The Dallas Cowboys didn’t go out and get top-of-the-market free agents. They didn’t trade for game-changers like Maxx Crosby, but they did make additions earlier than they have in the past and signed a player to the highest deal since the Brandon Carr deal over a decade ago. They needed secondary help and an edge to start opposite Donovan Ezieruaku, and they accomplished those goals.
Dallas traded with the Green Bay Packers to bring in Rashan Gary for a fourth-round pick, then signed safeties Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke. They then added some small deals to add defensive tackle, Otito Ogbonnia, and bring back Sam Williams and Tyrus Wheat, before sending away Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas. There isn’t much difference between this free agency and what the Cowboys have done the last decade-plus, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t make the defense better in the first few days of free agency.
How Rashan Gary helps
Dallas has tried to improve its run defense for a while now. Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark were brought in to help in that area. Donovan Ezieruaku was a surprisingly good run defender as a rookie, and now Gary sets a four-person front with no major holes in its run defense. The idea here is to get opposing offenses to third-and-long to help the pass defense be more successful.
When the Dallas defense can get the opposing offense into passing downs is where the new defensive coordinator can do some exotic things to help attempt to get them off the field. That situation allows for more exotic blitzes or coverages to get turnovers or force punts.
How Jalen Thompson helps
The safety room in Dallas was a mess in 2025 and arguably the biggest need on the team. Thompson brings reliability to that unit. He played under Cowboys secondary coach Ryan Smith for the Arizona Cardinals and doesn’t have many weaknesses in his game.
He isn’t the impact playmaker that Budda Baker was, but he didn’t bust coverages, rarely missed tackles, and was versatile enough to allow their defense to be multiple on the backend. Thompson averaged 100 tackles a season the last five years with a missed tackle percentage of six percent or less.
How P.J. Locke helps
Locke’s contributions begin with special teams. Dallas had a significant drop-off from its coverage teams last season, and Locke is an excellent special teams contributor with over 1,300 snaps with those units in his career. He does add to the defense, too though.
He started 26 games for the Denver Broncos over the past three seasons and could be how Dallas solves the nickel issue if they aren’t able to add a corner to do that job. Thompson will likely move to the nickel position with Locke taking over as one of the deep safeties. Locke excels when he plays in the box against the run, and he is very rangy as a deep safety. The desire of Parker to play nickel with three safeties, without sacrificing run defense by adding an extra cornerback, could be an enormous strength for the defense.
You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or on YouTube at Across the Cowboys podcast
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: How Cowboys 3 new additions help defense despite not busting budget
Reporting by Mike Crum, Cowboys Wire / Cowboys Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
