The two areas the Dallas Cowboys upgraded this offseason were wide receiver and defensive back.
It drafted Ceedee Lamb of the Oklahoma Sooners at No. 17 overall, while it signed safety Ha’Sean “Ha Ha” Clinton-Dix in free agency back in April. Mike McCarthy, Cowboys’ new head coach, is a Super Bowl championship veteran that wants dominance on both offense and defense.
He coached Clinton-Dix for the Green Bay Packers (2014-18) and in signing the former All-American safety from the University of Alabama, McCarthy knows he is getting leadership and production from him.
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According to a video from Jon Machota, who covers the Cowboys for The Athletic, Clinton-Dix told local reporters that leadership is the No. 1 aspect he brings to the team. He said he is ‘excited’ to get to work and produce in the secondary.
New Cowboys safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix on what he brings to the Dallas defense: “Leadership. I like to take the ball away. I’ve been in the league for seven years, never missed a snap, never missed a game.” pic.twitter.com/i2GUrtFVPz
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 15, 2020
A native of Orlando, Fla., Clinton-Dix enters his seventh year in the National Football League.
He was selected in the first-round (No. 21 overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft and has three playoff appearances with the Packers — including two NFC North Division titles (2014, 2016).
The 6-foot-1, 211-pounder played with the Washington Football Team in 2018, and spent last season with the Chicago Bears on a one-year, $5.5 million contract.
He’s recorded 522 tackles, 33 pass breakups, 16 interceptions and four forced fumbles in six seasons. Clinton-Dix was invited to the 2016 NFL Pro Bowl and earned second-team All-Pro honors that year too.
In three years at Alabama (2011-13), he displayed tremendous range at free safety.
Clinton-Dix tallied six career picks, including four in 2012. He was on two BCS National Championship teams (2011, 2012) and one Southeastern Conference title roster (2012).
With it having Chidobe Awuize, Jourdan Lewis and Trevon Diggs, adding Clinton-Dix to the back end gives the Cowboys a formidable secondary in the NFL.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
