Dallas Cowboys: Pass rush gets some love in preseason rankings
By Randy Gurzi
The Dallas Cowboys have spent a lot of time and effort on their pass rush in recent years and Pro Football Focus likes what they’ve done so far
It wasn’t that long ago that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was talking about needing a ‘war daddy’ on defense. He was using the weird term to say he wanted someone on the defensive line who could get after the quarterback and make their overall defense better.
That comment came before the franchise spent their first round pick in 2017 on Michigan defensive end Taco Charlton. After one year, he hasn’t looked like a “war daddy,” but that was fine because DeMarcus Lawrence sure did.
The 2014 second-round pick finally broke out and was a star for the Boys. His performance has the entire defensive line being looked at with much more respect and that can be seen in the latest pass-rush rankings from Pro Football Focus.
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A highly respected analytical site, PFF ranked the best pass-rushing teams entering 2018 and gave the Cowboys a respectable No. 8 ranking, siting Lawrence as the biggest reason why.
"“Lawrence finally delivered at the level the Cowboys were hoping for in 2017, racking up 15 sacks, 12 hits and 52 hurries before being hit with the franchise tag this offseason. Provided he can live up to his 2017 performance, the Cowboys should be in good shape once again, but they would be in much better shape if their 2017 first-round pick Charlton can take a step forward.” — Gordon McGuinness, Pro Football Focus"
PFF was also high on Tyrone Crawford, who produced a lot of pressure but didn’t record as many sacks as he would have liked. They consider him an interior rusher, even though he was listed as a defensive end.
Crawford does often slide inside on third-downs and when David Irving is actually suited up, they form a great duo inside on these passing downs. That won’t happen for at least the first four games as Irving is suspended, but they have other players who can step up for the first quarter of the season.
As McGuinness mentioned, a jump in year two from Charlton would go a long way towards improving the team in 2018, but they still have options even if he doesn’t take that next step.
Kony Ealy offers a proven veteran edge rusher and was an underrated signing in free agency this year. With their fourth-round pick they also brought in Dorrance Armstrong out of Kansas. It was a great value pick at that point and could be huge for them going forward.
This is all without even mentioning that Randy Gregory could return to the field, provided of course that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is satisfied with his progress during this past year-long suspension.
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The pass rush in Dallas is surely on the rise and people are beginning to take notice. They’re quietly becoming one of the bst front sevens in the NFL.