Not long ago, Dan Quinn was the hero the Dallas Cowboys needed defensively. The Cowboys ranked 28th in the NFL back in the 2020 season allowing 29.8 points per game, and Dan Quinn’s arrival was a gift from the football gods.
Quinn’s arrival, paired with some luck in the NFL Draft when Micah Parsons fell to their pick, the Cowboys jumped from allowing nearly 30 points per game to allowing just 21.1 points per game, 7th-best in the NFL.
Now, Quinn is gone and he’s being replaced by former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer. Zimmer is coming in with a lengthy history of some top-flight defenses, including his time as the head coach of the Vikings and before that as defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals. Which players on the Cowboys’ roster stand to benefit the most from Zimmer’s arrival?
1. Mazi Smith, DL
The Dallas Cowboys are hoping for a breakout from Mazi Smith in year two no matter who is calling the plays defensively, but getting a set of fresh eyes on their first-rounder from last year’s draft can’t hurt. The Cowboys apparently had Smith playing 30 pounds lighter than his listed weight heading into the NFL Draft of 337 pounds, and not only that, but he was playing out of position as a 3-tech instead of a 1-tech.
I’m not quite sure why the Cowboys did that unless it was just to get their most talented guys all on the field at once, in which case you can understand it. But Zimmer might benefit by just putting Smith back in his original habitat, asking him to do what makes him great in the first place.
There will be opportunities to disrupt plays from the 1-tech position, even if the investment of a first-round pick in Smith would potentially yield better overall returns at the 3-tech. The Cowboys need Smith to break out in 2024 and boost a pretty horrendous-looking NFL Draft class.
2. Juanyeh Thomas, Safety
One of the most crucial positions in the Mike Zimmer defense is the safety spot. Although Donovan Wilson is not a traditional “breakout” candidate, he could reach a new level under Zimmer, who has coached some tremendous safeties in the past regardless of NFL Draft status. He’s worked with first-round picks like Harrison Smith and undrafted guys like Anthony Harris.
That bodes well for the entire safety room in Dallas, which includes some really good-looking young players behind the starters on the depth chart.
And the Cowboys had three starters at the position last year along with some outstanding depth. One player Cowboys fans have been begging to see more of is Juanyeh Thomas, a former undrafted player out of Georgia Tech whose impressive 6-foot-3, 217-pound frame makes him such an intriguing breakthrough candidate.
In 2023, Thomas had 22 total tackles and four passes broken up in limited action, but he could see an increased role in 2024 under Zimmer and reap the benefits of the hard work that has been put in by this coaching staff in developing this young player.
Whether he’s playing on the back end or being moved around the defense as a chess piece, I expect Zimmer to work hard at finding Thomas a more prominent role on this Dallas defense in 2024.
3. DeMarvion Overshown, LB
Although DeMarvion Overshown could have just as easily been a breakout candidate with Dan Quinn as his defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer’s scheme has been super friendly to linebackers in the past. Immediately upon his arrival in Minnesota, he and the Vikings drafted a versatile player in Anthony Barr, who made the Pro Bowl four years in a row (2015-18).
The year after they drafted Barr in the first round, the Vikings grabbed Eric Kendricks in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft and Kendricks became an All Pro by his fourth season in the league and one of the best all-around linebackers in the game. In his final year with the Bengals, Zimmer had Vontaze Burfict reach the Pro Bowl.
The off-ball linebacker position is one to watch now that Zimmer is in Dallas, and Overshown is arguably the most talented player the Cowboys have there. He’s coming off of a season-ending injury that wrecked his rookie campaign, but Overshown has the skills to fly around and make plays on all three downs for Zimmer and this new-look Cowboys defense.
His role in the 2024 season will be huge if he can stay healthy.
