Talent does not equal success in the NFL, but it sure is a lot easier to be successful when talented.

Blessed with a 6-foot-7, 290-pound frame and an 87.75-inch wingspan, David Irving appears to be an amalgamation of an offensive lineman's worst fears. Not only is Irving exceedingly athletic -- his athletic testing fell into the 91.1 percentile among defensive linemen, per 3 Sigma Athlete -- but he also possesses the strength to put an offensive lineman on his back with only one hand.

Irving has long been the most talented member of the Cowboys defense, but he’s yet to match that talent with success, showing flashes of the dominant force he can be. Even when Irving produced an incredible seven sacks in eight games in 2017, he was just scratching the surface of his potential greatness.

It’s been more of the same for Irving so far in 2018. After missing the entirety of training camp, preseason and first five games of the season, Irving has spent the last two games rounding into shape, accumulating four tackles and a sack while flashing his dominant potential.

Flashes of brilliance

That dominant potential was on full display during Irving’s first snap of the season in Week 6, where he was able to generate pressure on Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles:

On this play, Irving executes a perfectly timed speed cross-chop technique to defeat the initial strike from the right guard. The placement of Irving’s chop is perfect, as it hits the crook of the guard’s right elbow, making it impossible for the guard to latch onto Irving with his initial strike.

From there, Irving uses the downward momentum of his strike to drop his pad level and inside shoulder, effectively reducing his blockable surface area and giving himself the ability to turn around the edge at an acute angle. After reducing his inside shoulder, Irving uses a rip move with his inside arm to clear contact as he races by the guard to generate pressure and force Bortles to throw the ball away.

Later on against Jacksonville, Irving’s flashes of brilliance reared its head again -- this time, Irving showed off his raw strength and giant tackle radius:

Here, Irving is aligned in the play-side B-gap. However, once the ball is snapped, Irving slants inside to the play-side A-gap, running into a Jacksonville double team as the team attempts a zone-run concept.

Irving does an excellent job of absorbing the center and left guard’s double team. He does well to not give up ground at the point-of-attack while staying square to the line of scrimmage and maintaining eye discipline. This allows Irving to expand outside once the left guard turns his attention toward Jaylon Smith, shrug off the block and make the tackle with essentially one arm.

Notice Irving’s inside arm as he takes on the double team. By keeping it near the center’s rib cage, it makes the center’s job extremely difficult because he can’t cross Irving’s face and impede his progress toward the ball carrier.

Against Washington, Irving had a little quieter outing as he was constantly dealing with double teams from Washington’s interior offensive linemen. Still, Irving made sure to not leave the game without flashing his blue-chip talent:

Whew. #DallasCowboys DT @Caliboy_95 reverse pancakes Shawn Lauvao with a bull rush. That's one powerful dude. pic.twitter.com/wp4xrkB4Xw — John Owning (@JohnOwning) October 23, 2018

On this play, Irving is aligned with an outside shade over Washington’s left guard. Once the ball is snapped, Irving once again slants toward the A-gap, but this time, Irving decides to attack the left guard’s mid-line with a bull rush. As the left guard mirrors Irving’s inside slant, Irving uncoils his hips and explodes into the guard’s frame with inside hands, turning the left guard into roadkill.

Unfortunately for Irving, he beats the left guard so bad that he loses his balance (possible hold?) and can’t affect Alex Smith’s quick pass.

Where he must improve

For Irving to be as consistently productive as his talent level suggests he could be, he must improve his timing, pad level and footwork.

It’s not surprising that a player who missed essentially the entirety of offseason program and the first five games of the regular season is struggling with his timing and footwork as he works his way back.

Here’s an example of Irving’s footwork sapping his effectiveness:

Pay attention to Irving’s initial footwork when the ball is snapped. Instead of being sudden and explosive with his movements while gaining ground with each step, Irving uses short hop, which not only puts Irving chest-to-chest with Washington’s right guard but also causes Irving’s pad level to rise, minimizing his ability to generate power at the point of attack.

Compare Irving’s get off with the rest of the defensive line and it’s easy to see how Irving ruined his chance to make an impact with his first two steps. The poor footwork and pad level could be due to fatigue, as Irving is not quite in football shape yet. Whatever the case may be, Irving needs to be more consistent with his footwork so that he can put himself in position to take advantage of his jaw-dropping physical and athletic traits.

Irving’s hand timing has also been a tad inconsistent in his first two games back. Here’s an example:

On this play, Irving is aligned over the Jaguars center, known as a 0-technique. Once the ball is snapped, the center is able to quickly establish contact with his non-snap (left) hand, halting Irving's momentum. Because the center initiated contact with inside hands, Irving is unable to play with leverage and establish proper hand placement, minimizing his chances to counter and defeat the block.

Final thoughts

Irving is close to becoming a dominant force for the Cowboys defense.

Irving needs to continue to shake off the rust while improving his pad level, footwork and timing.

If he doesn’t, Irving will continue to supply a smattering of impact plays -- he’s just simply too talented not to -- while going silent for long stretches of games. If he does, Irving will become more consistent and productive on a snap-to-snap basis, providing an important complement to DeMarcus Lawrence on the edge.

Coming out of the bye week, the Cowboys face a crucial stretch of games that will decide the fate of their season. Irving is a uniquely talented individual who can single-handedly take over and affect the outcome of games (remember his Week 6 performance against the Green Bay Packers in 2016?). He’s not there yet, but the four-year veteran is getting closer to being that kind of player with every snap.

For the Cowboys to sneak into the playoffs, the team needs Irving to play at a level more commensurate with his talent.

Don’t be surprised if that’s exactly what the Cowboys get.

John Owning writes about NFL player evaluation for SportsDayDFW.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnOwning.