Cowboys top-10 free agent additions under Will McClay’s guidance

2. Malik Hooker, S, 2021

One of the major changes, when Dan Quinn took over as defensive coordinator for Dallas in 2021, was the emphasis on safety play. For years, the staff in Big D tried to use Band-Aid solutions, and while they found some late-round success with players such as Xavier Woods, the unit as a whole left a lot to be desired.

This changed when Quinn arrived as they signed three safeties that offseason and drafted one more. First, they added Jayron Kearse and Damontae Kazee in free agency and drafted Israel Mukuamu from South Carolina, who was moving from cornerback to safety.

Late in the process, Malik Hooker was added on a one-year deal as he was recovering from a ruptured Achilles suffered the year prior. A former first-round pick for the Indianapolis Colts, Hooker had all the talent but struggled with durability. That hasn’t been the case for the Cowboys, as he’s suited up for 31 games in two seasons.

In his first year with America’s Team, he slowly worked his way back from his Achilles injury as Kazee was the primary starter. Quinn had experience with Kazee in Atlanta as well, which helped as he was installing his defense.

Hooker still appeared in 15 games with three starts and had 44 tackles and one pick. It was enough for him to sign a two-year extension and he heads into 2023 on the heels of his best season as a pro. He finished with 62 tackles, three interceptions, three pass defenses, and a fumble recovery which he took back to the house.

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Hooker technically started just six games with Donovan Wilson and Kearse getting the majority of the snaps to open the game but he was a main fixture in the defense and the best on the team at playing the centerfield role.