The biggest need on the Dallas Cowboys' roster entering Thursday was undoubtedly the right defensive end position, as the Randy Gregory suspension left them without a potent pass rusher opposite DeMarcus Lawrence.

Knowing this, the Cowboys traded for Miami Dolphins defensive end Robert Quinn -- who has 69 sacks in eight seasons -- in an effort to boost the overall play of the defense.

Quinn was once regarded as one of the best pass rushers in football, having accumulated 10-plus sacks in three straight seasons from 2012 to 2014, including 19 in 2013. In 2015 and 2016, back and shoulder injuries forced him to miss time (just 15 starts over those two seasons) and limited his effectiveness when he was on the field (nine sacks combined). Quinn saw his health return in 2017, playing in 15 games with 14 starts, but his elite productivity did not, as he was held to 8.5 sacks.

Three straight seasons with fewer than 10 sacks made Quinn expendable, as the Los Angeles Rams felt he was no longer worth the four-year, $66.575 million extension given to him in 2014. So Quinn was traded to Miami last offseason, where he was effective in 2018 but again failed to replicate his prior productivity, finishing with 6.5 sacks.

Even though he hasn't reproduced the elite numbers from earlier in his career, Quinn still brings a lot of value as a pass rusher opposite Lawrence. Without further ado, let's take a look at Quinn's skill set and see what he can provide for the Cowboys' defense.

Pass rush

First and foremost, Quinn provides the juice off the edge that Dallas would miss without Gregory.

Quinn isn't the same pass rusher he used to be after injuries sapped some of his effectiveness, but he still possesses impressive speed off the edge and the lower-body flexibility to win on the outside rush track. Here's a great example:

We've talked a lot this offseason about DAL's need for a pass rusher who wins with speed opposite DeMarcus Lawrence. Quinn can provide that for DAL if traded for. Quinn has great cornering ability, possessing the requisite flexibility to turn tight corners without losing speed pic.twitter.com/OSlPWDDszk — John Owning (@JohnOwning) March 19, 2019

On this play, Quinn aligns as the right defensive end with an outside shade over Jacksonville Jaguars left tackle Ereck Flowers. When the ball is snapped, Flowers attempts to flat-set Quinn in an effort to mitigate his speed. Quinn, however, is able to fluidly expand his rush outside while using active hands to keep himself clean of contact.

He hasn't allowed Flowers to latch onto his frame, so once Quinn reaches the apex of the quarterback's drop, he is able to burst around the corner and flatten to the signal caller for the sack.

Quinn routinely leverages his speed and active hands to generate pressure on quarterbacks. While he possesses an adequate array of hand technique as a pass rusher, Quinn's most effective move is undoubtedly his cross-chop. Here's a great example:

Robert Quinn has made a career of destroying average-to-below average offensive tackles. Astute DAL fans will reconize the move Quinn uses here to generate pressure on Cody Kessler. Great timing and fluidity throughout the move. pic.twitter.com/lnr3WvZ1O5 — John Owning (@JohnOwning) March 19, 2019

Here, Quinn is again aligned as the right defensive end with an outside shade over Flowers. When the ball is snapped, Quinn explodes out of his stance and immediately stressed Flowers' vertical set.

Once he gets within striking distance, Quinn executes a violent and perfectly timed cross-chop move to defeat Flowers' hands and open the corner. From there, Quinn's balance, footwork

athleticism take over as he's able to turn a tight corner and flatten to the quarterback while maintaining speed and momentum, leading to a hit.

Cowboys fans should recognize Quinn's No. 1 move -- after all,

it's Lawrence's primary move

. On top of the cross-chop, Quinn has proven to be effective with

long arm

,

swim and rip moves

as well.

One of the benefits of Quinn's speed off the edge is that it opens up a lot of inside counter opportunities as well, with 30.8 percent of his pressure coming as a result of beating his man inside, according to Pro Football Focus. Here's a great example:

Nice inside counter from Quinn against David Bakhtiari. Tries to win with an inside jab step into a leaping cross-chop club to the outside but whiffs. Does an excellent job of re-directing inside with Bakhtiari's momentum carrying up the arc. pic.twitter.com/1Uxx0vQwXe — John Owning (@JohnOwning) March 19, 2019

On this play, Quinn is aligned as the right defensive end with an outside shade over Green Bay Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari -- one of the three best tackles in football.

When the ball is snapped, Quinn bursts upfield and sets up his leaping cross-chop with an inside jab step. Bakhtiari, however, wisely stays patient with his pass set and executes a well-timed two-hand punch to stymie Quinn's cross chop.

Nevertheless, Quinn does an excellent job of seamlessly transitioning to an inside swim to beat Bakhtiari's block before pursuing and bringing down Aaron Rodgers for the sack.

Unfortunately, Quinn doesn't possess the requisite play strength to consistently convert his speed-to-power, as offensive tackle tend to stymie Quinn's bull rush attempts.

Quinn also struggles when dealing with chip blocks, as he lacks the ability to consistently win when he can't use his speed around the edge.

Ultimately, despite the fact that Quinn isn't the same pass rusher he used to be earlier in his career, he still possesses enough athleticism and skill to be a great pass rush presence off the right side. Not only is Quinn an adequate replacement for Randy Gregory, but he should be able to provide an immediate upgrade in terms of pass rush off the right side for the Cowboys.

Run defense

For all of his talents rushing the passer, Quinn is feast-or-famine when defending the run. Quinn can leverage his skills as a pass rusher to penetrate and disrupt in the backfield, but when he's forced to hold his ground at the point-of-attack against single- and double-teams, Quinn struggles mightily.

Quinn lacks the play strength to hold his ground at the point of attack, and the fact that his pad level tends to rise when engaged doesn't help either. He struggles to set a strong edge in the run game, allowing running backs to bounce the ball outside for positive gains. Quinn's lack of play strength causes him to continually get widened at the point of attack, which also gives running backs big lanes inside.

Furthermore, he does a poor job identifying delayed handoffs, enabling offenses to take advantage of him being caught out of position.

When Quinn has success as a run defender, it's usually because he's able to leverage his pass-rush traits to penetrate and disrupt the run game. Most commonly, he will utilize his considerable lateral quickness to beat blocks and bring down ball carriers.

Final thoughts

Ultimately, Quinn's pass-rush ability makes this trade a slam dunk for the Cowboys. He provides the team with an immediate upgrade at right end although Quinn, who turns 29 in May, doesn't have the upside of the 26-year-old Gregory.

Quinn in the past has been the best edge rusher on whatever team he was on, making it easier for opposing teams to target him with double-teams and chip blocks, oftentimes rendering him ineffective and unproductive as a pass rusher.

Luckily for him, he presumably won't have that issue in Dallas, as Lawrence's presence should provide Quinn with more one-on-one pass-rush opportunities than he's used to, which could lead him to flirt with double-digit sacks once again.

Quinn's warts against the run can be mitigated by Dallas' defensive line rotation, in which Tyrone Crawford, Taco Charlton or even the newly acquired Kerry Hyder can handle right defensive end duties on run downs.

The fact that Quinn agreed to a one-year, $8 million deal is beneficial to the Cowboys as well, as it enables them to recoup a compensatory draft pick if he departs in free agency next year. The short-term deal also means Quinn's presence doesn't preclude the Cowboys from selecting a defensive end in the 2019 NFL draft.

Trading for Quinn is a win in every sense of the word, as it improves the Cowboys' pass rush without breaking the bank.

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Twitter: @JohnOwning