Six reasons the Dallas Cowboys are going to nosedive in 2017

3. Young secondary

Last season, the Cowboys had nine interceptions, ranking 27th in the NFL. They also had just 64 pass breakups, which was the sixth lowest total in the league.

That secondary from a year ago lost some of its key pieces and is now bringing up some very raw rookie players.

There are question marks surrounding potential starter Nolan Carroll, which we’ll get to in a moment, and the Cowboys overall don’t have the talent in the secondary to hold up against some of the league’s top passing attacks on offense, especially if the pass rush is not up to snuff.

The defense as a whole for the Cowboys could be in for some very strong growing pains this season, but perhaps no unit more so than the secondary. The Cowboys drafted four players to help ease the pain of what they lost in Morris Claiborne, Barry Church, and others, but the results aren’t likely to be immediate.