Cowboys urgently have to make one more addition even after acquiring two players in 24 hour span
Within a 24-hour span, the Dallas Cowboys made two defensive line additions the team desperately needed. And yes, desperately gets thrown around a lot in the world sports but let me be clear: That is not an overstatement in this case.The Cowboys had virtually no proven backups at defensive tackle nor at defensive end. Heck, […]
Within a 24-hour span, the Dallas Cowboys made two defensive line additions the team desperately needed. And yes, desperately gets thrown around a lot in the world sports but let me be clear:
That is not an overstatement in this case.
The Cowboys had virtually no proven backups at defensive tackle nor at defensive end. Heck, they should still be in the market for more! But we'll get to that later. First, let's get to the additions already in place and why they happened.
Jordan Phillips: Cowboys finally address glaring roster hole
The Cowboys added nose tackle Jordan Phillips in a trade with the New York Giants in a move that was essentially free, as the division rivals swapped 2026 sixth and seventh round draft picks.
Phillips might not be enough to excite fans expecting some sort of Pro Bowl-caliber help in the trenches, but the tough reality is Phillips represents a significant upgrade over what was on the Cowboys' depth chart. That's including Carl Davis, who was waived in a corresponding move, and seventh-round rookie Justin Rogers. Additionally, the recently-signed Albert Huggins struggled versus the Los Angeles Rams in the preseason opener and was kicked off from practice on Tuesday after unnecessarily knocking down a member of the Rams staff.
The lack of depth was seriously concerning when taking into account Mazi Smith is largely unproven at tackle. Last year, he basically had to play a different role for Dan Quinn's defense due to weight struggles, meaning he'll be unexperienced at his 2024 role. Behind Mazi, the Cowboys had no one.
Even if Phillips' impact is limited to being a rotational player to keep Mazi's legs fresh, that should be considered a win for Dallas.
Carl Lawson's arrival finally happened
Lawson and Cowboys fans have been flirting with each other since the 2017 NFL Draft and now the two parties are finally together. After working him out earlier in training camp, Zimmer got Lawson on board weeks before the start of the regular season and immediately looks like a 53-man roster lock.
Lawson has dealt with plenty of injuries in his career, which has cost him the chance at being a starter in the league. However, when healthy, Lawson's production can't be questioned, as John Owning detailed on Twitter/X:
"In every season he's played at least 300 pass-rush snaps, Carl Lawson has recorded at least 50 pressures and better than a 14.5% pass-rush win rate," Owning posted in a breakdown of Lawson.
Behind Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, the Cowboys only had second-round rookie Marshawn Kneeland to be excited about at defensive end, which was probably unfair to the rookie following Sam Williams' season-ending injury. Adding Lawson will be huge for Kneeland and for the team's DE room, which will get interesting with Viliami Fehoko Jr. and Chauncey Golston seemingly moving to the position full-time and abandoning their previous hybrid DL roles.
The Cowboys need to make one more addition
The Cowboys tried to build upon Dan Quinn's love for versatile defensive linemen that can do both end and tackle. They gave Golston and Fehoko Jr. a chance to play inside as well as on the edge. After the team pressured Rams QB Stetson Bennett five times in 41 dropbacks, Mike Zimmer is done with the experiment.
Earlier this week, Zimmer told reporters he'd play both of the above more at end. This should seriously benefit their playing styles, as Fehoko Jr. was pushed around when lined up at tackle versus the Rams.
But the decision also means the backup to the Cowboys' three-tech defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa is… *checks notes*… um, there's no one on this list. No, seriously, this is the Cowboys DT room at the time of this writing:
- Mazi Smith (nose)
- Osa Odighizuwa (three technique)
- Jordan Phillips (nose)
- Justin Rogers (nose)
- Denzel Daxon (nose)
If the Cowboys want to keep Osa's legs as fresh as possible, this DT room needs a new face and it needs it urgently.
Cowboys’ Markquese Bell is giving coaches a problem everyone in the NFL wants to have
He’s fighting for more.
