Pro Football Focus makes perfect pick for Cowboys most underrated player

The current version of the Dallas Cowboys' roster is the deepest we've seen in years. By bringing back Donovan Wilson and Leighton Vander Esch and trading for Stephon Gilmore and Brandin Cooks, we could be looking at one of the top-five most talented rosters in the entire league.

Who knows? If the 2023 draft class exceeds expectations, it stands to reason the Cowboys could further ascend up the rankings.

While Micah Parsons, Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Zack Martin, and Tony Pollard stick out as the most notable players on the roster, Trevon Diggs, Donovan Wilson, Jayron Kearse, Cooks, and DeMarcus Lawrence form quite a secondary tier of players.

It's easy for some players to get overlooked given how much talent is on the team. With that, who'd be your pick for Dallas' most underrated player?

There are no shortage of candidates to choose from, but Pro Football Focus' William Moy believes Malik Hooker should take the cake.

Is Malik Hooker the Cowboys most underrated player?

Here's why PFF believes Hooker is Dallas' most underrated player.

"Hooker was one of 29 safeties last season to log at least 1,000 defensive snaps and among that group, he ranked fourth in overall grade and was just one of two safeties within that group to have both a coverage grade (74.8) and run defense grade (76.0) north of 70.0. Hooker ranked first among safeties last season by allowing just 0.19 yards per coverage snap."

Hard to argue against those numbers. Largely viewed as the third party of the Cowboys' three-headed monster at safety, Hooker put together the most complete season of his career in 2022. He looked the part in 2021, but took his game to another level with a year of experience in Dan Quinn's system.

Hooker was drafted as a ballhawk safety out of Ohio State. Incredibly, the former first-round pick wears many hats in Quinn's scheme. He admittedly played 715 snaps at free safety, per PFF, but logged a combined 132 between the box and nickel, which speaks to his versatility as a run defender and cover safety.

Further, Hooker's three interceptions were the most since his rookie year in 2017. He also posted career-highs in tackles, tallied his first career defensive touchdown, allowed one TD in coverage and missed only four tackles.

And yet, he's close to the 10th player you think of when discussing Dallas' defense. Parsons, Lawrence, Diggs, Wilson, Jayron Kearse, Vander Esch and even Anthony Brown and Jourdan Lewis before their season-ending injuries are all players that come to mind before Hooker.

Consider the 27-year-old underrated no longer. He's entrenched as a chess piece of Quinn's defense and will position himself for another contract with the franchise (his runs out after next season) if he performs like he did in 2022.