I have talked about the negative enough the last two days regarding what I saw in the loss against the Rams on Sunday, so how about a rookie that really impressed me in his limited time?
When the Cowboys used a second-round pick on defensive end Marshawn Kneeland, I was shaking my head. We still have a long way to go, but man he looked good Sunday against the Rams.
He wasted no time trying to get us to forget about the loss to Sam Williams.
Good Start
In his limited snaps against the Rams, Kneeland demonstrated why Dallas decided to draft him as high as they did.
#94 Marshawn Kneeland 💪🏼
And Mazi once again Occupying blocks & getting good push. #Cowboys #Rams pic.twitter.com/kOtQNinz9E
— Landon Holifield ✭ (@TheLandoShow) August 11, 2024
He set the edge in run defense, bull-rushed tackles back, and disrupted plays in the Rams backfield.
With Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler leaving via free agency, and losing Sam Williams to a torn ACL, the defensive line is hanging on thin air.
Kneeland is going to be needed to step up.
During training camp, Kneeland has been sharp, but that was not played at full speed. Take a look at the videos both above and below, and you will see nothing but positive plays in Sunday’s game against the Rams.
Marshawn Kneeland was the most impressive DE for me in limited reps yesterday. His power, contact balance and physicality is evident on tape.
His ability to absorb the puller here and make the tackle is impressive. pic.twitter.com/KELiI5BGhY
— Connor Livesay (@ConnorNFLDraft) August 12, 2024
He started 38 games over five seasons at Western Michigan with 149 tackles, including 28 for losses. He also had 13 sacks. I will live with him not racking up the sack total as long as he did what he did on Sunday. Help stop the run.
Rotation
As noted above, with Sam Williams now out of the rotation with his torn ACL, Kneeland is going to be the guy that takes his snaps. My early guess.
Chauncey Golston and DeMarcus Lawrence are on expiring contracts, Osa Odighizuwa might be the most underrated player on the Cowboys team. Micah Parsons is going to do what he does.
Yet, I am still worried about the depth on this side of the ball.
The Cowboys could have signed a guy like Shaq Lawson who was in for a workout after Williams got hurt, but they signed two guys nobody has even heard of. Al-Quadin Muhammad and Shaka Toney.
Marshawn Kneeland with two stops already.
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) August 11, 2024
In four seasons with the Colts, Muhammad only registered 11 sacks, 22 tackles for loss, 127 total tackles, and three fumble recoveries. He won’t play.
The only thing I know about Toney is that he played with Parsons at Penn State. He has done nothing to warrant an NFL contract. In two seasons, he recorded just eight pressures on 112 pass rush reps, 16 tackles, and 1.5 sacks.
Let’s See More
Kneeland looks to be the guy who will start as a rookie on the defensive line, but let’s wait and see how the rest of the preseason goes. Mike Zimmer should be able to work with what he’s got.
A cool thing we learned on Sunday is that Mike Zimmer did not even use a call sheet. DeMarvion Overshown said that Zimmer was calling plays based on what he saw in real time during the game.
Mike Zimmer and the defensive line are going to be the key to this defense in 2024. They had four interceptions against the Rams, so that is a start. I still did not like how easy it was for the rams to run the ball.
I trust Zimmer more than I did Dan Quinn, so that is a start. Now, if we can get Trey Lance to figure out how to throw a football, then maybe things would be okay.
Still a long threeish weeks away from real football, and CeeDee Lamb is not yet signed, so they will need all the young guys like Kneeland to step up if they have any chance without him in the building.
