Recent Cowboys draft pick’s roster spot on life support thanks to Dan Quinn

Dan Quinn will eventually be remembered by Dallas Cowboys fans in a positive light. Quinn quickly transformed the Cowboys' defense into one of the most vaunted in the NFL. They never finished worse than seventh in points allowed in his three seasons as defensive coordinator.

However, the taste of the January wild card loss in which Quinn defense's surrendered 40 points, countless chunk plays and over 400 yards of offense to the 9-8 Packers is still very fresh.

Already a strong contender for public enemy No. 1 in Dallas, Quinn is now coaching the rival Commanders. You'd be hard-pressed to script a more seamless villain arc for a former beloved coordinator.

Fortunately, Cowboys reporters are swooning over Mike Zimmer in training camp and notice stark upgrades in Zimmer's teachings relative to Quinn's. Zimmer has a lot to clean up from his predecessor, but not even Zimmer might be cable of cleansing one of Quinn's last parting gifts.

Cowboys 2023 draft pick Viliami Fehoko could be on the chopping block

Quinn built up a lot of stock with the Cowboys over his three years as defensive coordinator so he had significant influence in the war room. As far as the 2023 draft is concerned, Quinn was a loud advocate for the selections of Mazi Smith, DeMarvion Overshown, Viliami Fehoko and Eric Scott Jr.

While Smith, Overshown and even Scott are all performing well under Zimmer, Fehoko has looked very ordinary on an already-middling Cowboys defensive line. John Owning of Pro Football Focus came away unimpressed by Fehoko in Friday's practice.

"While Fehoko's effort is always high, he just doesn't have the athletic ability to put even the reserve offensive linemen in trouble," writes Owning. "After being drafted for a Dan Quinn defense in 2023, he doesn't appear to be a great fit in Mike Zimmer's defense this season. It's still early, but Fehoko could be a surprise cut at the end of camp if he keeps performing like he did Friday."

That is a damning assessment of Fehoko. Unfortunately for the second-year pro, Landon McCool of the Locked on Cowboys podcast saw much of the same.

"There was just times (on Friday) when he's just getting manhandled," said McCool. "He can't get any traction as a pass rusher. He's not athletic enough to be a speed pass rusher. He's not strong enough to be a power tackle. I'm a little concerned he may not be a fit in this defense. They just might not have a hope for him."

That seems to be the general takeaway from Fehoko in Oxnard. Quinn obviously doesn't deserve all the blame if Fehoko doesn't pan out. It's an indictment on the scouting department and beloved vice president of player personnel Will McClay.

At the end of the day, though, Fehoko was drafted for Quinn's defense. A knee injury shelved Fehoko for four games in November, but he still wasn't active for a single game all season. That speaks volumes when you consider that the Cowboys were starved for help in the trenches.

There's still time for Fehoko to prove he can play in Zimmer's defense, but based on Owning and McCool's reporting it seems like the San Jose State product's roster spot is on life support just two weeks into camp.