{"id":217937,"date":"2026-03-24T11:11:47","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T11:11:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/217937\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T11:11:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T11:11:47","slug":"how-the-dallas-cowboys-are-trying-to-eliminate-the-gray-area-in-their-new-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/217937\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Dallas Cowboys are trying to eliminate the \u2018gray area\u2019 in their new defense"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the last two months we\u2019ve been learning more about what Christian Parker is looking to build in his first season as Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator.<\/p>\n

The former Philadelphia Eagles defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach has been seeking versatile pieces on the back end, which has included free-agent additions of safeties Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke and cornerback Cobie Durant.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still want to be fast and aggressive, but I will say, there\u2019s a premium on instincts, there\u2019s a premium on the brain,\u201d Parker said late last month on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. \u201cAt different spots, they have to handle a different mental workload in terms of where their eyes have to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want guys to be able to process those things quickly. But you can\u2019t go out there with just a bunch of height, weight, speed guys, either. This is not an operation where we\u2019re gonna roll the ball out in the Whataburger parking lot and just play seven-on-seven. We got to be able to process and do those things the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Locke signing a one-year, $4 million deal with the Cowboys made sense because of his time working with Parker in Denver. Parker was the Broncos\u2019 defensive backs coach from 2021 through 2023. The veteran safety understands what Dallas\u2019 new defensive coordinator is looking for on the back end.<\/p>\n

\u201cCP hates gray area,\u201d Locke said. \u201cThe gray area creates miscommunication. It (makes you) play slower. He\u2019s just really big on details, teaching you the game. He\u2019s a technician in that type of way, how he goes about teaching his techniques. That\u2019s everything I love as a player. There\u2019s a reason a lot of people gravitated towards him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Locke, 29, has the ability to play free safety, strong safety or in the slot.<\/p>\n

Thompson has also shown he can play all three, which led to him being the Cowboys\u2019 most notable free-agency addition. The 27-year-old signed a three-year, $33 million deal<\/a> that can be worth up to $36 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cWherever the coaches need me,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cI definitely see myself playing in the slot. Definitely see myself playing deep safety. Definitely see myself playing strong, free, wherever they need me at. And my film shows it. I\u2019m ready to get it going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thompson said part of his decision to sign with the Cowboys after spending the last seven seasons with the Arizona Cardinals was because of the family atmosphere he felt from Dallas\u2019 coaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s kind of what I feel like I\u2019ve been missing in the past seven years of my NFL career,\u201d he said. \u201cI just feel like we got all the right pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thompson said his relationship with Ryan Smith also \u201cplayed a big role.\u201d Smith is the Cowboys\u2019 new secondary coach. He had been Arizona\u2019s cornerbacks coach.<\/p>\n

Dallas is coming off having arguably the worst defense in franchise history. It wasn\u2019t just one thing that produced that result. They fell short for many reasons, from issues with talent to coaching. There\u2019s a reason that side of the ball is getting a massive overhaul this offseason. Even if they don\u2019t drastically improve the defensive talent in one offseason, they should be able to do a better job of getting everyone on the same page and playing more fundamentally sound.<\/p>\n

Making notable additions at safety, a position that has needed upgrading for a while, is a good start.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy job as a safety is to know what everybody else\u2019s job is on the football field,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cI feel like with me bringing that to the football team and to the defense, we can only elevate and go up from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cornerback position went from a strength to a liability in one offseason. Not re-signing nickel corner Jourdan Lewis hurt. Then injuries added up with starting corners Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland.<\/p>\n

Bland is expected back in the starting lineup. Second-year corner Shavon Revel should be another starter. Another player could be added to the mix with one of Dallas\u2019 two first-round picks. But as of now, the third starter would be Durant, who signed a one-year, $4 million deal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old is coming off a season where he had three interceptions in the regular season and then three more in the playoffs for the Los Angeles Rams.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefense wins championships, offense sells tickets,\u201d Durant said. \u201cJust get the ball back to Dak Prescott is my new motive. I don\u2019t have to be no superhero. Just go out there and be me. Play 11 as one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cowboys should again have one of the NFL\u2019s best offenses. Their defense must close the gap. Help is still needed at inside linebacker, edge rusher and corner. It\u2019s unlikely that all will be adequately addressed in next month\u2019s draft. At least one more trade is probably needed to add a veteran player.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s obvious that the group is far from a finished product. But we\u2019re starting to see the direction things are headed in Parker\u2019s first season.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe demands a lot out of his players,\u201d Locke said. \u201cHe wants the best for you. There will be some days where it\u2019s tough. You have to have those tough conversations, which I had a bunch of those being young. And I can honestly say, he helped shape me into the player I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Over the last two months we\u2019ve been learning more about what Christian Parker is looking to build in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":217938,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,113,104,103],"class_list":["post-217937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}