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Cowboys defense built to continue streak among top 10 teams with the most INTs in 2024

July 14, 2024
Dallas Cowboys v New York Giants
Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Dan Quinn’s defenses excelled at taking the ball away... it will be interesting to see if the Cowboys can generate a ton of interceptions under Mike Zimmer.

Since 2021, the Cowboys have found themselves in the top 10 list of defenses with the most INTs each season. Will they be able to do it again in 2024? Right now, all signs point to yes.

One major sign is DaRon Bland. Bland is coming off of a historical season, not only leading the NFL in INT’s, but also being crowned as the NFL pick-six king. Stepping in for an injured Trevon Diggs, there was uncertainty around how well he would fill those shoes. With nine INTs and five pick-sixes, Bland stepped up to the plate and silenced all of the doubters, capping off the season with a first-team All-Pro nod and a trip to the Pro Bowl. While Bland scored more TDs than any other defensive player (and many offensive players at that), it could be argued that he was snubbed in the voting of the Defensive Player of the Year award.

While no one could have anticipated that stellar of a year for Bland, let’s not forget that he also had five INTs in eight starts in his rookie season. Looking to 2024, It may be outlandish to expect another jump from year two to year three. But if Bland is only able to produce a percentage of what he did last year, it will still be a great contribution to the team’s INT total.

Another point working in the Cowboys’ favor is the return of Trevon Diggs. Since Diggs entered the league in 2020, his experience as a WR has helped him become an INT machine. Along with being crowned the 2021 INT leader, he also earned a 2021 first-team All-Pro nod and two trips to the Pro Bowl (2021 and 2022).

Just before his 2023 season was cut short with an ACL injury before Week 3, Diggs was showing flashes of dominance with a hit on a receiver that popped the ball into the air right into Bland’s hands for an INT, and in Week 2 he snagged an interception for himself.

While it is never certain that a player will bounce back quickly after those types of knee injuries, Diggs looks to be on track for his return at training camp later this month. A few workout videos have surfaced on Instagram that has a lot of people excited for Diggs’ return.

For the 2024 season, these two previous NFL INT leaders will get to play on the field together. If one were to come up with a blueprint on how to earn the most INTs in a season for their team, stacking INT leaders would be a great place to start.

Included in that blueprint would be the workings of defensive backs coach, Al Harris. Interceptions by the Dallas Cowboys’ defense in the pre-Al Harris era, from 2015-2019, were difficult to come by. There was only one season in that stretch where the entire defense totaled 10 INTs, the rest were even lower than that. Since Harris joined the Dallas Cowboys in 2020, that number has changed drastically. The DBs mindset shifted to that of a WR every time the ball is thrown in their direction. It is their ball to catch. In 2021, the defense led the league in INT’s with 26 total.

After coaching and developing Diggs and Bland into All-Pro’s, this season Harris has the opportunity to tap into the potential some of the other guys in the DB room. Names like Caelen Carson, Gareon Conley, and Eric Scott Jr., are all still looking to reach their full potential. If anyone is able to bring it out of them, it would be Harris.

One of the best decisions the Cowboys’ front office made this offseason, was to ensure that Harris remained on the coaching staff that included a promotion to assistant head coach. The “Al Harris Effect” turned this DB group into INT fiends and it is expected that it will carry into the 2024 season.

The rest of the secondary is filled with guys who are also known to make plays on the ball. Jourdan Lewis in the slot is looking back to form after his foot injury that occurred on a play where he had an INT in 2022. After not knowing if he would be able to mentally and physically play again, he is back with a second chance to reach his peak. In the safety room guys like Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson are no strangers to INT’s themselves, each logging five INTs since joining the Cowboys.

The Cowboys have coasted in the top 10 defenses with the most INT’s in the past three seasons; sitting atop that list with 26 in 2021, tied at seventh in 2022 with 16 INTs, and tied at eighth in 2023 with 17 INTs. Everything is in place for that trend to continue in 2024. It might even be surprising if they don’t make the top five. But like always, time will tell.


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