Cowboys Expected to Double Dip on Defense in First Round, NFL Insiders Predict Pass Rusher and Corner

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is seen as a pretty direct football executive and one that hasn’t been particularly difficult to read over the years. 

And after trading away generational pass rusher Micah Parsons before last season and then trying to fix his failed defense on the fly, rival executives believe the Cowboys will take a determined approach in the draft with picks 12 and 20.

“Jerry is thinking defense,” one general manager told SportsBoom.us. 

“With both picks.”

Another personnel exec said: “It’s a corner and a pass rusher, right? 

Every Level Of Dallas D Needs Help

The bigger question being asked is whether the Cowboys address their secondary and then the line of scrimmage on defense, or if they go in the opposite order. 

Regardless, this team has an acute need for young defenders who can impact the ball in flight and big bodies who can get to the quarterback. 

Defensive tackle has been an abomination for years, but this draft doesn’t offer many options in that regard with picks this high. There will be no shortage of pass rushers for Jones to choose from. And it would be quite a shocker if at least one of these first-round picks isn’t designated for one. 

With so much draft capital clumped together, Dallas is more than fortified to move up to land a particular player in the top 10 should they choose to do so. 

But this defense is in need of such help, staying put and grabbing two potential blue chip reinforcements is in order. 

Of course, the Cowboys also currently have no one proven to be the central nervous system of their defense as the inside linebacker (wearing the green dot on the helmet to communicate with the coaching staff as the quarterback of the D), but given the dynamics of this draft class, that’s something that will more likely be addressed on the second day of the draft than on the first night.

The Cowboys have been awful stopping the run for years and while their pass rush took some steps forward last year after the trade of Parsons delivered an initial blow, the overall line of scrimmage remains a big cause of concern. The secondary has become prone to allowing big plays and no matter how prolific the offense has been, keeping the other team off the scoreboard enough to beat winning teams has been a considerable chore.

This is a strong draft to try to curb some of that for years to come.