Cowboys’ $33M Bet: How Jalen Thompson Could Impact the Giants’ New Offense

Dallas broke its spending rules to land the versatile Arizona safety—now, he’s tasked with stopping Big Blue’s power run game and confusing young QB Jaxson Dart.

Arizona Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson against the Los Angeles Rams. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys will renew their rivalry this season, with a new player set to enter the matchup who could give the Giants' offense a headache.

The Cowboys signed safety Jalen Thompson from the Arizona Cardinals to a three-year, $33 million deal, making him their top free agent this spring. In fact, Thompson’s deal is so rich that it’s more than half of what the Cowboys spent on other teams' free agents ($54 million) from 2020-2025, per Over the Cap.

The Cowboys expect Thompson to improve a pass defense that ranked last in the league last year (251.2 yards allowed per game, 7.69 yards per pass play). He'll reunite with secondary coach Ryan Smith, who was with the Cardinals earlier.

While Thompson may not be the flashiest name in free agency, he has consistently boosted Arizona's defense over the last seven years.

A fifth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Supplemental Draft, Thompson started 87 of 99 games. He totaled nine interceptions, 37 pass breakups, 2.0 sacks, and 578 tackles—387 solo.

Thompson will replace Donovan Wilson in the Cowboys' secondary. His versatility adds value to the defense.

He can play in the slot, as the free safety, and as the strong safety, which gives the Cowboys a lot of potential to field the best group. Thompson also possesses a high football IQ when it comes to diagnosing plays, and he’s solid in run support as well.

That last point is also worth noting as the Giants look to transform their running game into a more power-rushing attack this season. Thompson has had two 100+ tackle seasons, those in 2021 and 2022, but after a dip to 78 tackles in 2023, he just missed the century mark in 2024 (98) and last season (95).

Since 2021, Thompson has averaged over 100 tackles per season and is known for reliable tackling and a low missed-tackle rate.

All of this could be a problem against the Giants because the offense is still very young and trying to figure things out. Throwing different looks at the Giants' defense could be difficult for Jaxson Dart and the Giants' passing game to thrive against.

Thompson has done well in his career with disguising defenses, which could make for a challenge for Dart, who is entering his second season and who will have to really be on alert so as not to be baited into making throws into windows that aren’t there.  

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