Cowboys defense can't get much worse. NFL draft help should make it better | Opinion

They also added another linebacker to the mix, dealing a fifth-round pick to San Francisco for Dee Winters. Add the free agent acquisition of former Arizona safety Jalen Thomspon, the trade that landed defensive end Rashan Gary from the Packers, and the two D-tackle acquisitions obtained last year, Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark, and this defense – with five first-round talents added since Parsons was dealt – will look nothing like last year’s unit.

Of course, what’s on paper is only the beginning. If only Jones could buy some insurance that provides for a unit to better complement Dak Prescott and one of the NFL’s most productive offenses.

“We all understand the game and having results,” Jones said. “We’ve go to make some third-down stops. We were proud of what we accomplished on offense with Brian (Schottenheimer) in his first year, but everybody, including him dreaming about it, knew we had to make some big adjustments.”

If the Cowboys had to play a game today, they would line up eight starters on the defense who weren’t with the team a year ago. And seven of the eight coaches on Parker’s staff are new to the team.

Whether that’s enough to buck the bottom-line trend – it’s been 30 years since the Cowboys have won a Super Bowl or advanced to the NFC Championship Game – will have to play out with the games.

“Let’s just say one thing: We’re going to change it,” Jones said. “And this is truly a case where changes are made for the change’s sake. In other words, if that’s the way they used to do it, that’s a reason to do it differently.”

Caleb Downs a rare pick for Cowboys

The Cowboys haven’t drafted a safety as high as Downs since Roy Williams was picked eighth overall in 2002. The vision is even higher. Downs has been compared to versatile safety Darren Woodson, the Hall of Fame finalist who was so crucial to the defenses that won three Super Bowls in the 1990s.

Will McClay, the Cowboys’ vice president of personnel, has described Downs as a “multiplier” who will make the people around him better.

For one thing, in addition to covering on the back end as a ballhawk, the Cowboys envision his impact as a blitzer, a nickel back and a sure-tackling run supporter. All of which sounds a lot like Woodson.

Then there’s the other factor. The Cowboys, plagued by communication breakdowns, need a quarterback on the back end.

“It’s one thing for the defensive coordinator to make the call,” Jones said. “It’s another thing to get it all lined up, making the adjustments that need to be made from the field. From the get-go in the evaluation, he was coveted because he could be that. One of his strongest traits is how smart he is, quarterbacking a whole bunch out there.”

It all sounds like a plan for a new defense, and of course, no one can sell it quite like Jones. Especially coming out of a draft, when every team in the league loves its new crop.

Then again, it’s also apparent that with the sea change of the Cowboys defense in this post-Parsons era, it can’t get much worse.

Contact Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on X: @JarrettBell

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cowboys use NFL draft to improve pitiful defense. What Jerry Jones said