ESPN gives Cowboys 2022 roster middle of the road ranking, all thanks to defense

NFL coaches and front office folks live in a vacuum, it seems. They tend to keep their focus solely on the guys they have in the building, especially this time of year. “We don’t worry about what anybody else is doing,” and, “Control what we can control,” and all that. Sometimes, to a fault.

Because at some point, it does turns into a competition, and then it becomes readily apparent which clubs made real progress since last year. The offseason moves, the trades they made or didn’t make, the draft picks, the free agent signings… it all starts to shake out and offer a clear picture of who is truly better than whom.

Within the bubble of fandom, most of the Cowboys faithful probably feel pretty good about the team’s chances in 2022. Yes, they lost a couple of big names. Most would have preferred the Jones boys to be a lot more aggressive in free agency, but by and large, the feeling is that the defending NFC East champs are still an upper-tier squad, with just a few thin spots here and there to cause only minor concern heading into the new campaign.

ESPN respectfully disagrees.

Using the Pro Football Focus database and projecting who the starters will be, the network has ranked the rosters of all 32 NFL teams heading into the season.

The Cowboys are quite literally stuck in the middle of the road.

Their overall rank of 16th place would suggest that they’re not even playoff-caliber, especially with the Eagles landing at No. 7 overall. That’s enough for many die-hards to discount the entire exercise and shove their heads back in the sand, content to let summertime optimism carry the day.

But when the numbers are objectively laid out in black and white, 16th place out of 32 sounds, sadly, awfully accurate.

The network examines each team’s biggest strength, weakness, and X factor. And for the ’22 Cowboys, every one of those things are on the defensive side of the ball.

Biggest strength: LB Micah Parsons

Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Micah Parsons (11) celebrates after a sack during an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Peter Aiken)

No surprise here, but the reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year- who was also a legitimate contender for Defensive Player of the Year- is viewed as the Cowboys’ biggest strength. Few would argue that point, and most would agree that seeing if Parsons can be even more of a game-wrecker in his sophomore season is one of 2022’s most compelling storylines.

ESPN notes of the electrifying linebacker:

“He was PFF’s highest-graded off-ball linebacker and one of the most effective pass-rushers in the NFL when defensive coordinator Dan Quinn opted to use him as an edge rusher. The Randy Gregory loss in free agency is going to hurt Dallas up front, but few teams can send two pass-rushers as talented as Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence after opposing quarterbacks. Parsons’ ability to fill multiple roles at a high level depending on where he’s needed most in a given situation provides a lot of flexibility to the Cowboys on defense.”

Parsons was given a PFF grade of 89.7, putting him just a whisker away from what the outlet considers “elite” status. (Lawrence is already there, at 90.9.)

Biggest weakness: Interior defensive line

Aug 24, 2019; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Trysten Hill (79) is blocked by Houston Texans offensive tackle Rick Leonard (72) and offensive guard Malcolm Pridgeon (68) in the third quarter at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The Cowboys’ defensive line is one of those thin spots mentioned earlier. Lawrence remains a beast on the edge, but no one from the rotating cast of young interior players has stepped up to become a force. They’re an inexperienced group; perennial underachiever Trysten Hill is actually the longest-tenured tackle on the team, entering just his fourth season.

ESPN’s take:

“Dallas’ defensive tackles combined for a 33.1 PFF run-defense grade last season (30th in the NFL), and the only real addition to the group this offseason was fifth-round pick John Ridgeway. The Cowboys are relying on younger players such as Neville Gallimore and Osa Odighizuwa to take a step forward in 2022.”

Internally, the Cowboys think highly of both Gallimore (49.8 PFF grade) and Odighizuwa (46.9), and they have high hopes for Ridgeway. But with five of last season’s top-10 rushers on the schedule (and one of them twice), the youngsters will need to grow up fast and elevate their play.

X factor: CB Trevon Diggs

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs (7) celebrates with fans as he leaves the field after an NFL football game against the New York Giants in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Ron Jenkins)

The league’s interception leader has become one of the more polarizing players on a team that’s had plenty. On the one hand, 11 interceptions speaks for itself, and is tied for the fourth-best season total in NFL history. Yet plenty of observers find Diggs’s style to be way too risky to be sustainable.

According to ESPN:

“Diggs’ 1,016 passing yards allowed into his coverage in 2021 led the NFL, but he was still a valuable component of the Cowboys’ better-than-expected defense because interceptions are such high-leverage plays, and Diggs came away with 11 of them. The question now becomes how replicable those results are this season.”

A grade of just 58.5 speaks to those yards allowed. But even PFF admits that Diggs is the best in the game when it comes to press coverage. Last year’s stats show that his WR mentality to defending the pass works… quite often. The rate at which it will continue to work is what makes him the team’s biggest X factor in 2022.

Story originally appeared on Cowboys Wire