FRISCO, Texas – It's scary to think that, in some ways, this defense is still finding new ways to unlock its talent.
Coming off a dominant game like Sunday's, there's a long list of players that deserve mention in forcing four turnovers and holding the New York Giants to just six points.
Unfair as it might be, it seems like Malik Hooker got lost in the shuffle of that performance – though that shouldn't be the case.
Hooker played arguably the best game of his short Cowboys career, tallying six tackles with a pass breakup and notching his first interception since 2019 on a deep prayer lofted up by Mike Glennon.
"I've been saying for the last couple of weeks, man it's been two years since I've had a pick, two years since I've had a pick," Hooker said after the game. "I just felt like I was going to get one today, just off of warmups."
From the time he was a highly-touted prospect at Ohio State, Hooker has been known for those ball skills. His seven picks as a college sophomore helped him go No. 15th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft, and he managed seven more during his first three seasons with the Indianapolis Colts despite battling injuries.
That reputation made him an intriguing signing when the Cowboys added him to the roster during the first week of training camp, and it's been intriguing to see his growth in the defense as the season has progressed.
"I think you're seeing him come into his own," said Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy on Monday. "I think he's comfortable, his ability to play the front and the back in terms of being able to play close to the box."
All of that said, it would be a disservice to reduce Hooker's game to just a static number of tackles. Several of his six stops were quite impressive, including two tackles of Saquon Barkley and an open field hit on Devontae Booker that limited a potentially big gain to just four yards.
"I think we saw yesterday how accurate he can be as a tackler," said Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones. "He was one of the few guys who was getting Saquon down on the first hit."
McCarthy said Monday that this past game was his best of the season, and it's easy to see why. What makes it even more intriguing is the way the Cowboys are deploying their safeties.
All of the work Hooker put in on Sunday came on just 32 snaps, or roughly 51% of the defensive workload. Since the Cowboys' bye week, his role has fluctuated between 30% and 60% of the snap count.
It's hard to believe, but that's because the Cowboys have an abundance of solid safety play right now. Damontae Kazee has been a mainstay at free safety all season, playing 82% of the snaps for the year and 96% over the last month. Jayron Kearse has obviously been one of the revelations of the season, averaging 95% of the snaps as the Cowboys' do-everything strong safety and subpackage linebacker.
That leaves some fun maneuverability for guys like Hooker and Donovan Wilson, who is expected to return from injury this weekend.
On the play that produced Hooker's interception, the Cowboys were functioning in a sort of big nickel. With four down linemen, they deployed two linebackers and two cornerbacks, with both Kearse and Hooker sitting in the slots and Kazee dropped deep in coverage.
At the snap, Hooker bailed out of the box and dropped deep, essentially giving the Cowboys two deep safeties without giving up coverage over the middle of the field.
Looking that over, it's not a surprise that defensive coordinator Dan Quinn said safety is one of his most-rotated positions outside of his defensive line.
"Having this combination of guys is good, and I think the more we get time together, that's what I said, we got a lot to work on and if we can play cleaner and faster and sharper so that there's no missteps and just be tighter and faster," Quinn said.
It's just another wrinkle for a defense that is already starting to hit its stride. And to hear it from Hooker, there's still more he can do. Hard as it might be to be even more intrigued by this group's potential, that just might be the case.
"I feel like I'm better right now. Just as far as confidence, how I'm playing, physicality, I feel like I'm pretty much elevating every week off all cylinders," Hooker said. "For me, it's about keep getting better each week."
