moves by the Cowboys this offseason. His presence as an anchor and drawing double teams made the Cowboys' run defense look a lot better than years past before he suffered a pectoral injury last year that forced him to miss the last month of regular season action. The combination of Hankins with Mazi Smith will be hard to run against.

The value of other Cowboys' edge rushers was overlooked as well.

Dante Fowler registered six sacks for Dallas last year without having a single start, and the Cowboys re-signed him for the upcoming season. Dorance Armstrong finished second to Parsons with 8.5 sacks and Sam Williams made the best of his rookie reps with four sacks and three forced fumbles.

It's easy to get lost in the sauce with the prowess of Parsons taking down quarterbacks and Lawrence being one of the best run-stoppers on the edge in the league. However, the Cowboys are pretty loaded with talent and depth on the defensive line on the interior and the outside. 

Feature image via Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports