NFL Sophomore Watch: Can Justin Herbert repeat his magical 2020 season?

Dallas Cowboys defense

While Justin Herbert might have some negative regression, the Dallas Cowboys defense is hoping for some positive regression. They were somewhere between bad and atrocious last year as Mike Nolan’s scheme wasn’t cutting it and many wondered why he was even hired.

Some numbers from last year underscore the Cowboys’ incompetence defensively. The Dallas Cowboys allowed the 5th-most points last year, the 2nd-most rushing yards, the 2nd-most first downs gained by rushing, and topped it all off by allowing 5.0 yards per carry, good for 3rd-worst in the league. They ended the season 6-10.

Despite getting gashed in the run game in 2020, Dallas excelled at taking the ball away. They forced 23 turnovers, which was tied for 7th-best in the league. They even got off to a nice start in 2021 against the Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, forcing 4 turnovers and being within a field goal of an upset win.

Knowing their weaknesses, the Cowboys brought in two rookies to help shore up the run defense. The first one is former Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons, who the Cowboys took at the 12th overall pick in this year’s draft. He’s got everything you’d want from a linebacker, size, speed, tackling technique, and leadership skills.

He should really help them, and it will be interesting to see how he builds on last week’s 3 solo tackles and 1 pass defended against the Buccaneers.

The second rookie is third-round pick Osa Odighizuwa, a defensive tackle out of UCLA. In his four-year career with the Bruins, he had 27.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks. The Cowboys have him listed as a starting defensive tackle, but his size (6’2” 279) would make him an ideal fit for some snaps at end on early downs as well.

Trevon Diggs, the second-year corner out of Alabama is one of the most underrated defensive backs in the league. He’s got prototypical size (6’2” 195) to match up with bigger receivers, and he showed that by shutting down Mike Evans in week one. Diggs seems primed for a breakout this season as he made 3 interceptions and had14 passes defended last year in 12 games and already has 1 interception and 2 pass breakups through one week this year.

The final player I’d like to mention is safety Donovan Wilson who was a sixth-round draft choice of the Cowboys in 2019. He didn’t play much his rookie year, but had 10 starts last year, intercepting two passes, defending three passes, forcing three fumbles, and recovering two.

The Cowboys could have him playing everywhere, especially up near the line of scrimmage, and how he and the defensive backs play will be a key factor in determining the result of this contest.