When the Cowboys signed free agent defensive tackle Cedric Thornton to a four-year, $17 million deal this past March, they did so with the goal of him being the anchor to the defensive line interior. Thornton immediately noted “a lot more aggressiveness” in Cowboys practices versus his former team, the Eagles.

Thornton continues to be impressed with his new team, it seems. He recently stated he is acclimating quickly to defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli’s 4-3 scheme thanks to his defensive line compatriots; and they are building quite the chemistry off the field as well.

“I’m adapting pretty well and the teammates have made it better for me,” Thornton said. “They understand that I haven’t been in this format, in this situation in the 4-3 defense and they’re being very patient with me. And we eat out once a week to get that correlation together off the field. It’s pretty smooth so far.” – Dallas Morning News

It appears Thornton also underestimated how talented the crew is.

“I didn’t know they were this athletic,” Thornton noted. “Tyrone Crawford, Jack Crawford, Demarcus Lawrence, David Irving, Randy Gregory, Terrell McClain, Ryan Russell, like everybody is athletic. It’s similar to what we had in Philadelphia. I study offensive linemen and I never studied the [defensive line] group before I came here. Just to come here and see how athletic these guys are, very nimble guys to be able to move at a bigger weight. I’m just glad to be a part of the group.”

Thornton is an upgrade to DT over former Cowboys’ player Nick Hayden; and will be integral in getting Dallas helmets in the faces of opposing QBs in 2016. This will be paramount for a team that ranked 25th in the league in sacks last year with only 31 total.