Jerry Jones didn’t just spend $3.5 million on a safety in March. He may have bought the perfect guide for Caleb Downs.
That’s the part of this Cowboys move that stands out now. Downs has the kind of talent that makes people want to fast-forward to the highlight reel, but he’s still a rookie, and rookies need a steady hand somewhere nearby.
For Dallas, that hand has shown up in P.J. Locke, the former Broncos defensive back who signed a one-year deal and has already started carving out a role that goes beyond his own snap count.
Locke said on the Blueprint Podcast that he and Downs have turned post-practice work into a daily routine.
"... And after practice, like I always do extra, so I took a couple guys in, and he wasn't with me at first," Locke said.
"And then he kind of came and kind of started being around a little bit, and I was like, 'Come on, man. Let's do it.'
Now, every single day, every day after practice, we finding each other, and it's to the point now where if I start without him, it is like, 'Damn, bro, you gonna start without me?' I said, 'My fault, bro.'"
That kind of connection matters for a player like Downs, even if he already carries himself like he belongs. The Cowboys can ask plenty of him right away, but having a veteran in his corner should make the adjustment smoother. Locke was already doing extra offseason work with teammates before Downs got involved, which only adds to the value he brings to the locker room.
Locke put it plainly when talking about what he sees in Downs.
"He sees it," Locked added of Downs. "They are going to look for him a lot.
I just want to be there for him, just to take him through that mental roller coaster. That mental roller coaster is going to hit at some point.
It always does. I just want to make sure I am here for him to guide him through it.
I went through it the worst way.”
Dallas does have other veterans in the secondary, including Jalen Thompson, DaRon Bland, Malik Hooker, and Cobie Durant. But Locke looks like the best fit to help bring Downs along. He already knows Christian Parker’s system from their time in Denver, and Parker’s defense is expected to lean heavily on Vic Fangio influence, with Fangio having coached Locke during his first two NFL seasons.
There’s also the football fit. Downs is expected to work a lot in the nickel, but Parker is likely to move him around and use him in a variety of ways.
Locke isn’t the same kind of chess piece, but he has played multiple spots in the secondary, which makes him especially useful as a sounding board. Per Pro Football Focus, Locke logged 1,054 snaps as a free safety, 503 as a box safety, and 109 snaps in the nickel during his career in Denver.
And Locke has already shown he can help on the field, too. In spring practices, he was one of the standouts, breaking up multiple Dak Prescott passes against the starting offense.
For a modest investment, the Cowboys may have landed exactly the kind of presence that makes the rest of the defense easier to trust.
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