It's only been two games, but the Dallas Cowboys' interior defensive line play might be worse than it was last season. That is saying something. They traded for Jordan Phillips and signed Linval Joseph in the span of a week after training camp and neither player has colored themselves in glory.
That's as generous as we can put it. The Cowboys clearly miss Johnathan Hankins, who was serviceable, if not unspectacular, at the nose tackle position. Mazi Smith, who hasn't even made a tackle in two games, has far and away been Mike Zimmer's best interior defender.
While Joseph played horribly against the Saints, Phillips may have already worn out his welcome in Dallas after a childish sequence this past Sunday where he chose to tackle an already-fallen Saints offensive lineman instead of pursuing Derek Carr on a negated touchdown.
It could be a while before Cowboys fans see Phillips take the field again. He was placed on injured reserve Wednesday with a wrist injury, which knocks him out a minimum of four games. In a corresponding move, Dallas signed old friend Carlos Watkins off the Commanders' practice squad.
Cowboys news: Dallas signs Carlos Watkins, places Jordan Phillips on IR
The Cowboys have had bad luck with adding aging defensive tackles. While Hankins was serviceable after he came over via trade, he missed time due to injury in both seasons. Being that Phillips was playing poorly before the injury and will now miss at least four games, you have to wonder if he'll be back at all.
This makes the preseason trade look even worse. Since Phillips was on the 46-man roster for two games, the Cowboys officially gave up their 2026 sixth-round pick to the Giants. They will receive New York's seventh-round pick in 2026.
Among interior defenders who have played at least 30 snaps, Phillips' 29.6 player grade is the second-worst at the position, per Pro Football Focus.
Signing Watkins is really just addition by subtraction. A former fourth-round pick of the Texans, Watkins spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons with Dallas. He made 27 appearances, including 18 starts (14 coming in 2021) and tallied one sack, seven tackles for loss, 11 pressures and 37 defensive stops.
Watkins failed to make the Commanders and Rams' 53-man rosters this summer. He's a below-average interior defender, but he cannot be any worse than what the Cowboys have trotted out there so far this season.
