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Dallas Cowboys defensive depth best it’s been in years

By Steven Mullenax

LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 29: Defensive end Tyrone Crawford #98 of the Dallas Cowboys, Demarcus Lawrence #90, and David Irving #95 celebrate after defeating the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field on October 29, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - OCTOBER 29: Defensive end Tyrone Crawford #98 of the Dallas Cowboys, Demarcus Lawrence #90, and David Irving #95 celebrate after defeating the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field on October 29, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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Despite all the unanswered questions surrounding the Dallas Cowboys this offseason, the depth on their defense appears to be the best it’s been in years.

Certainly, there are several unknowns circling the Dallas Cowboys right now. Will the Cowboys’ passing game take a dive without wide receiver Dez Bryant in the lineup? Who will start at tight end? Are the Cowboys soft in the interior of their defensive line? Who will be the team’s starter at free safety?

All of these questions will be answered once the regular season kicks off. All we can do now is judge this team by the moves they’ve made this offseason and the roster of talent currently filling up the depth chart.

With that in mind, we have a sense of the Cowboys’ depth. And according to longtime defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli, who came to Dallas back in 2014, the talent on defense is deeper than it’s been in years.

"“Since I’ve been here, it’s probably the deepest group,” replied Marinelli when asked about the depth on the defensive side this season via DallasCowboys.com. “We’re going to have some dogfights I think. Not just to make the team, but make the eight and then come down to the top four. I like rolling eight guys in a game, fresh. I think that really adds dividends to us towards the end of the year.”"

The Cowboys are overflowing with talent at two different positions: defensive end and cornerback.

DeMarcus Lawrence, Taco Charlton, Tyrone Crawford, Kony Ealy and rookie Dorance Armstrong stack the defensive end depth chart. That’s not even including potential contributors like Charles Tapper and Randy Gregory.

At cornerback, Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis, Byron Jones, Anthony Brown, Marquez White and Duke Thomas make up one of the most talented and youngest positional groups on the entire roster. Throw in a trio of undrafted prospects in Donovan Olumba, Kam Kelly and Charvarius Ward; and new defensive backs coach Kris Richard has a plethora of talented corners to develop this summer.

The Cowboys also have a talented trio of starting linebackers in Sean Lee, Jaylon Smith and 2018 first round selection Leighton Vander Esch. But the depth is very average at the position with the disappointing Damien Wilson leading the way. Other names like Justin March-Lillard, Joe Thomas and rookie Chris Covington all figure to play limited roles as well.

The two most concerning areas of the defense are at defensive tackle and safety. Starting defensive tackle Maliek Collins is recovering from his third foot-related injury in three years. Fellow starter David Irving was unable to participate during voluntary OTA’s due to being out of shape and undisclosed off-the-field issues.

That left Jihad Ward, the player Dallas traded wide receiver Ryan Switzer to the Oakland Raiders for during April’s draft, and Datone Jones starting inside for the Cowboys during OTA’s. Relative unknowns Brian Price, Richard Ash and Daniel Ross were also in the mix. To counter this lack of depth, Dallas could elect to go defensive end heavy in 2018, shifting some of them inside when needed.

At safety, it seems like a good bet Jeff Heath will be the Cowboys’ starting strong safety for the second-year in a row. Byron Jones was moved to cornerback this offseason by Richard. That leaves Xavier Woods as the Cowboys likely starter at free safety.

Fellow former sixth rounder Kavon Frazier is a hard-hitter who provides solid depth for the position. He’s joined by Marqueston Huff, Jameill Showers and undrafted rookie Tyree Robinson.

Unless one of those three just balls out this summer, I could see Dallas going light at the position. The Cowboys might place just three safeties on their active roster post-final cuts, as both Byron Jones and Chidobe Awuzie can provide emergency depth if needed.

Next: The all-time best defenders to wear the Star

At the end of the day, this may be the most talented and deepest defense the Dallas Cowboys have fielded in a long time. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have several issues of their own to iron out before the regular season begins.

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