What the signing of Solomon Thomas in free company means for the Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys added two former first-round picks to their line of defense on Tuesday, the second day of free company after touchdown operating again Javonte Williams and guard Robert Jones on day one. They’re defensive finish Payton Turner and defensive deal with Solomon Thomas. Who’re these 2025 Cowboys!?

The Cowboys are immediately utilizing the primary wave of free company (though with later waves offers) to assault weaknesses on their roster, which is a significant change of religion from only one offseason in the past. Not solely did the staff sit on their fingers and never signal any notable gamers early on a 12 months in the past, however to make issues worse they did so whereas actively dropping a number of key gamers. The attrition of that is nonetheless being felt on a roster that may undoubtedly want additional reinforcements in subsequent month’s draft, the place Dallas is about up properly because of compensatory picks with ten complete picks.

The place group that was picked by probably the most in free company in 2024 was the Cowboys line of defense, the place cross rushers Dante Fowler Jr. and Dorance Armstrong adopted defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to the Washington Commanders. Defensive tackles Neville Gallimore and Johnathan Hankins signed with the Dolphins and Seahawks respectively. To make issues worse, when it got here to this staff having any likelihood to compete for the NFC East lead once more, defensive finish Sam Williams was misplaced for the season in coaching camp with an ACL tear and rookie second-round choose Marshawn Kneeland solely performed in 4 full video games earlier than being harm early in every week 5 primetime recreation and lacking 5 of the subsequent six video games. Veteran DeMarcus Lawrence missed the ultimate 13 video games of what might be his final season with the Cowboys, as Tank stays on the open market. Chauncey Golston having a profession 12 months elevated this place group as a lot as attainable, however in doing so lifted his price ticket and he received away on Monday to the rival New York Giants.

There have been plenty of positions on the sphere final 12 months on gamedays the place the Cowboys regarded overwhelmed, underprepared, and easily noncompetitive. Defensive deal with flew considerably underneath the radar right here as a result of this was hardly the primary season in latest reminiscence the staff didn’t place a excessive worth on it, however wanting again at it the mid-training camp scramble to usher in Jordan Phillips and Linval Joseph in an effort to get this group prepared was poorly executed. This is likely one of the classes followers have been hoping the Cowboys would be taught on this present offseason from final 12 months’s unending catastrophe.

One other layer to how the Cowboys may strategy the depth chart at defensive deal with underneath new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus and line of defense coach Aaron Whitecotton was added simply earlier than free company when Dallas made Osa Odighizuwa the centerpiece of this room with a brand new 4 12 months, $80 million deal. The Cowboys of previous would have patted themselves on the again, felt nice about having Odighizuwa locked up long run alongside a homegrown first spherical choose in Mazi Smith, and moved on to different roster wants. Studying methods to higher help their star gamers immediately is one other main stepping stone to look at for the Cowboys to be taken critically once more underneath new HC Brian Schottenheimer although, and so they additionally handed this take a look at by bringing in Solomon Thomas.

Spending the final three seasons with the Jets the place Whitecotton was his line of defense coach, and the 2020 season as his final with a 49ers staff that drafted him third general in 2017 the place Whitecotton was assistant line of defense coach on the time, the Cowboys have introduced in a participant with the pedigree they search and background to really feel assured in working with a present coach. Former Jets head coach Robert Saleh was additionally Thomas’ defensive coordinator for his whole time in San Francisco, after which as head coach with the Jets from 2022 to final season. This can be a participant that has thrived on having teaching continuity and a strongly outlined function in defenses stacked with different expertise round him, one thing Dallas can acquire confidence in reaching underneath Eberflus and Whitecotton with Thomas now within the fold.

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Thomas was a hybrid defensive deal with and finish in faculty with sky-is-the-limit potential as a cross rusher at each positions. He used his pace and freakish construct to defeat blockers off the snap on a remarkably constant foundation, shedding with fast hand play and shutting on the quarterback with elite pace for his dimension. A few of this cross rush potential was misplaced when Thomas grew to become principally a full time inside participant, and after an ACL tear in 2020. His skill to transition inside rushes and win with the ability wanted within the NFL, the place merely throwing would-be blockers to the bottom didn’t come practically as simple because it did at Stanford, by no means developed absolutely sufficient for Thomas to achieve the ceiling many thought he had. Nonetheless, all of those traits that make him a troublesome participant to maneuver off the spot on the line of scrimmage with the power to nonetheless push the pocket are issues the Cowboys desperately want and needs to be enthusiastic about getting from the 29-year-old veteran.

The Cowboys now, at naked minimal, have a defensive deal with group worthy of some consideration. Opposing offenses recreation planning in opposition to the brand new appears to be like that Eberflus can have prepared don’t simply have to resolve for Micah Parsons anymore. In the event that they allocate too many sources to blocking Parsons, it received’t simply be on Odighizuwa to take benefit at DT with Thomas now becoming a member of him. Thomas also can pair properly with Mazi Smith, who made vital strides because the beginning 1-technique in Mike Zimmer’s protection final season. There may be nonetheless a component of asking Smith to crawl earlier than strolling in the case of exhibiting the specified consistency a first-round choose ought to have, but when there may be an untapped layer to his recreation, it’s definitely in cross rush. Smith is just not going to string collectively cross rush strikes and strain quarterbacks within the fast cross recreation, however a minimum of transferring them off their spot by knocking again guards and facilities is inside his wheelhouse. Ought to he be paired with Thomas to present the Cowboys actual dimension they’ve been missing for much too lengthy in a defensive deal with duo, the staff can have two gamers that may clear up in opposition to the run with out being liabilities in opposition to the cross.

Dallas additionally noticed their finest impression performs come defensively when utilizing linebackers on the blitz a 12 months in the past. Though this philosophy is prone to change underneath Eberflus, bringing strain from totally different spots continues to be paramount, and the Cowboys a minimum of have Parsons who’s a one-man wrecking crew in the case of speeding from wherever and all over the place. The pairing of Thomas, Smith, and Odighizuwa on the inside may go a great distance in occupying inside blockers lengthy sufficient for Parsons to win on inside rushes himself, the place he’s usually at his finest.

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The Cowboys additionally reunited with final 12 months’s seventh-round choose Justin Rogers on the finish of final season after he spent nearly all of the 12 months on the Bengals observe squad following late August roster cuts. The run-stuffer out of Auburn flashed quite a few occasions all through the preseason, however on the time this was not sufficient to make the lower as soon as Dallas introduced in additional established veteran choices. Rogers will get one other undergo the Cowboys’ offseason program, with comparable established gamers stacked in opposition to him yet one more time, however he represents the one different DT in addition to Earnest Brown underneath contract aside from the three talked about above. Brown has not appeared in a recreation since week 9 of final season with the Buccaneers, signed by the Cowboys previous to their season-finale in opposition to the Commanders.

The necessity for additional depth continues to be there at defensive deal with for the Cowboys, however this doesn’t take away within the slightest from the actual fact they received “selectively aggressive” early in free company to handle this want head on with one thing of a blue-chip participant. Two different veterans that had been available on the market introduced the same alternative for the Cowboys in Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, however each shortly signed with the Vikings. This makes it all of the extra crucial that the Cowboys received a deal achieved with Thomas on Tuesday.

At numerous factors all through the offseason, when the joy of getting precise video games to arrange for, watch, and talk about is misplaced greater than it’s presently because of all of the free company and commerce market buzz, a standard query that’s all the time requested is that this:

“Is X position group on X team ready to play a game if they had to today?”

The Cowboys, like loads of different groups, wouldn’t have preferred the consensus reply their passionate followers would give to this query at practically any place group only a few days in the past earlier than free company started. By making sudden noise in free company to this point although, dare we are saying defensive deal with is now a lot, a lot nearer to the highest of this record of gameday prepared positions because of the addition of Solomon Thomas? The Cowboys are not any strangers to including gamers with excessive draft pedigree, particularly at positions they don’t usually worth as excessive in their very own draft course of. With Thomas being a former third general choose, the Cowboys haven’t spent a lot as a high 15 choose on the line of defense since 2005 with Corridor of Famer DeMarcus Ware. They didn’t discover their subsequent Ware in free company, however they did discover a deal each fan needs to be applauding.