The Cowboys thrived on the back of their defense for much of the 2022 season. While their offense struggled through various parts of the season, it was the Dallas defense that held fast and allowed them to go 12-5 and survive a five game absence of their franchise signal-caller.
After retaining defensive coordinator Dan Quinn early in the winter, the Cowboys set out to keep the defensive unit intact. With various pieces scheduled to hit free agency, doing so would be no small feat.
Dallas played things carefully. Instead of locking players up in advance of free agency, the Cowboys let things play out. After allowing their top linebacker, Leighton Vander Esch, and their playmaking safety, Donovan Wilson, test the market, they signed both to moderately priced multiyear deals.
They filled their glaring hole at cornerback by adding former All-Pro Stephon Gilmore and they re-signed defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins to plug the middle of their line.
They didn’t just retain players and patch holes, but they appeared to get their starting defense completely in place five months before the 2023 season even starts. While much can change before now and Week 1, on paper, things look fairly set.