Can these two young Cowboys pass rushers find early success?
With serious voids along their defensive line, the Dallas Cowboys looked to two second-year defenders to step up for the first month of the season.
The Dallas Cowboys knew they were going to be shorthanded, forced to play without their two top pass rushers for the first month of the upcoming regular season. Despite this knowledge, the team elected not to address their defensive line needs until the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Now, with their two top rookie defensive selections out due to injury, the team looks to two second-year players to fill the growing void along the D-line and hopefully find early success.
Already one of the more lackluster pass rushing defenses in the NFL, the Cowboys instantly downgraded themselves even further after defensive ends Randy Gregory and DeMarcus Lawrence were suspended by the league for violating the substance abuse policy.
The Cowboys did sign free agent defensive tackle Cedric Thornton and restricted free agent defensive end Benson Mayowa earlier this offseason to help fill holes left by former players like Greg Hardy, Jermey Mincey and Nick Hayden. They also drafted Nebraska defensive tackle Maliek Collins and Oklahoma defensive end Charles Tapper in the third and fourth rounds of April’s NFL Draft respectively.
With just over a month before training camp begins, both Mayowa and Collins are now out due to injury. With each being new to the team, both will likely struggle to catch up whenever they slowly return from their aliments.
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With potentially four defensive lineman out or behind when the regular season starts, the Cowboys have clearly shifted their focus to two second-year players to help fill the void in the meantime. They are defensive ends David Irving and Ryan Russell.
Irving initially impressed after the Cowboys swiped the undrafted rookie out of Iowa State off of the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad last season. Playing at defensive tackle, the 6-7, 273 pound defender was an impressive disruptor and displayed a unique ability to bend for an athlete with his lengthy frame.
The Cowboys are hoping to take advantage of those attributes as they appear to be moving Irving to defensive end this offseason. The 22-year old recorded 13 total tackles, 0.5 sack and had one pass defend in 12 games.
After being active just one game last season, Russell was an unlikely candidate to start at defensive end for the Cowboys this season. Dallas’ 2015 fifth round pick out of Purdue came into the league with an impressive physical presence (6-5, 275 pounds). But he also had a label as being very inconsistent. That fact is likely the reason Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli rode the rookie like Seabiscuit last offseason.
This year, reports coming out of OTA’s indicate Russell has turned a corner. So much so, even Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was recently singing the 23-year old’s praises (along with Irving’s). Obviously, getting excited over offseason play is a little like buying an engagement ring for a someone you haven’t even met yet. Still, any good news concerning the Cowboys defensive line is a win for fans right now.
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Either Irving or Russell are expected to start opposite Mayowa at defensive end for the Cowboys when the regular season begins. Their performances during training camp will be one of the more intriguing positional battles to watch. Let’s see if their positive momentum from the offseason carries over into camp, the preseason…and into September.