How many sacks can the Cowboys new-look defense get in 2020?

The Dallas Cowboys defensive personnel has been a roller coaster ride this offseason. How many sacks can they get?

If you were in the car with me yesterday as I was driving home, you might have heard me scream. That was when I found out that recently-signed free-agent defensive tackle Gerald McCoy was out for the season with a ruptured quadriceps as reported by Nick Shook at NFL.com.

Over this offseason, I’d been getting more and more excited with each move the Cowboys’ front office made.  So, this injury to a Pro Bowl-caliber player hit me pretty hard.

If you’ve forgotten, let me remind you of the rollercoaster ride this offseason has been in regards to the defense. First, when free agency began, they quickly lost veteran defensive tackle Maliek Collins, Pro Bowl cornerback Byron Jones, and long-time GOAT safety Jeff Heath. All of this was expected, but the one that really hurt was losing 11.5 sack defensive end Robert Quinn.

If you’ve been reading my articles this offseason, I have consistently described Quinn with his sack count, because, well, he made 11.5 sacks. It was big fun watching the guy opposite DeMarcus Lawrence.

So, I might have screamed like a little girl again when the Chicago Bears signed Quinn, the free agent pass rusher, to a $70 million contract. Yeah, I know. I’m emotional about the Cowboys. So, sue me.

But things started to look up soon thereafter. After years of barely adequate defensive tackle play, America’s Team finally prioritized the position, signed the aforementioned six-time Pro Bowler Gerald McCoy, and another Pro Bowler in nose tackle Dontari Poe.

I was so excited! Finally, some beef up front! Then, they also signed veteran safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Then came the draft and the following defensive acquisitions: cornerbacks Trevon Diggs and Reggie Robinson II, another defensive tackle in Neville Gallimore, and pass rusher Bradlee Anae.

All of this sounded good, but to many of us, there was still the loss of Quinn to replace. The Cowboys signed former San Francisco 49er Aldon Smith, he of 19.5 sacks, but that was way back in 2012.

That didn’t exactly quell the uncertainty because he hadn’t played since 2015. In response, the front office finally acquired former Minnesota Viking pass rusher Everson Griffen, a veritable sack machine, just last Friday.

Now, we were cooking with gas as the old timers like to say. You should have seen me. I might as well have been rubbing my hands together and licking my lips, picturing the coming starting defensive line of Lawrence, Poe, McCoy, and Griffen. Four Pro Bowlers along the line! I was so pumped!

But let’s face it, I was counting the Cowboys’ chickens before they hatched. And that must be why God decided to put McCoy out for the season. It was my hubris. Please apologize to the future Hall of Famer for me. It’s all my fault!

A day later, drying my eyes, I’m starting to recover, and I’ve wondered how many sacks this defense might be capable of generating. Dallas made 39 sacks last year, but as I’ve mentioned, the team lost some firepower.

Accordingly, let’s start by totaling up the number of sacks individual members of the defense made last year: