Dallas Cowboys add upside to secondary with Malik Hooker
The Dallas Cowboys are close to landing former first-round pick Malik Hooker, adding another high-upside option to the secondary.
Hiring Dan Quinn to be the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator for the 2021 NFL season was clearly in response to a unit that performed as one of the worst in the league a year ago. And while there are wholesale schematic changes for Quinn to make, one of the big areas of focus for the former Seahawks DC and Falcons head coach was the secondary.
In response to a group that not only struggled last season but also experienced a considerable amount of turnover in free agency, the Cowboys have been aggressive in trying to add quality, upside and depth. They drafted Kelvin Joseph and Nahshon Wright, brought back Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown, and also brought in the likes of Damontae Kazee. Now, Dallas is about to make another swing with safety Malik Hooker.
As reported by Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News and others, the Cowboys met with the former first-round pick for the second time this offseason and, if a physical comes back clear, they are expected to sign him:
Free agent S Malik Hooker is visiting the Cowboys for a second time this offseason. And this time, the pairing should stick. As long as everything checks out physically, team is expected to sign Hooker, source said. He’d make a full 90-man roster.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) July 23, 2021
Hooker was the 15th overall pick in 2017 by the Colts but has struggled to stay on the field, hence the importance of the physical. He was limited to seven games as a rookie, played 14 in each of the next two seasons, but then only got on the field for two contests in 2020.
Still, this is a big-time move for the Cowboys defense as they are searching for quality options, particularly at safety.
Malik Hooker gives the Dallas Cowboys and Dan Quinn more options, which is clearly a good thing.
When Malik Hooker has been healthy, there’s no questioning the talent of the former Colt and why he was a first-round pick. He has seven career interceptions and, in the 2018 season, graded out as the 16th-best safety in the league according to PFF (subscription required).
Safety has long been an area of concern for the Cowboys, dating back to when they had to start the maddeningly inconsistent Jeff Heath. And while there’s nothing certain about that group heading into the 2021 campaign, Hooker gives fans a reason to at least have some cautious optimism about what the back-end of the secondary could do.
Between 2019 sixth-rounder Donovan Wilson — a player many are high on — newcomer Kazee, second-year converted corner Reggie Robinson II, rookie Israel Mukuamu (another converted corner) and now Hooker, Dallas has immense upside in the safety room. More importantly, they also have options.
This won’t be a unit banking on the upside of one or two players. It’s a bevy of options for Quinn, who has experience molding top-end secondaries from his time in Seattle, to work with and figure out what pairing or rotation best fits what he’s trying to do and gives the best chance for success.
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Hooker himself could be a star for the Cowboys if he stays healthy. That shouldn’t be discounted. But from a larger perspective, this addition gives Dallas something they haven’t had in quite some time in terms of the options, the potential and the quality of the group they have in the safety room.