Without Byron Jones, the Cowboys have serious secondary concerns

Have the Cowboys done enough to fill the void Byron Jones left?

For the past five seasons, Byron Jones has been a staple of the Cowboys secondary. Whether he was dispatched at cornerback or free safety, the Cowboys could rely on him for rock-solid pass defense.

With Jones signing a 5-year $82.5 million contract with the Dolphins this season, the Cowboys may see some growing pains as they adjust to life without Jones.

Most of all, the Cowboys will miss the tremendous athleticism Jones brings to the field. Jones was a great security blanket in Dallas. He was always able to make up for errors with his tremendous speed and jumping abilities.

Jones was also an extremely reliable lockdown cornerback. His man coverage skills took a huge jump over the past two seasons, when he made the move to cornerback. He could consistently lock down an opposing team’s top receiver, which will be a huge loss going into 2020. Behind every great defense is a lockdown corner, and the Cowboys are missing one right now.

The Cowboys are relying on breakout seasons from Chidobe Awuzie and Trevon Diggs.

Entering the season, the Cowboys starting cornerbacks will likely be Chidobe Awuzie and Trevon Diggs. In the past two years, Awuzie has consistently been guarding the second wide receiver on opposing teams. He’ll need to take a big leap in 2020, as he’ll now be asked to guard the top receiver matchup. Awuzie has been a solid number two option, but the Cowboys are putting a lot of faith in him to become a top-end cornerback in 2020.

While the Cowboys clearly like Trevon Diggs, there’s still a ton of question marks surrounding him heading into 2020. With the possibility of no preseason games, Diggs will likely be thrown right into the fire in Week 1. At cornerback, the jump from college football to the NFL is enormous. Diggs will need to be the real deal if he’ll be able to hold his own throughout the season.

At safety, the Cowboys will dispatch a duo of Ha Ha Clinton-Dix at strong safety and Xavier Woods at free safety. After four years in Green Bay, Clinton-Dix has bounced around the league a little bit in the past two seasons. He’s spent time with the Packers, Redskins, Bears and now Cowboys since the start of 2018. While he has generally been solid over the course of his six year career, he has never truly been able be an elite safety in the NFL. He’ll look to recapture the success he saw early in his career with the Packers under former coach Mike McCarthy, but it’s certainly less than a guarantee.

At free safety, the Cowboys will opt for Xavier Woods, the former sixth round pick who has exceeded expectations since entering the league in 2017. While he’s been a nice surprise for the Cowboys in the past few seasons, he’s not much more than that. Woods can fill a gap when needed, but won’t be too much of a difference maker in a secondary that is looking for one this season. Woods is in a contract year, which will give him an incentive to excel in 2020, which could make a difference for the Cowboys.

Byron Jones is a huge loss for the Cowboys and they haven’t done much to fill the void he left. They are counting on breakout seasons from rookies and depth players, which is never a recipe for success. Time will tell if the secondary will hold up, but it’s certainly a big question mark heading into the season.