It has been hard to not get swept up in the Caleb Downs story. You can look at this offseason in two sort of halves. There is everything that happened before the Downs selection and everything that came after.
The budding optimism surrounding the team at this moment did not seem to be as prevalent, and it would seem that the Downs pick served as a catalyst for some (not all!) to think more highly of things like the Rashan Gary trade for example.
Even Cobie Durant, despite how people have soured on him given that he is still holding on to Downs’ jersey number, was regarded highly as a player on the night that Dallas signed him, but that has also served as a point of excitement to look at with regards to the upcoming season. That may not have necessarily felt like the case if Dallas hadn’t landed Caleb Downs.
There are some things it seems are being lost in the shuffle, though.
Jalen Thompson and Quinnen Williams seem to be forgotten
As noted the Downs selection suddenly made a lot of fans feel like the offseason was going well and that the Cowboys were trying harder than usual, but some of those same people did not seem to give enough credit to the Jalen Thompson signing.
Dallas handed out their biggest contract in free agency to Thompson since signing Brandon Carr in 2012. This was literal proof of them wading into waters that they have declined to enter for a decade and a half now.
Thompson has his own range of athleticism and abilities that defensive coordinator Christian Parker is going to be able to get the most out of. The defense isn’t only going to benefit from Caleb Downs in that respect. In fact, Thompson and Downs are likely going to really help one another overall.
Not to move the goalposts too much, but Quinnen Williams is somewhat of a new addition as well.
Obviously the Cowboys acquired Williams at the trade deadline last year. But this is the first offseason that he has spent with the team, and obviously the first full season that he will be a part of it as well. In that unique respect, he is a new (new-ish) player that is a part of the mix.
Think about it this way. If you were tasked with answering who were the five most important players on the Cowboys defense, your answer would likely include (in whatever order) Downs, Thompson, and Williams. Right? Probably.
You might even answer Rashan Gary as well, and if you did then you would be talking about four players (80% of the 5) who were not even on the team at this time last year. That is significant overhaul.
Ultimately it is a good thing that the Cowboys have enough additions that there are some who can be overlooked. But we should remember that players like Jalen Thompson and Quinnen Williams exist, too.
