The Cowboys had relatively high hopes when they drafted Quinton Bohanna in the sixth round of the 2021 draft. The 6-foot-4, 360-pound mountain from Kentucky possessed both enormous mass and a shockingly quick step off the snap. Bohanna was the rare mix the Cowboys look for in a 1-tech defensive tackle. He was stout enough to 2-gap and hold up against double teams, yet agile enough to provide a little penetration. He was a late round pick, but with any luck could develop into a real player with a little time.
It turns out a little time might have been about all Bohanna had.
After struggling to make much of an impact in Year 1 and failing to take the next step early in Year 2, the Cowboys traded for veteran Johnathan Hankins in Week 8 of the 2022 season. Hankins quickly established himself as the top dog at the 1-tech and was then re-signed to maintain that role in 2023.
It appeared Bohanna’s ceiling for the near future would be as the rotational 1-tech behind Hankins. Such a role would ease some of the burden and allow the former sixth rounder to develop. But when Dallas drafted Mazi Smith with their first pick in the 2023 draft, that optimistic look at Bohanna’s future went right out the window.
Smith was Dallas’ highest drafted DT since Russell Maryland in 1991. Not only was he the clear future of the interior defensive line in Dallas, but at 337 pounds, he didn’t come with obvious position flex to play anywhere but the 1-tech. Conventional wisdom said, if anyone was getting snaps behind Hankins, it was the first-round pick, not the Day 3 kid from Kentucky.
Cowboys NT Quinton Bohanna beats the combination block and gets into backfield, stopping a Rico Dowdle run in 9-on-7. pic.twitter.com/1hvMaKiPIp
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) August 7, 2023
As training camp in 2023 unfolded, Bohanna showed he wasn’t going to take a backseat quietly. He stepped up to have his best camp of his young career and flashed that quick first step and situational stoutness that excited folks in Dallas when he was first drafted.
The problem is, it might be too little too late for the 24-year-old DT.
The Cowboys don’t traditionally like to keep more than two 1-techs on their roster. 1-techs typically don’t offer much in the way pass-rush and Dallas prefers to load up on their more well-rounded and versatile brethren along the defensive line.
While hopes are high the rookie Smith will one day become a pass-rusher, at the moment he’s fairly one-dimensional. With Hankins and Smith virtual locks to claim the top-two spots at 1-tech, the Cowboys are going to have a hard time justifying a third run-stuffer on their roster – especially since they have such a talented and deep defensive line group competing for limited spots on the 53-man roster.
Cowboys NT Quinton Bohanna disruptive in backfield on fourth-and-1. pic.twitter.com/XcW3h98oVg
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) August 3, 2023
Similar to Neville Gallimore alongside him, it may come down to a numbers game for Bohanna. Gallimore too is having a career camp. But like Bohanna, better options may bump him off the roster.
If Bohanna can post a dominant effort down the final stretch, it’s possible he could carve out a role. The Cowboys obviously changed the way they view DT (as evidenced by the drafting of Smith) so it’s possible they lock in three 1-techs to solidify their defensive interior.
Anything can happen but based on the stage that’s been set, it looks like it could be too little too late for Bohanna.
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