Taking a look at the Jets’ new defensive tackle
The New York Jets signed former Bears defensive tackle Byron Cowart to a one-year contract early on in free agency. Today we break Cowart down in detail.
The 28-year old Cowart is listed at 6’3” and 300 pounds. He was a fifth round pick out of Maryland in 2019. He has played in 51 games in his career, 21 of which he started. In those games, he has registered 67 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
Background
10 years ago, Cowart was a five-star high school recruit, having been named to the all-USA team. He was considered to be the number one defensive prospect in the nation and headed to Auburn where he was expected to be a huge star.
Things didn’t go to plan, though, as Cowart struggled under the weight of the high expectations. He had just six tackles in a rotational defensive end role as a freshman, then didn’t advance much as a sophomore as he had six tackles again, with one tackle for loss and a forced fumble.
After converting to defensive tackle ahead of his junior year, Cowart went out and had three tackles and a tackle for loss in the first two games. However, he then decided to leave the program, instead finishing his studies at Hillsborough Community College so he could be close to his mother, who had been dealing with some health issues.
At this stage, Cowart was regarded as one of the biggest busts in recent college football history. However, he decided to enroll at Maryland ahead of the 2018 season and got a chance to see action in a starting role. He ended the season with 38 tackles, three sacks and two interceptions.
Cowart was invited to the NFL scouting combine and Senior Bowl, but he was only regarded as a potential late round pick in the 2019 draft. He was ultimately selected by the New England Patriots in the fifth round and played sparingly as a rookie as he had just two tackles in five games.
In 2020, Cowart started a career high 14 games and set another career mark with 27 tackles. He also had a sack, a pass defensed, three tackles for loss and three quarterback hits.
However, in 2021, he was on the PUP list all year and then got released ahead of training camp in 2022.
The Indianapolis Colts picked him up and he played in all 17 games for them as a reserve in 2022, recording 12 tackles with two tackles for loss.
However, he once again didn’t play in 2023 having spent most of the year on the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad after previously spending time with the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans.
The Chicago Bears picked him up last season and he began the year on their practice squad, but he eventually became an important contributor with them as he played 15 games with seven starts. He had 26 tackles and set career marks for sacks (2.5), quarterback hits (four) and tackles for loss (five).
The Jets signed him to a one-year minimum salary deal early on in free agency.
Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Cowart brings to the table as a player, based on extensive research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
Cowart has a strong frame, having bulked up by about 50 pounds since the start of his college career. He also has a long wingspan and big hands.
He is a decent athlete who ran 5.16 at 298 pounds in the 40-yard dash at the combine and posted 26 bench press reps. His explosiveness numbers and agility numbers were good for his size and he shows flashes of burst, explosiveness and power on film.
Usage
Cowart began his college career as a defensive end with good size for the position but converted to defensive tackle ahead of his third season. At Maryland, he played most of his reps as a 5-technique defensive end lined up opposite one of the tackles.
As he’s now bulked up to 300 pounds, Cowart has been focused on playing defensive tackle at the NFL level. He has lined up outside sometimes, but not very often. He has also played as a nose tackle at times.
Motor
Cowart is a hard worker in the trenches who will battle for leverage, play to the whistle and hustle in pursuit situations.
He has proven capable of taking on a starter’s workload by playing 54 defensive snaps in a preseason game. He’s played over 40 in the regular season several times.
Pass rush
Cowart isn’t someone who is likely to put up big sack numbers. He had just 1.5 in his first 49 career games before adding one more in each of his last two games of last season.
However, he’s someone who is capable of collapsing the pocket by moving his man backwards as a bull rusher.
The move inside enabled him to exploit his quickness from having previously been an edge defender. Two of his three sacks at Maryland came as he lined up outside and beat the tackle with an inside move and he had this strip sack in preseason last year.
His pressure rate has been solid but not spectacular, but he has had another three sacks in preseason action.
Run defense
Cowart can bring some discipline and stoutness to the run defense having played at a consistent level against the run over the course of his career.
He will usually hold his ground in the trenches, even against double teams, and has showcased the ability and power to penetrate and bottle up running lanes.
Cowart has also shown that he can take on and shed blockers, with good gap integrity, awareness and timing.
Technique
Pad level is always a concern for defensive tackles, but Cowart is adept at getting low and driving his man back when he gets adequate traction.
He can combine violent hands with good body control to prevent opposing blockers from getting a clean strike on him so he can beat them into the backfield.
As a pass rusher, his primary move is a simple bull rush but he can use an arm over move to get past his man, or spin off a block when his upfield progress is slowed.
Special teams
Cowart’s primary role on special teams in both college and the NFL has been rushing punts and kicks. He hasn’t made any big plays or mistakes but he almost blocked this kick.
He also had a few snaps as a blocker on the placekicking unit in college.
Tackling
Cowart hasn’t been a particularly productive tackler, which speaks to the fact that he’s more than happy to penetrate and fill a lane and let someone else get the glory and recognition for finishing the play.
When he does make a tackle, he tends to close and wrap up well, although he had a career-high five missed tackles last season.
Cowart has had one forced fumble at Auburn, one at Maryland and one in preseason action.
Coverage
Cowart rarely drops into coverage but he has made some plays due to good awareness. He intercepted two tipped passes in college, one of which he almost returned for a touchdown, only to fumble it into the end zone.
He also batted down a pass in 2020.
Instincts/Intelligence
Cowart is obviously versatile, which plays into his favor when involved in a stunt or game on the pass rush. He gets his head up when engaged with his blocker, enabling him to leverage across to the play side or time when he tries to shed the block.
One weakness is that his awareness on down blocks can be lacking. This can take him out of plays more effectively than a straight-up double team.
He was honored as an Academic Top Tiger at Auburn.
Attitude/Demeanor
Cowart was a controversial character in high school and college but his overall story is one of perseverance and determination once he matured.
He grew up in a tough situation with his father in and out of jail, so it was down to his mother to instill discipline in him, which she did.
As a highly sought after high school recruit, Cowart was outspoken and social media was a big distraction for him, both on the way up and once he failed to live up to expectations.
Even his decision to attend Auburn was controversial, as it was unclear right up to the last moment whether he’d go to Florida or Auburn. He opted to follow Will Muschamp to Auburn, only for Muschamp to leave his defensive coordinator role with them to become South Carolina head coach after Cowart’s first year, leaving him disconnected from the coaching staff.
His confidence was obviously shaken and his path to playing time wasn’t helped by an arrest for marijuana possession in his first year and a hospitalization in his second season.
His coaches at Maryland praised his work ethic, attitude and maturity when he arrived there, as the experience had clearly been a wake-up call for him. When adversity struck the program early on as a player died in practice and the coach was fired, Cowart stepped up as one of their main leaders.
Injuries
Cowart missed the entire 2021 season as he was on the PUP list in training camp and never came off it but that injury was undisclosed. Otherwise, he has had a concussion and a minor quad injury in his rookie year and missed a couple of games with back issues in 2020.
He missed a couple of games in college because he had to have emergency appendix surgery and was on the COVID-19 inactive list for one game in 2020.
Scheme Fit
With his experience at multiple positions and on multiple teams, some of which changed their coaching staff while he was there, Cowart has experience in a variety of roles and systems, which should help him to fit in well with the Jets.
He can play both an attacking style and a read/react style and his previous experience outside and at the nose tackle position gives the Jets plenty of situational flexibility.
He was a teammate of current Jets Andrew Beck and Derrick Nnadi during the 2023 season with the Texans and Chiefs respectively.
Conclusions
The Jets signed three defensive tackles to minimum salary deals during the offseason, with Nnadi being the only one to receive a salary guarantee (of only $250K, mind you).
As things stand, the Jets have a couple of roster spots available at this position and even a starting role up for grabs. Any or all of these three could find themselves starting or off the team come September, although the team is also expected to dip into what’s thought to be a very deep defensive tackle pool in the draft, which will affect their chances.
We’ll look at Nnadi and Jay Tufele in the next few weeks, but Cowart has as good of a chance as either of them. He seems to have come to terms with the fact he’s never going to be the star he was expected to be as a teenager, but he has become a hard working player who will do the dirty work and hopefully won’t let you down if you need to rely on him.
Is there much upside here? Perhaps not. However, Cowart should be part of a good competition this year and could give the Jets some good value if he can contribute well.