The Dallas Cowboys start training camp on Monday, and as you start to ponder different things, something really had me thinking.
Outside of Micah Parsons, the Cowboys have a few guys that should produce in the sack columns, but who is going to be the next guy in line to help Parsons out in that department?
The first guy that jumps off the screen is clearly Dante Fowler. Fowler, 30, had just a combined 17.5 sacks in the previous four seasons, two with the Atlanta Falcons and two with the Dallas before joining the Commanders.
DeMarcus Lawerence left to head to the Seattle Seahawks, so Fowler now becomes the team’s second-best pass rusher behind Micah Parsons.
This defense will need him under a new defensive coordinator again.
Matt Eberflus has a lot to prove this year after he was fired as head coach of the Chicago Bears. Fortunately for Dallas, he is much better suited as a defensive coordinator than he is as a head coach.
Dante Fowler contract breakdown
1 year, $6m, $8 million maxBonus: $3m
2025: $2m (guaranteed)
$1m per/game roster bonusIncentive: $2m for 11 sacks
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) March 19, 2025
The Others
Parsons will do what he does, but they will need Fowler to at least help out in that area of the game.
The others are going to be needed also, though.
Sam Williams, the second-round pick in 2022, returns from a torn ACL that cost him the entire 2024 campaign. Marshawn Kneeland was the team’s second-round selection last year, but has not shown his full potential yet.
Kneeland had a career-high 57 tackles this past season at WMU along with 7.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. In four seasons, he had 28.0 tackles for loss and 13 sacks. He also blocked a kick as a redshirt sophomore.
When he was on the field last year, he was okay.
He didn’t exactly make a huge impact. He didn’t record a sack, but had two tackles for loss. His 13 quarterback pressures was tied for sixth on the team.
How well is Williams going to perform off that injury?
I don’t expect much out of Donovan Ezeiruaku. Heck, I am even seeing that he may hold out in camp. He isn’t good enough to do all that.
Payton Turner is on my list to be cut when they start trimming down to the final 53 players, so I won’t touch him.
Other than that, it will be up to the guys above, but I think Fowler should at least get to the 10 sack mark and if Parsons can top out with 15-17, that shouldn’t be a bad one-two punch.
Has the League banned running the ball? No? Then Parsons and Fowler playing edge with no real defense end on first down would be a problem. Parsons, Osa and Fowler even on 3rd and 6 is an invitation to run the ball. This year, the creative OC’s will be exploiting the pass rush specialists by running on 3rd to get to 4th and short, then going for the first.
That would be stupid for any OC to try to do!! It don’t matter how bad the defense is at stopping the run, there’s no offense that can run the ball all the time, it’ll eventually get stopped by any team!! And Parsons isn’t that bad at stopping the run anyways, so idk where you came up with that trash!! So why don’t you try going and looking at all the players on the cowboys roster and learn about them and what they’re good at before you make these ridiculous comments!!
Cowboys will still be very vulnerable when opponents will run up there gut! There isn’t anyone yet who has stepped up to plug the middle. Maybe training camp will provide the answers. Mazie Smith is a first round bust and will remain so.
You can’t call Mazi a bust!! That’s just stupid!! First of all, it takes DTs longer to get going in the NFL, that’s just how it is!! And 2nd, Mazi had to go through a lot in his first 2 years in the NFL…. He got drafted to play how he played at Michigan, but then that idiot Dan Quinn makes him lose weight as soon as he gets to Dallas, which was really stupid for Quinn to do!! So Mazi had to lose all that weight and learn to play a different style than what he’s used to playing, and then Mike Zimmer comes in and makes Mazi gain all that weight back and learn his old style again, which is a lot when he just went through a weight change and learning a different style just the year before!! But this year, he’s not being told to change his weight again, and he’s got a really good defensive line coach and one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL teaching him!! So I think he’ll have his breakout year this season!! And just him getting to play at the same weight for the 2nd year in a row is gonna make him a better player, so between that and the coaches he has to work with, he’s gonna be a lot better this year!! But either way, you can’t call him a bust just because Dan Quinn wanted to mess him up and change everything about him when he was drafted!! Like I said, it takes DTs longer to get going in the NFL than it does most other positions, and it’s even harder on the player when they have to go through what Mazi went through in his first 2 years in the NFL!!
I agree with Fowler being the one to help Parsons, but I also think Sam Williams will be a big factor in the sack game too, with Donovan Ezeiruaku getting a few too!! And I think Marshawn Kneeland was drafted to be the next DeMarcus Lawrence…. They have the same style of play…. Both are better at stopping the run than they are getting sacks!! So I think that’s what Kneeland will be put in to do on the obvious run downs, more than likely closer to the middle of the field and the endzone where stopping the run is most important!! I know teams usually run the ball on early downs, so that’s the only thing I can think of for Kneeland, cause I don’t see him being a starter over Fowler!! And I think we’ll keep 6 edge rushers, which means we’ll keep Payton Turner too!! There’s no other player on the roster better than he is, plus he was a first round pick just a few years ago, so I think we’ll keep him just because of that!! So I think we’ll have Parsons and Fowler start the games, with Williams and Ezeiruaku backing them up and Kneeland playing on obvious running downs like I said above and Turner being there in case one of the others get injured!! I think Kneeland will jump the rotation if he can get better at rushing the passer, but until then, he’ll be the run stopping DE!! And that’s the 6 I think will make the team!!