The Dallas Cowboys have seemingly been trying to rebuild their defense for the past 10 seasons, and nothing has gotten done. The Cowboys defense played well last season but was unable to weather the storm that followed Tony Romo and Dez Bryant's season-altering injuries. Now the Cowboys must look to rebuild or reload heading into 2016, according to Dallas News' SportsDay.
Cornerback: At the cornerback position the Cowboys will have two free agents in Morris Claiborne and Josh Thomas. Everyone else will seemingly remain, and this may be a mistake. The departure of Jerome Henderson suddenly brings up the ability to start fresh with a new coach which may be what is needed in what is seemingly a stagnant secondary. The return of Orlando Scandrick is a start, but Brandon Carr must be released as he has been a liability in coverage ever since stepping onto the field for Dallas, not to mention his monstrous cap hit, according to ESPN. The Cowboys did pick a winner in Byron Jones who should be one of the centerpieces of this secondary for years to come. Re-signing Claiborne would give the Cowboys some flexibility and allow them to attempt to pick up a free agent cornerback, such as Sean Smith or Casey Hayward.
Safety: At safety the perennial starters are Barry Church and JJ Wilcox. This I am actually OK with because they hit hard and get their hands on running backs pretty regularly. If the cornerback situation is handled this offseason with the addition of a free agent and the release of Carr, the safety spot could be OK. It would most likely be in the Cowboys' best interest to draft a middle round safety just for depth purposes.
Defensive Ends: This is the area in the most danger as the Cowboys are expected to release Greg Hardy, have lost Randy Gregory for four games due to suspension, according to DallasCowboys.com, and will see Jeremy Mincey and Jack Crawford hit free agency. The Cowboys will not only need to draft several defensive ends, but they will also need to see if they can find depth in other areas such as free agency. The Cowboys' defensive line should look drastically different in 2016.
Linebackers: The Cowboys will see one of their main starters Rolando McClain possibly leave in free agency, and this also may be a good thing. The Cowboys should draft at least two linebackers and possibly look to free agency for some depth players. Sean Lee and Anthony Hitchens are two very productive players, but adding a playmaker in the middle could not hurt.
