This Dallas Cowboys player is crucial to their future

The Dallas Cowboys miss having a stud at this position, but he may have arrived

To have a good team, you need your star players and the players that are just good at their job. The Dallas Cowboys may have found their guy at the defensive tackle spot. 2020 third-round pick Neville Gallimore is looking good lately.

When was the last time the Cowboys had a stud interior lineman? It was back in 2016 when Terrell McClain had the only good season of his career. Even then, he made 40 tackles but sacked opposing quarterbacks only 2.5 times.

You could bring up Michael Bennett from last season, but he only played nine of 16 games in Dallas after being acquired from the New England Patriots. The last time Dallas had a Pro Bowl interior lineman was in 2013 with Jason Hatcher.

I’m not saying Gallimore should be penciled in as a stud yet, but his play against the Pittsburgh Steelers was impressive. He accumulated three tackles with one for a loss of yards and one quarterback hit.

That stat line is by no means jaw-dropping. Basic stats do not give a good picture of the Canadian’s performance. He was a disruptive force that helped hold the Steelers to under 50 rushing yards.

The rookie was lining up in the A-gap between two longtime great offensive linemen in center Maurkice Pouncey and right guard David DeCastro. That’s not an easy task for any defensive lineman, nevermind a rookie.

Despite the tough matchup, we saw Gallimore penetrate the offensive line to take down running back Benny Snell Jr. and get in quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s face multiple times. That is something I have been looking for from him all season.

Dallas Cowboys: Neville Gallimore’s motor is revving

When you read his scouting reports, you would notice a couple of positive notes. People raved about his competitiveness and his workhorse mentality. Joe Marino of The Draft Network was one of those raving about Gallimore’s hustle.

"“Some really impressive reps of secondary effort and making plays simply on account of hustle.”"

We saw that level of competitiveness against the Steelers. He was so impressive that if you google his name, you will see a ton of articles raving about his performance and his potential. Well, add this article to the list.

While there aren’t many “great” interior linemen in the NFL, those that are in that category get praised. They have a large role in a team’s run defense and can make a quarterback very uncomfortable.

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Most interior linemen specialize in either run-stuffing or pass rushing. Gallimore showed success in both areas despite not sacking Roethlisberger.

The Dallas Cowboys have had a poor run defense for a couple of years now, in part because of the lack of stud players at defensive tackle. If Gallimore develops as those writing articles praising him and I believe, then it will help solidify the Cowboys’ defense.

Since watching some of his tapes at Oklahoma, I got excited to see him get to work and develop into the powerful tackle that Dallas has been missing. What do you think about Gallimore? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.