Antwaun Woods came out of nowhere to become the starting nose tackle for the Dallas Cowboys and they would be wise to lock him up now rather than later.
Ever since Rod Marinelli joined the Dallas Cowboys as a defensive line coach (the position he took in 2013 before moving to defensive coordinator in 2014) he’s been spectacular about finding talented defensive linemen out of nowhere.
Marinelli is great about bringing in players and coaching them up to get the most out of them. Whether it’s a defensive lineman with incredible athleticism but no refinement — such as David Irving — or a powerful nose tackle who needs to learn how to use his strength, Marinelli gets them to shine.
That’s exactly what happened in 2018 when Dallas brought in a former undrafted player out of USC in Antwaun Woods. Originally signed by the Tennessee Titans in 2016, Woods was cut ahead of the 2018 campaign and landed in Big D.
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His signing made no headlines but once he got onto the field, his play did. Woods started to shine in the preseason and wound up starting 15 games as the one-technique tackle for what proved to be a top-10 defense in the NFL according to NFL.com.
As for Woods, he was credited with 34 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and had a fumble recovery. Where he really shined though, was as a cog in the run game. Opposing offenses had a hard time getting past the 318-pound nose tackle and he helped Dallas become a top-five team against the run in 2018.
Despite all his great play, Woods continues to get less attention than he deserves. Entering the second season of his two-year deal, the Cowboys should be looking at extending the big guy as he could be the long-term answer at a position that has seen massive turnover throughout the past several seasons.
With so many eyes on Dak Prescott, Amari Cooper, and Ezekiel Elliott when it comes to needing new deals, Woods continues to be overlooked. That shouldn’t be the case and locking him up now would allow Dallas to focus their attention elsewhere.
It could also save them money as Woods will only see his price tag rise the more he develops under Marinelli in Big D.