Cowboys Young DBs Proving Interceptions are Contagious

The hard part will be for this young group of corners to make a team that has six defensive backs returning that had at least one pick in 2021.

FRISCO - Talk to any defensive coach and they’ll tell you that takeaways are the lifeblood of winning football. And no NFL team did that better in 2021 than the Dallas Cowboys.

Dallas created 34 of them last season, with 26 of those coming as interceptions. The Cowboys went 12-5 and won the NFC East.

See how that works?

Trevon Diggs, of course, had an incredible season, tying Everson Walls’ record of 11 picks in a season. But nine other Cowboys had at least one interception. 

Diggs toted an impressive weight, but he had help.

The Cowboys carried that new tradition into Friday’s 27-26 preseason win over Seattle. The Cowboys picked off Seattle quarterbacks four times. The part that sticks out is that the four Cowboys that picked off passes — rookie Markquese Bell, Nahshon Wright, Israel Mukuamu and rookie Juanyeh Thomas — did not record an interception for the Cowboys last season.

In fact, Wright was the only of the four that played in a game for the Cowboys last season.

One might assume these four players are strong candidates to make the team. Well, maybe not. Of the six Cowboys defensive backs that had at least one interception last season, the only one that isn’t on the roster is Damontae Kazee.

So why are the Cowboys suddenly flush with players that can create havoc in the secondary? Good drafting? Good coaching? Good philosophy? Can you actually TEACH defensive backs to get better at this?

It’s probably a combination of that, but the Cowboys appear to have a group of defensive backs that have embraced defensive coordinator Dan Quinn’s desire to create turnovers at a high level (an average of two per game last season).

There is also Quinn’s adaptability.

The second-year Cowboys defensive coordinator went from a Cover 3 system durings his days in Seattle and Atlanta to a Cover 1 system last season. The Cowboys played a lot of man-to-man coverage. Some of that played into the personnel’s strengths, especially Diggs, who thrived in the system as a rookie and was asked to do plenty of that previously at Alabama.

Quinn didn’t bolt for a head-coaching job last offseason, which means the unit gets a second season in his system. That could explain the filter-down to defensive backs that, by next week, may be looking for jobs with other teams.

Turnovers, like many things, are contagious. When you see a player like Diggs doing it, everyone wants to get in on it. When you have a group of returning players that have the track record, the new players see that it works and want to get in on it, too. That makes cut day much harder for a team like the Cowboys, which arguably has players that will be cut that can credibly play for other NFL teams next week.

But the performances of Bell, Wright, Mukuamu and Thomas on Friday proved something.

If the players that you know are likely heading out the door have bought into creating turnovers, then whatever it is — the system, the mindset, the coaching — is absolutely working.

For a team reeling from offensive injuries entering the regular season, the Cowboys will need all the turnovers they can get in the regular season.

---

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

Follow Cowboys / Fish on Facebook

Subscribe to the Cowboys Fish Report on YouTube for constant daily Cowboys live-stream podcasts and reports!