The new staff had to make a move.
The Dallas Cowboys front office, with a battery in their back from the now-departed Rod Marinelli, tried to get ahead of the game. There was little doubt the team was going to be in need of defensive tackle help following the 2019 season as 2016 draft pick Maliek Collins would be a free agent. The club decided to take a chance on the long-term development of Central Florida’s Trysten Hill but the move didn’t pan out in Year 1 and he barely saw the field.
So with Collins gone (following Marinelli to the desert to play for the Las Vegas Raiders), new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan went out and got two big veteran bodies for the interior of the defensive line. Gerald McCoy is on a three-year deal while Dontari Poe is basically a one-year rental with a team option for Year 2. Beyond that though, the club had to get some youth for the rotation. Enter Oklahoma nose tackle and Canadian citizen Neville Gallimore.
The Cowboys were enamored with the man who had over 30 scholarship offers entering his collegiate career. They got to see him up close and personal as he trained in Frisco leading up to draft weekend. In what many predict will be the club’s best draft class since the famed 2016 haul that netted Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott, Jaylon Smith and Anthony Brown (along with Collins), Gallimore was a name the team strongly considered taking in the second round at pick No. 51. The team went with CB Trevon Diggs, who they considered taking in Round 1 before WR CeeDee Lamb fell in their laps, so getting Gallimore at No. 82 was heaven sent.
Scouting Report
Gallimore is a ridiculously quick big man, who is routinely the first player off the line of scrimmage. While he doesn’t always get to the quarterback, he does that plenty enough and will still compromise the OL’s integrity when he doesn’t.
That’s a big deal for a team which routinely saw their defensive ends double teamed in 2019. Gallimore adds to the Cowboys’ new commitment to the defensive interior under new coordinator Mike Nolan and vaunted defensive line guru Jim Tomsula. He’ll work magic with a player with the athletic skillset Gallimore possesses.
Film Breakdown
Just an outstanding breakdown from Chris Martin and Michael Felders on the way he translates his athleticism into production from the 1-tech position.
Highlights from 2019 Season
Raw Film vs Texas (2019)
4.79 40-yard Dash at 2019 Combine
Standing 6-foot-2 and weighing in at just over 300 pounds, the big man turned heads at the combine with the fastest time for a three-bill D-lineman in two decades.
Dane Brugler | The Athletic | Position rank: 7 | Overall rank: 70
“Gallimore is an athletic marvel for a 300-plus pounder with the rare motor and violent hands to make plays outside his square. His splash plays are some of the best snaps you will see at the position, but his college production doesn’t match up with his impressive power/athletic traits. Overall, Gallimore isn’t the most technically sound player, but he is an athletic, charged-up big man with the explosive hands to reset the line of scrimmage or pass off blocks on his way to the pocket, projecting as a three-technique with NFL starting potential.”
Competition for snaps
Gallimore would seem to be in line for a lot of snaps as a rookie. The Cowboys ran just under 1,100 defensive plays in 2019, with Collins being on the field the most of any lineman, 71.2% of the time.
Meanwhile the two projected 2020 starters at defensive tackle, free-agent signings Dontari Poe and Gerald McCoy were in Carolina last season. The Panthers averaged 70 snaps a game on defense with Poe appearing in 11 games and McCoy all 16. Poe averaged 38 snaps a game and McCoy 44.
The Cowboys ran an average of 69 snaps per game, so projecting everything to stay consistent (it won’t, but for projection purposes), there are a total of 56 snaps for the rotation at defensive tackle behind the starters.
Competing with Gallimore for those snaps will be Hill, Antwaun Woods, Tyrone Crawford and UDFA Garrett Marino.
Marino is a longshot to make the roster, unless Covid forces the NFL to expand from 53 players. Crawford is in the final year of his contract and comes with a hefty price tag. While he’s been the leader of the defense in the past, his salary and a possible collapse of the cap in 2021 could lead to a cost-cutting move that saves Dallas $8 million they can use next season.
Woods is a pass-rushing nose tackle who suffered through a down year after injuring his knee in Week 1 of the season. He showed a lot of promise in 2018 and is playing under an ERFA tender in 2020.
With Hill being a complete wild card, drafted by a staff that is no longer around and a disappointing showing as a rookie, the path is clear for Gallimore to earn 30-40 snaps a game.
With the lost offseason, that might not be the case right out the gate, but it could happen sooner rather than later.
With Poe being on a one-year deal with a team option, the club could look to lean to their younger players more than normal, with an eye to reducing costs in 2021.
The team seems inclined to move Gallimore to the 3T position instead of keeping him at the nose, but the rookie has the talent to do both depending on the situation. Tomsula will be able to be creative in his technique teaching.
Interview with Pro Football Talk at Combine
This is part of our Countdown to the Regular Season player profile countdown. Up next is OT Terrence Steele.
| Antwaun Woods | Tyrone Crawford | Trysten Hill | Jalen Jelks |
| Dontari Poe | Randy Gregory | Gerald McCoy | Dorance Armstrong |
| L.P. Ladouceur | DeMarcus Lawrence | Blake Jarwin | CeeDee Lamb |
| Cole Hikutini | Dalton Schultz | Noah Brown | Sean McKeon |
| Ventell Bryant | Jon’vea Johnson | Blake Bell | Justin Hamilton |
| Cody Wichmann | Tyron Smith | Ladarius Hamilton |
[vertical-gallery id=649716][lawrence-newsletter]