The Landry Hat

The defense for the Dallas Cowboys drastically improved last season largely due to defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. This year, the defense lost a big piece in Randy Gregory, and they do have some gaps to fill. Earlier this week, I did a hypothetical version of a mock draft that was offensive-focused. In each round, I looked to see what kind of offensive talent would be available to Dallas at each round. This time we will do the opposite, looking at only defensive talent throughout each round. The Cowboys used eight of their 11 draft picks last season on the defense, including their first six picks who were all from the first four rounds. After the defense struggled mightily in 2020, it was necessary and paid off big time. Obviously, their best pick came at pick 12. After trading back with the Eagles, the Cowboys landed superstar Micah Parsons. They also managed to take other players who had immediate impacts. Five of their eight defensive additions had at least 300 snaps last season. A notable name who missed the 300 mark, Jabril Cox, missed much of the season due to a torn ACL. If he were healthy, he was well on pace to pass 300 snaps.