The latest Cowboys news.
2025 NFL All-Rookie Team: Projecting 14 instant-impact newcomers on defense/special teams – Gennaro Filice
Donovan Ezeiruaku gets some love as a projected All-Rookie Edge winner along with Abdul Carter.
Edge
Boston College
Drafted: Round 2, No. 44 overall
Like we just discussed with Abdul Carter, Ezeiruaku walks into an advantageous environment. Sharing the field with perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate Micah Parsons, the rookie is set to receive favorable matchups — and he has the pass-rushing arsenal to take advantage of them. With pterodactyl length and hair-on-fire spirit, Ezeiruaku explodes off the snap with a quick first step, often allowing him to get the edge and bend to the quarterback. If the pure speed rush doesn’t work, no worries: The dude knows how to use his hands, and he has a full bag of tricks that range from a spin to a Euro step to a pretty wicked ghost move. So, why did he last until midway through the second round? Well, he’s on the lighter side, naturally raising concerns about how he’ll set the edge against NFL blockers. But the Boston College product is poised to rack up the kind of sexy stats that garner recognition, having finished last season at second in the FBS in sacks (16.5) and third in tackles for loss (20.5).
Who is Donovan Ezeiruaku? 10 things to know about Cowboys’ second-round pick – SportsDay Staff
Get to know the rookie.
3. A surprise pick?
After being drafted, Ezeiruaku revealed he didn’t have much contact with the Cowboys ahead of the draft. He said he had an informal meeting with Dallas at the NFL scouting combine, but never had an official visit.
“I wasn’t really expecting anything [when the Cowboys were picking],” Ezeiruaku said in his post-draft news conference, “and then my phone vibrated and I saw the caller ID. It had The Star, and I just answered it. I didn’t know who was calling me at first, but it was very surreal for sure.”
4. Award collector
Ezeiruaku should be an impactful addition on Dallas’ defensive front. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler listed him as one of the top pass rushers in the class, falling just behind names like Mykel Williams, Mike Green and Shemar Stewart.
Ezeiruaku showed consistent improvement throughout his time at Boston College, posting his best season in 2024. He came away with 80 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss and 16.5 sacks.
His standout campaign ended with a consensus All-American selection and first-team All-ACC honors. He was also named ACC Defensive Player of the Year and won the Ted Hendricks Award, given annually to college football’s top defensive end.
8. Three-down value
NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein had some high praise for the second-round pick in his 2025 draft profile, saying Ezeiruaku “uses every bit of his length paired with aggression to mitigate size differences at the point of attack. … His hands exploit small advantages to turn them into big ones and he has a variety of ways to challenge protection, though he’s still learning to craft his plans. Ezeiruaku’s play demeanor, skill and athletic talent are the underpinnings of a productive starter with three-down value.”
Way-too-early bold predictions for 2025 NFL season: Bills win Super Bowl; Ashton Jeanty hits 2,000 yards – Jeff Chadiha, NFL.com
We like this prediction for CeeDee Lamb.
9) CeeDee Lamb will break the NFL record for receptions in a season.
The Cowboys wide receiver will have an easier life with the return of quarterback Dak Prescott from injury and the arrival of wide receiver George Pickens via trade. Lamb already was one of the best receivers in the game, but those two factors will make him one of the most historic. Think about it. Lamb produced 135 receptions in 2023 with a healthy Prescott, which was 14 catches shy of the league mark of 149 established by former Saints receiver Michael Thomas in 2019. Lamb also generated 101 catches last season, when Prescott only played in eight games because of a season-ending hamstring injury. You pair Lamb with a receiver as dangerous as Pickens, and it’s likely that opposing defenses will be frustrated on weekly basis. Lamb has put together three straight 100-catch seasons despite being the focus of defenses tasked with stopping Dallas’ passing attack every year. With all the freedom coming his way this fall, CeeDee’s going to go off.
Then they had to ruin it by throwing this in their predictions.
3) The Eagles will be the first team to repeat as NFC East champs in 21 years.
We know this is one of the longest-running streaks in the league, but it’s time for it to end. That’s how good Philadelphia is going to be this coming season. As much as the Eagles have to fill in some holes left by key offseason departures — the defense, in particular, lost five key veterans — the core of the defending Super Bowl champions remains very much intact. Even with Kevin Patullo succeeding Kellen Moore as offensive coordinator, that side of the football remains stacked. Running back Saquon Barkley is coming off a 2,000-yard season, quarterback Jalen Hurts proved once again that he’s one of the most underrated leaders in the game and the receivers and offensive line still rank among the best in the league. As for the defense, coordinator Vic Fangio will help some new faces mature while an assortment of stars (including defensive tackle Jalen Carter, All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun and second-year defensive backs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean) should once again rank among the best in the business. Look, this team won 16 of its last 17 games last season and pounded Kansas City in the Super Bowl. Just as importantly, a good number players were around for that epic meltdown in the second half of the 2023 season. They surely learned a lot of about the challenges of success and how hard it is to stay on top, which will come in handy this fall.
Mailbag: Will new culture bring more discipline? – Nick Eatman & Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com
Can Brian Schottenheimer fix a problem that has dogged the Cowboys?
One of the unfortunate traits of the last four years has been a lack of discipline leading to a large amount of penalties, particularly pre-snap. Any indication the new head coach and his culture change will improve this area? – Doug Varga/Knoxville, TN
Nick: This is a good question. Unfortunately there is no good answer to this. In theory, you’d like to think this change in culture and philosophies will result in better discipline and execution but there’s no way of knowing this.
And penalties are always a tricky thing to figure out. There have been teams that won the Super Bowl that were the most penalized in the league. Those teams likely got applauded for their aggression. There have been teams with the fewest amount of penalties that won it all and I’m sure they were called smart and disciplined.
What you hope is the new coaches are teaching better technique than we’ve seen before. Usually with that, it cuts down on holds and hands-to-the-face type of infractions.But just thinking new staff and new culture will help with less penalties would just be wishful thinking at this point. Only time will tell.
