Why the Cowboys signing Malik Hooker would be a great move
The Dallas Cowboys are in a prime position to sign safety Malik Hooker who is a former first-round pick. Hooker likely wasn’t drawing much interest from other teams after tearing his Achilles last season. However, now the former Ohio State star is expected to sign with America’s Team.
The signing isn’t official yet as the Cowboys will probably go through one last physical with Hooker hoping everything looks fine. Additionally, the 25-year-old safety has to enter a five-day COVID testing period that should end on Wednesday.
If everything works out, Dallas is expected to sign the former Indianapolis Colts safety. With the recent signing of cornerback Kyron Brown (who is the 90th man on their roster), the Cowboys would need to make room to sign Hooker.
Nonetheless, acquiring Hooker will likely make the Cowboys’ safety group in a much tougher situation. Adding him to this unit creates some speculation as to what the Cowboys plan to do with Damontae Kazee. Earlier this offseason, Dallas chose Kazee or Hooker. However, now it looks like both players will be fighting for that starting spot.
It’s hard to predict if the Cowboys have other plans for Hooker like moving him to strong safety. Nevertheless, he probably wouldn’t start over safety Donovan Wilson as the third-year player had a breakout season in 2020. Wilson had 71 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles last season.
Was signing Hooker a solid move for the Dallas Cowboys or did it just create more problems?
Signing Hooker likely created more problems in the secondary with Kazee and Wilson. However, acquiring the 25-year-old safety can arguably turn out to be one of the greatest offseason moves for the Dallas Cowboys.
Although Hooker has dealt with injuries most of his career (playing in only 36 of 64 games), when healthy he has the talent to make plays all over the field. After all, he was a first-round pick (15th overall) for a reason. In 36 career games, he has seven interceptions, 11 passes defended and 124 total tackles.
Yet, it is a little worrisome that no other team wanted Hooker. According to his past injury history, he has an 85% chance of getting hurt and is projected to miss at least three games in 2021. Additionally, the former All-American has never played a full 16 game season.
However, the Cowboys must have seen something in Hooker’s physical that is encouraging. The 25-year-old ran a 4.47 40 time back in 2017 with a wingspan of 78.875 inches. His wingspan is larger than both Kazee’s (73.125 inches) and Wilson’s (78 inches).
The height and size of Hooker make him a strong candidate to get plenty of playing time with the Dallas Cowboys. He also likely has the tools and skills to make this secondary much better than it was a season ago. Don’t forget at Ohio State, the 6-foot-1 safety had seven interceptions (three for touchdowns) and 74 tackles in his final season with the Buckeyes.
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The only thing that is holding back the young 25-year-old safety is injuries. Through his short four-year career, he has torn his MCL, ACL, meniscus, and Achillies. However, if Hooker manages to stay healthy for the majority of the season, this could turn out to be a steal for the Cowboys this offseason.