Grading the Cowboys defensive position groups midway through the 2022 season

The heart and soul of the 2022 Dallas Cowboys has been the defense. Led by Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs, and DeMarcus Lawrence, the defensive unit has been a fun one to watch leading up to the bye week.

Dan Quinn has this defense rolling for the second season in a row, but not in the same exact way as last season. Last year, a lot of the team’s success was due to the amount of turnovers they created. Now, a lot of the success is due to the team being able to get to the other team’s quarterback.

This should be a fun one to grade. Starting with the defensive line, arguably the best group of the unit, I will be grading each position group by their performance so far in 2022. As a note in advance, Parsons will be talked about in both the defensive line and linebacker unit, talking about how he effects each group individually.

Grading the Cowboys’ defense halfway through the 2022 season

Defensive Line

As I mentioned before, a ton of this defense’s success has been linked to their ability to get to the quarterback. One simple stat can help build that case. The Cowboys currently, prior to Week 9 games, lead the NFL in sacks with 33, seven more than the next highest team (49ers with 26).

If that isn’t enough for you, the team also leads the NFL in total pressures as well with 95. Led by Parsons with eight sacks, Dorance Armstrong is having a breakout year himself with five sacks, then Lawrence follows with four, which is also tied with newcomer Dante Fowler.

While the defensive line has done a great job at forcing pressure on its opposition, they aren’t perfect. The run defense could certainly be better, especially after most recently surrendering over 240 rushing yards to the Chicago Bears in Week 8. The defense has allowed the seventh-most rushing yards in the league.

Overall, the pros certainly outweigh the cons in this group. This is some pass rush we haven’t seen in Dallas for a while. The line needs to keep this up, and hopefully, if they don’t, it’s because they’re working really hard to work on their run-stopping ability.

Grade: A

Linebackers

The linebacker group for the Cowboys has been probably the weakest link of the defense, but that’s more a testament to how well everyone is playing rather than the unit playing poorly. Headlined by Parsons yet again, he has been all over the field making plays that he’s essentially doing the job of a linebacker despite lining up in a three-point stance part of the time.

Other than No. 11, Leighton Vander Esch has played very well this season. While he isn’t the fastest guy on the field, he is one of the surest tacklers on the team. He is second on the team in tackles with 57 and also has two tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and a pass deflection. He also has missed just 3.4% of his tackles.

Aside from LVE and Parsons, newcomer Anthony Barr has been solid as well, totaling 31 tackles, one tackle for loss, a pass deflection, and a fumble recovery along with five pressures. Damone Clark also made his way onto the field in Week 8 and played 40 snaps, providing a lot of speed on the defense.

The linebacker group is actually shaping up quite nicely. They are still seen as the weaker part of the defense, but the fact that they are still playing at the very least a league-average level tells the story of how good this defense is.

Grade: B-

Cornerbacks

The secondary has been overshadowed this season. They’ve played quite tremendously and that is getting disregarded because of how well the pass rush is doing. Led by Trevon Diggs, the cornerback room deserves a good amount of credit.

The defense as a whole has allowed the third-fewest yards per pass attempt at 5.5 per throw, while also allowing just eight passing touchdowns. They’ve also done a phenomenal job of limiting big plays, which was the Achilles’ heel for this secondary a season ago.

Diggs himself has become a lot stickier in coverage. While he is not on pace to top his 11 interceptions from last year, he has limited big plays more than he did last year. On the other side of the field, Anthony Brown has been decent, allowing a 61% completion percentage so far this season along with three pass deflections.

DaRon Bland and Jourdan Lewis have manned the slot corner position. Lewis allowed a rough 82.8% completion percentage at the spot, but Bland has been impressive at the spot, starting two games in Lewis’s place. He has one interception and allowed just four catches on five targets for 25 yards against the Bears.

Safeties

The safety room is loaded. With Malik Hooker, Jayron Kearse, and now the re-emergence of Donovan Wilson, the safety group is wreaking havoc on the field. The amount of speed and fire this unit plays with really brings the defense to another level.

Wilson currently leads the team in tackles with 59 and also constantly ends up in the backfield. He has a league-leading 21 run stops and also has three sacks and nine pressures on the year. His presence on the line of scrimmage is unlike most safeties, giving the Cowboys a versatile weapon most teams don’t have.

Kearse has been solid while he’s on the field. He has struggled in coverage, allowing the most yards out of the group, but he has been serviceable stopping the run. Hooker has been tremendous in coverage, allowing just three catches on three targets for 16 yards and an interception.

Overall, the group has been stellar, and you couldn’t ask much more of them. Aside from Kearse needing to be better and coverage and Wilson needing to clean up some tackling issues, the group has been a catalyst for this defensive unit as a whole.

Grade: A

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