Have the Dallas Cowboys done their due diligence on defense?

It was a forgettable year, especially on one side of the ball, for a team that won the NFC East back in 2018. Will it be a bounce back year for the Cowboys?

In 2018, then-head coach Jason Garrett led his Dallas Cowboys to the top spot in their division. Winners of seven of their final eight regular-season contests, the club knocked off the Seattle Seahawks in the wild card round before being overrun by the Super Bowl-bound Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Playoffs.

Those 10-6 NFC East champions were ranked seventh in the league in total yards allowed per game. Only four teams in the league surrendered fewer yards on the ground. The Cowboys gave up only 324 points, amassed 39 sacks and surrendered only 34 offensive touchdowns.

The numbers were similar in 2019. Dallas was ninth in total defense, allowed only 321 points and once again finished with 39 sacks. Garrett’s clubs gave up just 35 offensive touchdowns but a unit that appeared to be on the rise began to show cracks as time wore on.

And it all came to a head this past season during a 6-10 campaign. Under head coach Mike McCarthy and defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, the team was ranked 23rd in the league in total yards per contest given up.

Only the Houston Texans allowed more yards per game rushing and the Cowboys allowed a franchise-worst 473 points, the fifth-most in the NFL. The pass rush got to opposing quarterbacks only 31 times as Nolan’s defensive unit gave up a whopping 54 touchdowns (20 rushing and 34 passing).

With Dak Prescott at the helm, the Cowboys allowed a mind-boggling 180 points in his five starts. Hence his importance to a club that now has a new defensive leader in Dan Quinn. He’ll employ the services of ex-Falcons’ safeties Keanu Neal and Damontae Kazee, the former converting to outside linebacker. Free agency also added veteran defensive linemen Carlos Watkins (Texans) and Brent Urban (Bears).

But it was the draft that the team really stressed this side of the football. The franchise used its first six picks and eight of its 11 selections overall to bolster the defense, including former Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons (via Jori Epstein of USA Today). He and Jabril Cox (4-LSU) join a corps that needs better play from Jaylon Smith and Kyle Vanden Bosch.

Up front, there are newcomers Osa Odighuzua (3-UCLA), Chauncey Golston (3b-Iowa) and Quinton Bohanna (6-Kentucky). And there’s a trio of cornerbacks in Kelvin Joseph (2-Kentucky), Nahshon Wright (3c-Oregon State) and Israel Mukuamu (6b-South Carolina).

At least early on, McCarthy may need Prescott and the potent Dallas’ offense to keep the team in the mix. It’s up to Quinn to get this defense on the beam as soon as possible. But that may be easier said than done. The schedule begins with road games vs. the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers and the up-and-coming Chargers. Tall orders indeed.