Cowboys safety Malik Hooker’s best play may be ahead of him

Hooker is already coming off a career campaign in many ways but could be in store for an even bigger Year 3 with the Cowboys. | From @ReidDHanson

By most accounts, Malik Hooker had an impressive season for the Cowboys in 2022. The 27-year-old veteran served as Dallas’ primary free safety, logging 861 defensive snaps (the second-most of his career) and even earning Pro Football Focus’ award as the Cowboys most underrated player of the season.

Building off his 2021 season that was part rehab and part job interview, Hooker became a big part of the Cowboys secondary and logged career highs in both interceptions (tied 2017) and tackles (44 solo/62 combined). He led the NFL (among safeties) by allowing just 0.19 yards per coverage snap and was often the last line of defense.

For as impressive as Hooker was for the Cowboys in 2022, he may be even better in 2023.

Not long ago, Hooker was considered one of the best coverage safety prospects to enter the draft. The former Ohio State free safety had range and ball skills that couldn’t be taught. He had the ability to tip the balance of a game in an instant and made things extremely difficult for passers when he was roaming the middle.

The former first-round pick of the Colts saw his career derailed by injury after injury. Before he even got to his first training camp he had hip and hernia surgery. A shoulder injury, torn ACL, torn MCL and torn meniscus followed in coming seasons, allowing him to link up with Dallas in 2021.

Players generally need time after they recover from injury before they can regain form. Getting a clean bill of health is only part of it. They need space in between injuries to be right mentally and physically (see also: Michael Gallup 2022).

For Hooker, every time he seemed to gain traction in a comeback bid, a new injury would occur, stopping his progress and bouncing him back to square one.

“That list of injuries, a lot of guys, they don’t come back from that,” Hooker said last season. “I look at it as I don’t have anything else can be harmed in that way. I’ve done all my bad karma or whatever you want to call it. My bad juju. I got it all out so now I just go out there with a clean mind and clean heart.”

Each season of Hooker’s career, he’s been less than a year removed from something significant. He’s never been able to reach his ceiling because he’s never been able to string together two seasons of continued health (2018-19 were close).

But coming off a mostly-healthy 2022 season and lined up to play a significant role as FS again in 2023, Hooker may finally get the continuity he needs to reach his real potential.

With safeties Jayron Kearse and Donovan Wilson on the roster as well, Dallas’ defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn, can use Hooker where he’s at his best (deep middle) and doesn’t have to subject him to the wear and tear of box play. This allows Quinn to preserve one of his most valuable and irreplaceable assets.

As discussed previously in the offseason, the Cowboys aren’t exactly rich in FS depth. No one has the range or track record of Hooker, and both Kearse and Wilson are best in safety roles closer to the line of scrimmage (although they are perfectly capable in split safety role).

Hooker isn’t just important to the Cowboys’ defense, since he enables them to play single-high safety comfortably, but he’s in position to have another career season.

With Stephon Gilmore and Trevon Diggs working the boundary at CB, windows are going to be tight and opportunities will be had.

Hooker’s interception numbers in the NFL may not be as jaw-dropping as Diggs’ but the ball-skills he’s shown indicate he’s more than capable of being a league leader and his 2016 numbers at Ohio State (7 INTs) are perfectly repeatable if he can just stay healthy.

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