The drubbings handed down by C.J. Anderson and the Los Angeles Rams ground attack left many Dallas fans in shock over what became of their run defense. During a season in which their defense became a sudden strength, the Cowboys’ Week 15 loss against Indianapolis and their playoff exit a month later exposed some cracks in their defensive foundation.
But there’s good reason hope for even bigger things to come from the Dallas defense in 2019, signaled by their first external free agent signing of the offseason, Christian Covington.
The initial response to the one-year, $2.5 million contract was underwhelming, considering the money and names being bandied about in an offseason with all sorts of expectations. But the Covington signing could prove especially shrewd if he’s able transform from friendly yo-yo enthusiast to disruptive space-eating Hot Boy. For Covington, the transition should prove seamless.
A former 2015 sixth-rounder, Covington has been a steady role player along the Texans defensive line for the past four seasons. He played base-end Houston’s 3-4 defense, but at 6-foot-2 and 310 pounds, Covington will team up with Antwaun Woods in forming a formidable 1-tech DT rotation.
Covington owns just 7.5 career sacks, but set career high 3.5 in 12 games last year. A torn bicep ended his 2017 season after just seven games, but when on the field, Covington plays with power and violence, as scouted by Bryan Broaddus.
The Cowboys drafted Trysten Hill with their first selection this past April, an undertackle from Central Florida. His addition, along with the UDFA steal of Daniel Wise and other young players, crowds the defensive interior a bit. Dallas has a handful of players, Daniel Ross and Maliek Collins, who play both DT positions, and they all will be battling it out to get in-game opportunities to show their worth.
The Cowboys acquired Covington, knowing they wanted to improve their depth but not knowing if they’d be able to in the draft. However just because they did well in grabbing new recruits, doesn’t mean Covington can’t and won’t still compete for snaps.
Beyond what Covington was able to accomplish on the field, he also quickly become a fan-favorite in Houston. He made strong ties to the city after playing collegiately at Rice, but Covington is originally from Vancouver, British Columbia. His father Grover Covington is the CFL’s all-time leader in sacks. Yet after spending much his adult life in Texas, Covington still chooses to give back to the community that he’s most recently called home.
Now in Dallas, Covington joins fellow Canadian, Cowboys Tyrone Crawford and L.P. Ladouceur in wearing The Star. Yet he still remains involved with the Sunshine Kids, a Houston-based charity organization. The NFL team Covington plays for will not stop him from maintaining the relationships he’s made with the kids, as Covington put it, they’re “stuck with [him] for life.”
It’s easy to envision Covington quickly becoming a fixture of the Cowboys community as well. Between all he brings as a player and person, there’s a reason why the team brought him in and believes he can contribute in 2019. His Twitter game also helped him out, as Covington was responsible for one of the best reactions to his Madden player in recent memory.
Learn even more about Christian Covington below from this early 2018 video he made with the Texans:
