5 players who Cowboys need to be great in 2019

5. Byron Jones, Cornerback

Defending the pass was an area of weakness for the Cowboys in 2018 as they ranked 13th in the NFL in passing defense. While this unit did limit the amount of passing yards and touchdowns against them, they surrendered the fourth-highest completion percentage (67.7 percent) and only intercepted nine passes.

Team defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli has been working with a young core at many of the defensive back positions such as Chidobe Awuzie, Anthony Brown, Jourdan Lewis, Xavier Woods and Byron Jones. This inexperience, and possibly lack of talent, is why the Cowboys have been susceptible against the pass.

Although, Jones switched positions from safety to cornerback last season and the results were resoundingly positive. His stats don’t do him justice because he didn’t have a single interception in 16 games played.

Even without a single pick, Jones was named to his first ever Pro Bowl and he was a lock-down corner at times. He defended 14 passes and racked up 67 combined tackles last season.

After Jerry Jones was reluctant to spend top dollar to bring in any substantial upgrades in the secondary, it goes without saying that Jones has to once again be a Pro Bowl-caliber player in 2019.

Jones needs to be this great again this upcoming season, because if not, the secondary could be in shambles.