Dallas Cowboys defense to be more multiple in 2020

The Dallas Cowboys will feature a multiple defensive look this upcoming season, which should benefit that side of the ball.

The Dallas Cowboys’ biggest issue last season wasn’t their offense, but their defense and poor special teams play. With a revamped coaching staff, we should see those two units drastically improve as it’s a primary focus for the organization.

As training camp kicked off, fans and the media are eager to see what happens on the defensive side of the ball.

One of the biggest areas of improvement was on the defensive line with the signing of defensive tackles Gerald McCoy, who suffered a season-ending ruptured quad tendon on Monday and Dontari Poe. While also adding two key defensive ends in Aldon Smith and Everson Griffen.

All of these acquired players will have a major impact for the Boys this season and I’m also curious to see how the rotation plays alongside the biggest defensive star in defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence.

The Cowboys defense was ranked 9th overall when it came to yards per game (327 yards per game), 10th in passing yards per game (223.5 yards per game) and 11th in rushing yards per game (103.5 yards per game).

However, the biggest area of concern was the turnovers. The bend but don’t break defense of last year simply won’t cut it for championship football. They had only 17 turnovers. Seven being interceptions and being forced fumbles ranking 19th in the NFL.

This gave the Cowboys a -1 turnover differential during the season, which will not help win many games. But under new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, takeaways are key, disguised coverage is important, and getting after the quarterback should be at a premium.

What will be different this year?

Training camp has just begun, football is back and we are all very excited. So within the Cowboys’ first few days of practice, we noticed multiple things on the defensive side of the ball for the Boys.

First, without giving away too much information we saw cornerback Chidobe Awuzie discuss the different types of coverage and how they plan to disguise them, as oppose to last year letting everyone in the world know exactly what coverage they’re in.

The Cowboy aren’t going to tell us exactly what they have planned for the rest of the league, especially with minimal time to prepare for Week 1. But we also can take notice of a possible 3-4 scheme with players such as Lawrence, Smith, and Griffin as possible stand-up players. Head coach Mike McCarthy compared Lawrence to Julius Peppers at Green Bay when he was used as a stand up edge player.

So far fans should be excited about the Cowboys on the defensive side of the ball with upgraded players during the draft and free agency and also a new scheme that will put the players in a better position to succeed.

For example, linebacker Jaylon Smith being moved over to Will linebacker will allow him to be more comfortable and he will be able to use his instincts to fly to the football.

The biggest defensive player I have my eye on during training camp is rookie cornerback Trevon Diggs, the team needs him to step up in a huge way after the loss of cornerback Byron Jones. As for the first few days, he’s impressed the coaching staff.

The Boys haven’t had this much talent on the defensive side of the ball in quite some time. If they can improve in a hurry we may have something to work with here in Big D and hopefully they’re able to shock the league.