Dallas City News

The Cowboys’ run defense is under fire once again this offseason. If that didn’t draw enough attention, there’s a new defensive coordinator in town and some interior linemen are set to become free agents. Dallas’ defensive tackles will be discussed a lot as we gear up for 2024.

While having the 16th-ranked run defense in 2023 isn’t all on the DTs, they certainly didn’t help. Even that mediocre ranking is favorably skewed; Dallas’ potent offense forced many teams to abandon the run in high-scoring games. But it was clear from individual contests that when opponents had the tools to exert their will, the Cowboys were ill-equipped to stop them.

Dallas’ best DT again the run was veteran tackle Johnathan Hankins, but he and rotation player Neville Gallimore are both free agents this year. While Gallimore will likely move on after four uninspiring years, Hankins may be brought back. He turns 32 in March but doesn’t have to play a heavy workload as a run-stuffing specialist.

Ideally, Dallas wouldn’t need Hankins if last year’s first-round pick, Mazi Smith, was ready to step into a larger role. But the team clearly isn’t sure what to make of him yet, with talk that they were asking him to shed pounds and move into more of a three-technique player last year.

Now that Dan Quinn’s gone and Mike Zimmer’s here, though, Smith may be asked to get back to the original idea of playing nose tackle. Hopefully, a full offseason of work and some fresh perspectives will help him to get back on track as a prospect. If Dallas can rely on Smith in 2024, it will help them manage an otherwise depleted DT depth chart.

DTs Under Contract for 2024

• Mazi Smith – $3.02m cap hit
• Osa Odighizuwa – $1.62m cap hit

While he didn’t have the breakout season that some projected, Osa Odighizuwa remained a solid, consistent starter in his third year. He’s good for 3-4 sacks and a couple of big plays a year, which isn’t bad given how much of the play-making goes to Micah Parsons and the other edge players. It’s more than fair production for a former third-round pick.

Again, if Odighizuwa and Smith were your clear starters then this wouldn’t be so daunting. And if they do re-sign Hankins, having him and Smith swap out during games and then another player or two for depth shouldn’t be hard. But the uncertainty around Smith’s second-season development means Dallas can’t take things lightly, particularly with run defense as one of the biggest weaknesses to address.

After spending a first on Smith last year the Cowboys aren’t likely to make another heavy investment at DT this offseason. But a second-day pick is possible, especially with Odighizuwa entering the final year of his rookie deal. Dallas might opt to draft someone now for the rotation with an eye on replacing Odighizuwa in 2025, hoping that Smith develops enough to give them a strong starting pair in the future.

Certainly, Mike Zimmer’s arrival will be a factor here. What does he think of Smith’s ideal role going forward? Will he focus more on the front line or the linebackers as the spot to improve run defense? Some of the strategies we could predict with the past regime may not be there now.

Whatever direction they take, Dallas obviously needs more than just Osa Odighizuwa and Mazi Smith on the DT depth chart next season. They could run it back by re-signing Johnathan Hankins and finding one or two more rotation guys, or make some changes depending on their new defensive coordinator’s input. Hopefully, the moves will help the move needle on the Cowboys’ chronic run-stopping issues next year.