Blogging The Boys
The Dallas Cowboys were not shy about using trades, free agency, and the draft to add to their defense this offseason, but unfortunately the results of all these things have only put them right back in the position of still needing lots of help on that side of the ball in week seven. The Cowboys are 2-3-1, will be without CB Trevon Diggs this Sunday against the Commanders, and have more to look forward to on offense with players returning to the lineup (CeeDee Lamb and Tyler Booker) then they do on defense. This is not good news when it comes to trying to get back in the win column, as the offense is already doing all it can to support this cause on a weekly basis.
The team has found themselves right back in the familiar position of putting players in unfair positions to shoulder too much responsibility, and with a defense this bad, that’s already applying to players that haven’t even made it back to the active roster yet. Linebacker has been arguably the weakest spot in the entirety of the Cowboys weak defense, putting an extra hot spotlight on the looming return of DeMarvion Overshown. The 2023 draft pick suffering another season-ending injury late last year was devastating, but equally inspiring has been his very public determination to get ahead of his return timetable and get back to helping this team as soon as possible. It is in no way Overshown’s fault or responsibility that he may be returning to a defense that has caused the 2025 season to already be lost by the time he is ready.
The Cowboys loss at the Panthers was already a blown opportunity to make up ground the same week the Eagles and Commanders also lost, so a head to head loss this Sunday at home versus the Commanders could prove too much to overcome approaching the midpoint of this season. Even the fact the Commanders will be without top wide receiver Terry McLaurin doesn’t feel like something that works in the Cowboys advantage all that much, because of how porous the defense is all around. Maybe no McLaurin and no Diggs cancels each other out, but Washington can still find other matchups to exploit much like every offense that’s faced Matt Eberflus’ defense.
The Cowboys are aware of this, and also aware of the trade ammunition they hold if they want to use it to still flip the “win now” switch and not see another MVP-esque season from Dak Prescott go out the window. The trade for Kenny Clark, who has been one of Dallas’ most consistently good defenders, also netted the Cowboys two future first-round picks. The Cowboys could be looking at yet another scheme change on defense in the offseason, so valuing these picks as dart throws that land them another defender that will have to mesh into yet another new scheme may be seen as low value. Trying to use them to get more help for an...
