What are the Dallas Cowboys biggest needs this offseason?
By Mitch Larson
Interior defensive line
Teams ran on the Dallas Cowboys totally at will last season. It didn’t matter who the running back was, if you were able to run forward with any amount of velocity while carrying a football, it was a pretty safe bet you were picking up positive yardage.
Case in point? The week four matchup with the Cleveland Browns when Dallas allowed 307 yards on the ground. To add even more insult to injury, the Browns leading rushers on that afternoon were a third-string running back and a wide receiver.
In 2020 the Dallas Cowboys allowed 2,541 yards on the ground last season, second only to the Houston Texans (2,564) and it wasn’t just volume, they allowed 5 yards per rushing attempt last season. When teams ran the ball, the defense turned into human turnstiles.
Given their dismal year, you can make an argument the single biggest need for this defense is a defensive tackle who is built to stop the run. The Cowboys thought they were covered in that department when they signed the big-bodied Dontari Poe and veteran Gerald McCoy last offseason. McCoy went down for the year with an injury early in training camp, while Poe performed so terribly that he was cut midseason right after signing a two-year deal.
Last season’s third-round pick, Neville Gallimore, showed plenty of promise but he will need help clogging the middle. A day two pick on interior defensive linemen is more than warranted, and maybe even a necessity.
A reunion with someone like McCoy could make sense if he’s healthy and willing to sign a low-risk, high-reward prove-it deal. Someone like Dalvin Tomlinson of the New York Giants could be an ideal fit. He graded out as the 25th interior linemen in football last season with a 75.1 grade on PFF and is a good run defender.
Tomlinson will be 27 this season and just entering his prime. By trade, new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is a defensive line coach. Expect the team to make upgrading the position a massive priority throughout the offseason.