After a quiet start to the NFL's free agency period, the Dallas Cowboys finally decided to stick their toes into the open market by signing defensive lineman Christian Covington to a one-year deal Thursday.

Listed at 6-foot-2, 310 pounds with 33.25-inch arms, Covington recorded 15 total tackles, four tackles for loss, eight quarterback hits and 3.5 sacks in 12 games (two starts) with the Houston Texans last season.

Signing Covington appears to come as a direct result of the beating the Cowboys' interior run defense took against the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Rams down the stretch last season, as the former sixth-round draft pick thrives against the run.

Against the Colts and Rams last season, Cowboys defensive tackles were thoroughly dominated by opposing interior offensive linemen, enabling blockers to get to the second level quickly to inhibit the effectiveness of Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch. Cowboys defensive tackles failed to hold their ground at the point of attack as they were easily displaced from their gaps, opening giant alleys for opposing ball carriers.

The Cowboys had to improve their interior run defense this offseason, which is exactly what Covington should be able to do.

Covington, 25, has largely been relegated to a reserve role since entering the NFL in 2015 out of Rice, but he's proven to do his best work defending the run, as his length, active hands and raw strength allow him to consistently succeed. Here's a great example:

In the play above, Covington is aligned as the strong-side, 3-technique defensive tackle with an outside shade over the Philadelphia Eagles' left guard. When the ball is snapped, Covington mirrors the left guard's initial movement in an effort to keep his gap integrity. From there, he does well to initiate first contact, attaining superior hand placement and controlling the block.

While engaged, Covington does an excellent job of maintaining the separation he needs to shed the block while also putting the left guard on his heels, which allows Covington to walk the blocker into the backfield before disengaging and bringing the ball carrier down behind the line of scrimmage.

Notice how Covington plays with proper leverage throughout the rep, showing the lower-body flexibility to drops his pads and play underneath the chin of the opposing blocker. When you combine a leverage advantage with a 310-pound frame, it makes it almost impossible for blockers to move Covington off his spot.

Though he played primarily in the B-gap in Houston's 3-4 defense, Covington will likely spend most of his time in the A-gap as a nose tackle (1-technique) with the Cowboys, which means he will see a steady diet of double-teams.

Don't fret -- Covington has routinely displayed the ability to take on (or even beat) double-teams on the line of scrimmage. Here's a great example:

In the play above, Covington is aligned as the weak-side 3-technique with an outside shade over the Seattle Seahawks' left guard. When the ball is snapped, Covington displays the awareness to immediately identify the incoming double-team.

Once engaged with the left guard, Covington performs an anchor turn, which enables him

his ground and absorb the contact of the double-team while playing with proper leverage (hands above hands). Once the tackle works toward the linebacker, Covington easily discards the left guard to bring the ball carrier down for little gain.

Even when he doesn't beat double-teams, Covington's raw strength and ability to play with leverage at the point of attack allow him to occupy them without getting displaced, which should make life easier for Dallas' dominant duo of off-ball linebackers -- Smith and Vander Esch.

Offensive linemen are taught to secure the first level before climbing to the second. So if Covington does a good job occupying a double-team, preventing one of the blockers from immediately climbing to the second level, it then allows one of Dallas' linebackers to flow freely to the ball carrier.

Most of Covington's production as a pass rusher has come on stunts and when cleaning up for his teammates, as he lacks quickness and refined pass-rush technique to consistently generate pressure.

Nevertheless, he has shown the ability to collapse pockets -- taking away a quarterback's ability to step up in the pocket -- with his power. On top of that, Covington's high effort level allows him to occasionally generate pressure on plays where the quarterback is forced to hold on to the ball.

Anyone who is hoping that Covington will bring additional pass-rush presence to the Cowboys' defensive line will end up disappointed because he lacks the traits necessary to be a consistently effective pass rusher.

But his presence should only improve the nose tackle rotation, enabling Dallas to play Antwaun Woods on fewer snaps. In 2018, Woods averaged 38.7 snaps per game, playing less than 30 snaps in just four games but more than 45 snaps in five games. Playing Woods on fewer snaps should keep him fresher late in games and healthier toward the end of the season.

Ultimately, adding Covington provides the Cowboys with an effective nose tackle while giving the front office the flexibility to stay true to its board during the NFL draft and not feel the need to reach for a nose tackle.

Some will inevitably be disappointed that the Cowboys didn't make an immediate splash in free agency this week by signing someone akin to Earl Thomas, but that shouldn't overshadow the value Covington brings.

After the Cowboys lost to the Rams in the divisional round of the playoffs, we noted that defensive tackle play holds the key to the Cowboys' defense:

"For much of the season, the Dallas defensive tackles allowed their talented linebacker unit to thrive, but against Los Angeles it was the opposite, as the poor interior play robbed the linebackers of any opportunities to succeed against the Rams' offense. Heading into the offseason, it's going to be interesting to see how high of a priority the Cowboys' front office makes upgrading the defensive tackle position."

Signing Covington may not provide the fan base with the big splash it wants in free agency, but it does improve the Cowboys' interior run defense, which, in turn, makes life easier on Smith and Vander Esch.

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Twitter: @JohnOwning