Cowboys Minicamp Depth Chart, Defense: 4 Pro Bowlers?
FRISCO - It's really football season here at The Star, with minicamp occurring Tuesday through Thursday of this week. And besides ... It's never too early to fiddle with a depth chart, even as at this early stage for the Dallas Cowboys, they don't exactly have an "official depth chart'' yet. So all we (and they) can do is fiddle.
And we even fiddle so far as to suggest that if things go right here, Dallas' defense will eventually boast a quartet of Pro Bowlers.
So let's do that, to create an unofficial depth chart, featuring the guys who I think either deserve mention for whatever reason or, more important, who truly have a chance of sticking by the time we get to September ... Our depth chart for the offense is here. And for defense ...
Defensive end
DeMarcus Lawrence
Dante Fowler
Dorance Armstrong (a "best-kept secret'' here.)
Sam Williams
Chauncey Golston
Tarell Basham
Defensive tackle
Osa Odighizuwa
Neville Gallimore
Carlos Watkins
Trysten Hill
Quinton Bohanna
John Ridgeway
Of all of these guys, Tank is the only defined-role sure thing. Otherwise? Take Watkins: He could in theory start at tackle ... or he could in theory get cut. Oh, and Osa? Everybody inside the building is praising his offseason work. Meanwhile, how many pass-rushers does it take to replace the departed Randy Gregory? (Trade for the "Black Cobra,'' maybe?) All five of the mentioned ends get a crack at it. ... including Williams, the rookie who was the "Player of the Day'' at the Tuesday workout.)
Linebacker
Micah Parsons
Leighton Vander Esch
Jabril Cox
Luke Gifford
Devin Harper
Damone Clark
Aaron Hansford
Parsons and Company here. Who gets more snaps, Vander Esch or Cox? Can Gifford do more than special teams? When will Clark be ready to play? Can Hansford surprise? And of course, Cox needs to get healthy first, as he discusses with us here.
Defensive backs
Cornerbacks
Trevon Diggs
Kelvin Joseph
Anthony Brown
Jourdan Lewis
Nahshon Wright
DaRon Bland
Safeties
Jayron Kearse
Malik Hooker
Donovan Wilson
Israel Mukuamu
Markquese Bell
In a perfect world, Diggs is joined by Joseph atop the depth chart. But I will acknowledge Joseph's world is something short of "perfect'' right now. Dallas re-signed Kearse and Hooker at safety, and way down below there is a shot for an undrafted rookie like Markquese Bell of Florida A&M.
Special teams
ST: C.J. Goodwin
K: Jonathan Garibay
P: Bryan Anger
LS: Jake McQuaide
Goodwin, of course, can't really play cornerback. But he leads this group. The kicker situation is far from settled. Anger is the Pro Bowler you hope is rarely used.
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