Schottenheimer Clarifies Malik Hooker, P.J. Locke Depth-Chart Split

FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Wednesday the club believes it has three or four safeties who start in the NFL, and that the “or” between Malik Hooker and P.J. Locke on the unofficial depth chart released Tuesday reflects game plan rather than an unsettled competition.

Jalen Thompson holds the other safety spot outright. Caleb Downs is listed alone at defensive back.

“Number one, I’m going to start it a little different way. We really feel like we’ve got three or four safeties that are starters in the National Football League,” Schottenheimer said. “So I’ll start that way. P.J. and Malik, we feel are starters. JT’s a starter. Caleb Downs is listed as a DB. That’s cool. That’s what he is. He’s a DB, so nickel and safety and all that stuff. But both those guys have tremendous value. I’m talking about Malik and P.J. They’re both veterans. They both have system experience in similar systems like this, and it’s the strength of our defense in reality when you look at the bodies that we have back there.”

“But the ‘or’ just means that by game plan, we’ll do some things different,” Schottenheimer continued. “It’s no different than Cobie Durant or Shavon Revel. So it gives us flexibility, and it’s not gamesmanship or anything. That’s truly how we feel about our guys is that we’ve got good players that can do different things at different times for different reasons.”

Hooker has been in Dallas since 2021 and started 12 games last season. He reworked his contract in March into a one-year deal worth $5 million. Thompson signed a three-year, $33 million contract in free agency after seven seasons in Arizona, and he has 9 interceptions and 116 interception return yards across 99 career games.

Malik Hooker And P.J. Locke In A Rebuilt Room

Dallas rebuilt the secondary around the safety group this offseason. Five of the team’s seven draft picks went to defense, and the Cowboys added Thompson, Locke, and Cobie Durant in free agency before trading up for Downs. Dallas allowed 30.1 points and 251.5 passing yards per game last season, both last in the league.

Locke arrived on a one-year deal after seven seasons with Denver, where Christian Parker was on staff. He went undrafted out of Texas in 2019 and has 174 tackles and 2 interceptions in his career.

Brian Schottenheimer On What P.J. Locke Brings

Locke’s value shows up on special teams as well as in the back end, and Schottenheimer said the communication is what he wants to watch Sunday.

“It’s been great. I mean, you know, Clarence asked a question about him and Malik. You know, the other thing about P.J. is P.J. is another guy that just on special teams, he just, he does everything,” Schottenheimer explained. “So he’s playing safety, he’s playing special teams. Great command back there, understands the calls. I think that’s where I’m excited to see the communication this weekend. They’re going to challenge us with different personnel groupings, a lot of big personnel groupings and just unbalanced lines and things that a Matt Nagy, Greg Roman offense do. And we’ll have to communicate well, and P.J.’s excellent at that.”

The second “or” on the chart sits at cornerback opposite DaRon Bland. Dallas opens Sunday at the New York Giants at 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.