For a long time, the Dallas Cowboys operated under a very specific set of roster-building rules that essentially treated the middle of the defense like a bargain bin at a thrift store. If you played defensive tackle or safety, you were likely either a mid-round project or a veteran looking for a one-year prove-it deal.
Those days are no more.
The front office has completely flipped the script on how they value the interior of the defensive line and the back end of the secondary, turning two historical
afterthoughts into the high-priced anchors of what they hope will be a revamped defense.
The defensive tackle position used to be the ultimate example of the team being hesitant to spend. In a time not so long ago, the Cowboys acted like using a premium draft pick on a nose tackle was a cardinal sin. Instead, they became the masters of the third-round swing, hoping to find gold with players like Maliek Collins, Neville Gallimore, and Osa Odighizuwa. While those guys had their moments, they were never the dominant game-changers that a truly elite defense needs to stop the run and push the pocket from the inside.
When the team finally decided to up the ante and spend real capital, the results were, well, less than ideal. They used a second-round pick on Trysten Hill in 2019 and a first-round pick (26th overall) on Mazi Smith in 2023, both of which ended up being complete failures. It was a discouraging stretch that made fans wonder if the team was cursed when it came to drafting big men early. It seemed like every time they tried to address the middle of the line with a premium pick, they ended up worse than where they started.
The free agency route was not much kinder to them either. Dallas tried to patch the holes with veteran names, but the list of misses grew faster than the win column. Gerald McCoy signed a big deal only to get injured in his first practice, Dontari Poe struggled with weight and conditioning before being cut mid-season, and Cedric Thornton never quite fit the scheme. It was a revolving door of disappointment that left the Cowboys looking for a permanent solution to a problem they had been trying to solve with spare parts and wishful thinking.
Everything changed when the front office reallocated its biggest resource by flipping Micah Parsons for a package that included veteran Kenny Clark and two first-round picks. They did not stop there, using one of those acquired picks to trade for Quinnen Williams at the trade deadline last season. It was a bold, aggressive sequence that showed the Cowboys were done playing around with the interior of their defense.
In what feels like a blink of an eye, defensive tackle has transformed from a glaring weakness into a massive position of strength. With a rotation headlined by Williams and Clark, the Cowboys now possess one of the most feared interior duos in the league. They went from hoping for the best with third-rounders to having a brick wall in the middle of the line with proven first-round performers. This shift in philosophy has changed the entire gravity of the defense, forcing opponents to rethink their game plans before they step on the field.
The safety position followed a very similar path of neglect until this year. The selection of Caleb Downs in the first round was a historic outlier for this franchise. It marked the first time in 24 years that the Cowboys used a top 75 pick on a safety, a drought that stretched all the way back to the Roy Williams era in 2002. For over two decades, the team essentially treated the safety spot as a position where you could just find a guy and hope he did not get beat deep.
Before this recent splurge, the Cowboys were the undisputed kings of bargain shopping for safeties. They relied heavily on sixth-round investments like Xavier Woods and Donovan Wilson, or undrafted free agents who worked their way up like Barry Church and Jeff Heath. Even their incumbent starting free safety, Malik Hooker, first arrived in Dallas on a low-cost veteran contract as he looked to rebuild his value. While these players were often solid contributors, it was never enough, and eventually the levee would break.
Interestingly, part of their strategy involved avoiding the massive pitfalls that trapped other teams. Despite years of rumors and fan outcries, the Cowboys resisted the temptation to trade high-end picks or pay massive salaries for players like Earl Thomas and Jamal Adams. While those players were stars at their peak, Dallas waited for their moment, and on Thursday, that moment finally arrived.
Now, safety has joined defensive tackle as a legitimate position of strength. By drafting a phenom like Downs and pairing him with smart free agency additions like Jalen Thompson and P. J. Locke, the Cowboys have built a safety room that is both talented and versatile. They finally realized that in today’s NFL, you cannot just hide average players on the back end. You need playmakers who can fly across the field, and they finally went out and got them.
The Cowboys have shown a distinct and refreshing change in approach when it comes to building their roster recently. By prioritizing the trenches and the deep secondary, they have fortified the spine of their defense in a way that should pay dividends for years to come. These positions are no longer the places where the team tries to save a buck. They are important pieces to success and have used premium draft capital to secure them.
