Dallas Cowboys produce their most defensive-sided NFL Draft in a generation

Defense, defense, defense, defense, defense, defense defense, defense.

The Dallas Cowboys came into the NFL Draft with a focus and plan to improve a defense that was one of the worst in franchise history last season.

And they worked it like never before.

The Cowboys used eight of their 11 picks on defensive players and set a franchise record by using their first six draft selections defense, surpassing the streak of five straight in 1982.

It started with Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons with the 12th pick in the first round on Thursday.

The Cowboys then added Kentucky cornerback Kelvin Joseph, UCLA defensive tackle Osa Udighizuwa, Iowa defensive end Chauncey Golston and Oregon State cornerback Nahshon Wright on the second and third rounds on Friday.

They added LSU linebacker Jabril Cox in the fourth round on Saturday before ending the streak with Marshall offensive tackle Josh Ball with their second fourth-round pick.

But all of the attention to the defensive side came as no surprise.

“It was pretty well-known where we might need to do some addressing,” team owner Jerry Jones said. “This is the very best way we could improve this team. The way we are approaching where we are going this year is reflected here. It’s reflected in these players.”

The Cowboys added Stanford receiver Semi Fehoko in the fifth round before going back to defense with Kentucky defensive tackle Quinton Bohanna and South Carolina cornerback Israel Mukuamu in the sixth round and Nebraska offensive lineman Matt Farniok in the seventh round.

The eight picks on defense are the most on that side of the ball since the NFL instituted a seven-round draft in 1994. They drafted seven defenders in 2009, 2014 and 2017.

Jones said the Cowboys weren’t trying to send a message in the draft as the focus and message has been clear since the end of the 2020 season when the defense set a franchise record for points allowed and gave up the second-most yards and rushing yards ever.

The Cowboys are changing the defensive scheme. They fired coordinator Mike Nolan and replaced him with Dan Quinn, who plans to return the team to the 4-3.

They also signed seven defensive players in free agency.

The draft has simply been a continuation of that focus.

“Every year you have to take a hard look, and you either have to make changes, adjustments and emphasize and expand on what you’ve accomplished,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “This is part of the change. This is clearly part of the change and the advancement of how we want to look as a football team, how we want to play as a football team, and not only that — we want competition all the way through our building.”

There will be some questions on who the Cowboys took and where they took them. But there is no question that the Cowboys accomplished their goal of adding bodies to improve the defense with a focus on stopping the run and turning the ball over.

There will be competition for starting roles, playing time and roster positions, especially at linebacker and on the defensive line.

Parsons is a potential impact player at linebacker and certain Day 1 starter. Cox, however, may be the steal of the draft in the fourth round.

A do-it-all linebacker with ball skills, Ball transferred to LSU after being a three-year All-American at North Dakota State, finishing third on defense with 58 tackles (6.5 for loss) and three interceptions in just 10 games.

Parsons and Cox will join a linebacker corps that includes Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch as well as free-agent signee Keanu Neal.

After signing three defensive lineman in free agency in Carlos Watkins, Brent Urban and Tarell Bashem, the Cowboys added Udighizuwa, Golston and Bohanna to a unit that returns 12 players from last year, but only has one proven difference-maker in defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence.

The 6-4, 327-pound Bohanna is a bonafide run stuffer and gives the Cowboys much-needed size at nose tackle.

The speedy and aggressive Joseph filled the biggest position of need and should be a walk-in starter at cornerback opposite Trevon Diggs.

One thing they all share is an edge and that was no accident.

“They have a little edge to them? Well they better, they’re on defense!,” McCarthy said. “I think length, speed, tempo, competitiveness — those are all things we’re looking for, and I think every one of these guys fit the bill.”

An edge, loads confidence and promise for the future if Wright is an indication.

At 6-foot-4, not only are he and Mukuamu perfect scheme fits for Quinn’s defense, which thrived with tall cornerbacks like the 6-3 Richard Sherman in Seattle, but he has the perfect attitude for the position.

“I look at myself as a more athletic and agile Richard Sherman,” Wright of the perennial Pro Bowl talent and likely future Hall of Famer.

And his take on the 2021 defensive draft class?

“We’re going to bring some more life, more turnovers and we’ll definitely get us to a championship,” Wright said.

And that’s what it’s all about for Jones and a Cowboys team that hasn’t won a Super Bowl title since 1995. They started the draft with the 10th pick because they were coming off a disappointing 6-10 season.

They parlayed into an extra pick after trading down to 12, giving them five picks in the 100 and setting the table for a possible franchise-altering draft haul and provide the foundation for a future title team.

“As Stephen said two or three days ago, we earned starting with the highest point of the draft,” Jerry Jones said. “We were up there pretty high. Now, I think we’ve maximized fairly well and gotten the most out of being that high. Where I would be disappointed is if we for instance didn’t take advantage of where we are. We had a good last few days and a big weekend.”

Dallas Cowboys 2021 NFL Draft picks

This story was originally published May 1, 2021 at 6:11 PM.

Clarence E. Hill Jr.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Clarence E. Hill Jr. covered the Dallas Cowboys as a beat writer/columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram from 1997 to 2024.