3 things Dallas Cowboys must do for a shot at Super Bowl LVI
By Connor Green
2. Acquire competent players in their secondary
The Dallas Cowboys gave up the fifth-most points per game in the NFL this past season with 29.6. That fact is due in no small part to the teams’ porous secondary.
The Cowboys defense only managed to get ten interceptions in 2020, which was tied for the fifth-fewest in the league. However, that number is actually an improvement for the organization that finished 2019 with the fewest interceptions in the NFL with seven.
That means that over the past two seasons (32 games) Dallas has only managed to get seventeen interceptions as a team. The defenses’ inability to force turnovers has been a persistent problem. The teams’ secondary was also one of only seven in the league to allow opposing passers to have a passer rating over 100 in 2020.
Despite the units’ struggles over the past few seasons, the team did see the emergence of two promising young players in 2020. The Cowboys second-round draft pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, cornerback Trevon Diggs, finished the season with a team-high three interceptions and also led the team in pass deflections with 14 despite only playing 12 games. The organization also saw the emergence of hard-hitting safety Donovan Wilson.
The Cowboys will have a shot to address this pressing need in the offseason and in the upcoming NFL Draft. They could hope that either Alabama cornerback Patrick Surtain II or Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Farley falls to them at the tenth overall pick or they could aggressively pursue possible free-agent options at the position.
The emergence of Wilson and Diggs provides Dallas with a good foundation to build upon this offseason and into the future. However, the team will need to find them help this offseason if they want to be competitive against efficient passing teams like the Green Bay Packers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who they will likely need to beat in order to get a shot at the Lombardi trophy next year.