Cowboys position battles: Depth questions remain for defense with big aspirations

Publish date: 2024-05-11

After examining position battles for the offense on Wednesday, today we’re going to look at the Dallas Cowboys’ defense and special teams. The defense, in particular, is a doozy. This Cowboys defense has the potential to be not just a top-10 scoring defense as they were in 2021 or a top-five unit as they were last year but legitimately contend to be the No. 1 defense in the NFL. That means there is a bevy of talent, which makes for fun training camp battles.

The top end of the depth chart seems to be pretty much set across the board and the linebackers appear to be locked in, top to bottom. There are plenty of other position battles to watch for in the next two weeks before roster cutdown day on Aug. 29. Let’s dive in!

Defensive line

Defense is a little harder to evaluate than offense because the positions are more fluid. For example, you have defensive ends and defensive tackles and they sometimes can intersect. You have Micah Parsons, listed as a linebacker but we’re considering a defensive end for the purposes of this exercise. Additionally, the exact numbers at each position the team will keep are harder to nail down.

There are eight locks at the top of the defensive line: Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, Dorance Armstrong, Sam Williams, Dante Fowler, Osa Odighizuwa, Mazi Smith and Johnathan Hankins. That’s five ends and three tackles. Rookie fourth-round pick Viliami Fehoko has been dealing with a minor injury, but he should return soon and will likely occupy another roster spot, making it six ends and three tackles.

If the Cowboys keep 10 defensive linemen, the final spot has an interesting battle. Chauncey Golston is a player who has a leg up over Quinton Bohanna and Neville Gallimore, but the latter two play tackle, which is a thin area, especially if Smith’s development takes some time. Both Gallimore and Bohanna have flashed potential at various moments in the past and a strong finish to camp could elevate either of them.

If the players force the team’s hand, it’s entirely possible the Cowboys choose to keep Golston and one of the tackles, but it would come at the expense of another position group. Players in the trenches are often harder to evaluate in practice because of the restrictions going against their own team so the preseason games will be key in seeing how the bottom of this group materializes.

The battle: Chauncey Golston vs. Quinton Bohanna vs. Neville Gallimore

Cornerback

The top of the depth chart is pretty clear with Trevon Diggs and Stephon Gilmore on the outside and DaRon Bland and Jourdan Lewis inside, though Lewis has been on the PUP list. If Lewis is not ready for the start of the season, it creates another roster spot at least temporarily.

Including Lewis probably leaves two spots so excluding him creates a third opening with four guys in the mix. Rookie sixth-round pick Eric Scott has had a solid training camp but didn’t see that immediately translate to game action against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday. There’s still plenty of time, including two more games, for him to solidify his case. Nahshon Wright has all of the tangibles and has had a very Chidobe Awuzie-type of camp, meaning a lot of passes have been completed on him but he’s regularly been in the right spot and inches away from making the play.

Nahshon Wright is in the mix for one of the Cowboys’ final cornerback spots. (Ric Tapia / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

For C.J. Goodwin and Kelvin Joseph, the special teams aspect has to be considered. Goodwin’s special teams contributions have been what has earned him a roster spot in the past and there’s no question he provides value there. Joseph has not had a good camp defensively, but has been good on special teams and has the draft pedigree as a second-round pick just two years ago.

The battle: C.J. Goodwin vs. Kelvin Joseph vs. Eric Scott vs. Nahshon Wright

Safety

The top three at safety are obvious and then Israel Mukuamu is the easy guy to slot in the fourth spot. Mukuamu has great size and versatility, is able to play corner and safety, and showed that he has a little something in his limited opportunity last year.

If the Cowboys carry five safeties, the final spot comes down to Markquese Bell and Juanyeh Thomas. If the two are equal, the tiebreak would likely go to Bell but the Cowboys also have to consider who can sneak through the radar after roster cuts. Thomas has had a solid camp and picked off Trevor Lawrence on Saturday. More standout moments like that and he could force the Cowboys to keep him on the roster.

The battle: Markquese Bell vs. Juanyeh Thomas

Kicker

The game against the Jaguars was a perfect encapsulation of Brandon Aubrey’s camp thus far. He made a 29-yard chip shot but missed one of his three extra-point attempts. The Cowboys have barely had Aubrey try anything from beyond 50 yards, even in practice, which could be a schematic thing but is more likely an attempt to build his confidence. The team really wants Aubrey to win the job and is willing to be patient with him.

Aubrey is not Justin Tucker-elite right now but who is? Getting a veteran off the street, such as Robbie Gould or Mason Crosby, is still on the table but would cost the team more and doesn’t come without its own questions. Even within the organization’s history, as automatic as Dan Bailey eventually was, it didn’t come without some growing pains early on.

Throughout camp, Aubrey has done enough to pull you in and enough to leave you uncertain. The question is, how consistent and dependable can he be and can he show enough of that in the next two weeks? Because for a roster that is mostly built for a deep run, having that be compromised in January because of kicking issues would be embarrassing.

The battle: Brandon Aubrey vs. Brandon Aubrey

Punt/kickoff returner

This isn’t an overreaction to KaVontae Turpin’s fumble against the Jaguars or the Deuce Vaughn hype that is ripping through America. Turpin and Vaughn have been fielding kicks together all camp and head coach Mike McCarthy has talked about Turpin assuming a bigger role on offense. Maybe taking returning responsibilities off of Turpin’s plate is part of that.

Vaughn showed a spark in his kickoff return against the Jaguars on Saturday. And although Turpin’s fumble isn’t any sort of kiss of death, he did also have three fumbles last year, losing two of them. Ball security has been a major emphasis from McCarthy so that certainly doesn’t help his case. This could come down to which player provides the best chance at a special teams spark and their role on the offense.

The battle: Deuce Vaughn vs. KaVontae Turpin

(Top photo of Neville Gallimore: Matthew Pearce / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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