After attacking the first week of free agency at a snail's pace -- where the team signed just one outside free agent, Christian Covington -- the Dallas Cowboys have kicked it up a notch to start Week 2 of free agency, hosting two free agent visits Monday (Randall Cobb and Clayton Geathers) and signing former Lions defensive lineman Kerry Hyder.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 270 pounds, Hyder had a breakout 2016 season for the Detroit Lions, where he recorded eight sacks. He failed to replicate that production in subsequent years on account of a torn Achilles, which wiped out his 2017 season, and an unfortunate scheme change in Detroit, which rendered him ineffective and only active for seven games in 2018.

After playing in Teryl Austin's aggressive one-gap scheme in 2016 - where he finished 28th among edge defenders in total pressures (51), per Pro Football Focus -- Hyder was forced to play in a less aggressive role in Matt Patricia's defense, where he spent almost 50 percent of his snaps aligned over the center.

Playing from that kind of alignment thwarted much of Hyder's effectiveness in 2018. Hyder constantly had to fight through double teams because of his alignment, which caused him to get caught in the trash during many of his rushes. Here's a great example:

Here, Hyder is aligned head-up over the center. Once the ball is snapped, Hyder does an excellent job of immediately hand-fighting to attain superior hand position. Notice how Hyder stays active with his hands, attacking the leverage points of the center's attacks to keep himself clean.

Hyder's active and powerful hands put the center on skates initially; however, the left guard's help knocks Hyder out of his rush lane and unable to generate pressure despite putting himself in a favorable position to win early.

The Cowboys are likely hoping that a return to more aggressive one-gap scheme proves beneficial for Hyder's career, and the film reveals why the Cowboys are willing to take a low-risk gamble on the Texas native.

In 2016, Hyder was one of the brightest, young defensive end talents in the NFL. Hyder was an extremely efficient pass-rusher, finishing with a 7.7 pass-rush productivity rating (which measures pressure created on a per snap basis with weighting toward sacks) -- 21st among all edge defenders, per PFF.

The foundation of Hyder's skill set as a pass-rusher is his power. As evidenced above, Hyder's active and powerful hands put himself in favorable situations to generate pressure on the quarterback. Here's a great example:

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On this play, Hyder is aligned as the left defensive end with an outside shade over the Vikings right tackle. Once the ball is snapped, Hyder explodes out of his stance for two steps -- a failed effort to get the tackle to overset to the outside -- before quickly darting across the right tackle's face with a powerful inside rip move.

Note how Hyder reduces his outside shoulder as he comes underneath the right tackle's strike with a power-rip move. This gives the right tackle a small strikeable surface area on Hyder, enabling him to work to the right tackle's outside hip before employing a powerful forklift move with his inside hand to clear the right tackle's inside point-of-contact.

Hyder is running an E-T stunt with the same-side defensive tackle on the above play. However, because Minnesota's right guard and tackle set on different levels, they are forced to single block the stunt instead of passing off the two Lions defenders to each other.

With the right tackle unable to pass him off, Hyder is able to bully through the residual contact and bring down the quarterback for the sack.

Hyder loves to use powerful strikes that enable him to bully offensive linemen on his way to the QB. Here's a great example:

Here, Hyder is once again aligned as the left defensive end with an outside shade over the Packers right tackle Bryan Bulaga, who was one of the best right tackles in football in 2016. Once the ball is snapped, Hyder explodes out of his stance and attempts to convert speed to power.

Hyder does an excellent job of initiating contact with superior hand position. By getting his right hand latched into Bulaga's inside armpit, Hyder is able to use his 33 1/2-inch arm length to press Bulaga off his frame, putting the Packers right tackle on his heels and unable to adequately slide laterally.

From there, Hyder does an excellent job "shot-putting" Bulaga to disengage, win inside and bring Aaron Rodgers down for the sack.

Because Hyder is so effective as a power rusher off the edge, offensive tackles tend to underset Hyder in an effort to ward off his power and inside moves, leaving the outside rush lane open for the taking. Hyder doesn't do it with enough consistency, but he's flashed the ability to win on the outside rush track. Here's an example:

Once again aligned at the left defensive end spot, Hyder explodes out of his stance and immediately attacks vertically once the ball is snapped. Afraid of Hyder's thunderous hands and inside moves, the Vikings right tackle stays skinny with his set, forcing him to reach with a two-hand strike once he reaches striking distance.

The more astute Cowboys fans will recognize the move Hyder uses to parry the right tackle's two hand strike, as he uses the leaping cross chop made famous by DeMarcus Lawrence in recent years. Hyder showcases great timing and placement with his leaping cross-chop, enabling him to knock down the right tackle's outside hand, thus shortening the corner for Hyder.

From there, Hyder is able to turn the corner without contact and flatten to the quarterback for the pressure.

For Hyder to truly maximize his pass-rush potential, he must become more consistent in his ability to win on the outside track as a pass rusher.

On top of his ability rushing off the edge, Hyder has proven to be a capable interior rusher when he gets single-blocked. When rushing from the interior, Hyder loves to play through his opponent's pads, using a keen understanding of leverage and weight distribution to displace and defeat blocks on his way to the quarterback. Here's a great example:

On this play, Hyder is aligned as the three-technique defensive tackle with an outside shade over Washington's right guard. Once the ball is snapped, Hyder fires out of his stance and employs a stutter step to disguise his power rush before uncorking a powerful two-hand strike.

Hyder gets a little high with his hand placement, forcing him to re-leverage his hands before pulling the guard over his toes, but look at the jolt he creates on contact. Washington's right guard nearly gets folded backward as he gets put on his heels, which gives Hyder the time he needs, freeing himself to pop outside and pursue the quarterback.

Even though he has a lot of pass-rush upside, don't get it twisted: Hyder can effectively defend the run as well. Much like when rushing the passer, Hyder is at his best when single-blocked, where he can use his power, length and hands to control and discard blockers at the point-of-attack.

When Hyder initiates contact, he's able to stack-and-shed blocks with ease whether he's on the edge or playing inside the tackles. Hyder understands how to utilize his length and leverage to put blockers on the heels, making them unable to displace Hyder at the point-of-attack.

The biggest question mark surrounding Hyder's future is his recovery from the torn Achilles that eliminated his 2017 season. Though he was healthy for the majority of 2018, Hyder didn't appear to back to full strength as of yet, which isn't a surprise given that many athletes don't return to pre-injury form athletically until the second season after returning from a torn Achilles.

Luckily for Dallas, a study published in Foot and Ankle International in 2018 revealed that defensive tackles have a history of returning from torn Achilles without a steep decline in post-injury performance, as linebackers and running backs were the only positions where there was a noticeable drop in post-injury performance.

Coupled with a return to a more favorable scheme for his skill set, if Hyder gets back his pre-injury athleticism, signing him could pay huge dividends for the Cowboys in 2019. Hyder can provide Dallas with a potentially effective rusher off the edge who can provide productive snaps from the under tackle (three-technique defensive tackle) position as well. If Hyder's athleticism doesn't return, he probably won't spend much time at defensive end but can still provide Dallas with effective snaps as a rotational under tackle.

Signing Hyder to a one-year deal is the classic low-risk, high-reward type of deal that the Cowboys love to target in free agency.

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Twitter: @JohnOwning