Cowboys Will Have Healthy Competition at Defensive Tackle

The Cowboys probably know more about the types of players they have at defensive tackle than most outsiders are aware of. Mock drafts have consistently wanted to give the Cowboys a defensive tackle “stud” in the first round and every year the Cowboys do not address the position with a high pick.

1991 was the last time the Cowboys drafted a DT in the 1st round when they took Russell Maryland. The Cowboys went out and gave Henry Melton a test run last year and he under-performed for the amount of money the Cowboys paid him. Melton was serviceable, but he didn’t wow anybody enough for the Cowboys to pick up his club option. The Bucs picked him up on a 1-yr deal for a little over $3 million this past free agency period.

The Cowboys knew they had a player in the waiting to take the next leap and that was Tyrone Crawford. Crawford’s NFL Scouting Combine numbers matched up closely to Aaron Donald’s numbers when compared to DTs from the 2014 draft class. Crawford is a 1st round talent when playing at the 3-tech position, and that is why the Cowboys are not drafting a DT in the 1st round.

The Cowboys will have an interesting decision to make on Crawford this year as he enters the final year of his rookie contract. Do you let Crawford play out the season and re-visit extending him at the end of the season and risk seeing him play himself out of the Cowboys pay range; or, do you give Crawford a new deal before the season starts or during the season?

If I’m Dallas, I would extend Crawford now, before he picks up a head full of steam like Hatcher did in 2013.

— Who will be the starting defensive tackles this year?

Tyrone Crawford will start at the 3-tech, and Terrell McClain will start at the 1-tech.

The camp battles to watch will be the rotational players and the Cowboys have depth at the position. The question may come down to which player will be the odd man out.

— Here are the defensive tackles to watch in rotation:

Chris Whaley was red shirted last year in an effort to fully recover and strengthen his knee after his ACL surgery. Whaley participated in rookie camp and flashed his pass rush skills which he exhibited at Texas before his injury. Whaley to me could be the guy to watch to rotate with Crawford for the 3-tech. Whaley’s career path was a mirror image of Melton’s. He was a running back converted to DT, he has the same quick step and ability to beat his man and sneak into the backfield. Broaddus has a nice write-up on what he saw from Whaley at the Cowboys mini-camp, check it out here.

Nick Hayden is a player the Cowboys really like, and he’ll rotate with McClain at the 1-tech.

Davon Coleman and Ken Bishop round out the final defensive tackles on the roster and the final roster spot will probably come down to these two players. Coleman is probably better suited as a 3-tech, but could see some action at the 1, and Bishop is probably better suited for the 1-tech as his run defense was strength in college and same during his 1st year in Dallas.

I think the Cowboys carry 5 defensive tackles max, but the fact the Cowboys have some quality depth at the DT position is promising. It took awhile to build up, but that position group is primed to make some noise this year. I would also expect the Cowboys to keep an eye on June 1 cuts as well, but don’t expect any big marquee names, think more along the lines of McClains and Haydens.