I wrote a story recently about 3rd-year players desperately trying to hold onto their roster spots.

You noticed I left a name off the list if you read it. Kelvin Joseph shouldn’t be on the list; he should be the list all by himself.

Nevertheless, I did not include him because I wanted to leave Joseph for this article.

Both he and Israel Mukuamu have a unique opportunity in front of them.

Their development directly impacts the ceiling of this secondary. Both are entering a year of higher expectations.

One has more climbing to do than the other; however, both players could help this Dallas Cowboys defense rise to heights they haven’t seen in a while.

Entering his 3rd season, it’s put up or shut up time for Kelvin Joseph

Kelvin Joseph is the epitome of low-hanging fruit.

He is one of the most talked about conversation pieces for Dallas Cowboys media and fans to gravitate toward especially being an underwhelming top-50 pick.

Rather than looking at what he still needs to do thus far, I will focus on the potential still there in this player.

I’m bullish on Joseph; his skillset is transferable between corner and safety.

That’s all great and awesome, but it’s going to depend on the patience of Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn.

Quinn was tinkering in his bag early in off-season camps. Everyone and their mother read about Joseph playing some nickel safety.

This year may be Joseph’s best opportunity to get his career on track.

Otherwise, people will ask – If Quinn can’t get the best out of the third-year pro, who can?

There are a lot of ‘hopes’ and ‘what ifs’ surrounding Kelvin. He could single-handedly turn the impressive trio at cornerback into a quartet.

The depth alone that Kelvin Joseph would provide would be tremendous. Stephon Gilmore played 16 games in 2022 but missed 14 games between 2020 and 2021.

At this point, elevating Joseph’s game would be about something other than becoming a starter this year.

Should a starter go down or in specific matchup packages, Quinn should be able to call his number and trust him on the field.

That would cover the position flex and depth.

Last year, before the injury, Jourdan Lewis was the nickel guy. Joseph is much bigger, stronger, and faster than Lewis.

Jourdan has savvy experience, but if Kelvin Joseph understands what he needs to do on the field, the sky is the limit for this defense.

Mukuamu will give the position of defensive back a new meaning

If there is any player on the defense who fans believe will arrive this season outside of Sam Williams, the odds-on favorite is Israel Mukuamu.

And it’s for good reason. First off, 6’4″ defensive backs are hard to come by.

Secondly and most importantly, he finished last season very strong, especially in one of the most significant moments of his career in the Wild Card game versus Tampa Bay.

Now, exceeding expectations would require him to be on the field consistently.

The most playing time he received last season was against the Chicago Bears.

He played 36 snaps, and with that, Pro Football Focus graded him an 81 in tackling and a 71 in coverage.

It was one of three games he started last year.

Coincidentally, two of the top 4 graded games for Mukuamu were games in which he started and played both safety spots.

Having a backup player who could step into a safety role without significant drop-off is a luxury few teams have.

It does go further than that.

Israel may be a better slot corner than he is a safety. I mentioned the playoff game against Brady’s Buccaneers.

If you look strictly at the PFF results, the numbers will lead you astray.

But, if you gave it the eye test, you saw that his impact against Chris Godwin at crucial points in the game popped on the screen.

His total snaps need to increase regardless of the position he plays.

Last season it was 154. This defense will benefit if it is 250 at the end of this third campaign.

Having too many athletic, versatile defensive backs to start, insert, or dial-up sub-packages for is a welcomed problem to have.