Do you think there are any players the Cowboys should consider trading?
It feels like only yesterday when the Dallas Cowboys‘ war room was excited about the selection of Mississippi edge rusher Sam Williams. The 56th overall pick in 2022, Williams was an exciting pass-rushing prospect. He was a missile off the line of scrimmage. His ability to bend and accelerate to the quarterback made him an intriguing player that the team added to their defensive end arsenal.
Over his first two years in the league, Williams was buried behind a very deep Cowboys edge-rushing unit. He finished with the fifth-most defensive end snap counts in both 2022 and 2023. That’s because Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence were the bread and butter of the edge attack force. At the same time, Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler were productive veteran defensive linemen who had no intention of stepping aside for this young buck.
Despite being on the shorter end of playing time, Williams made the most of his opportunities. He had 10 tackles for a loss and three forced fumbles in his rookie season, where he finished fifth in voting for Defensive Rookie of the Year. There was no shortage of splash plays where he was found sacking quarterbacks or bodyslamming ball carriers in the backfield. “Slam” Williams was a real thing.
Sadly, the moment a great opportunity presented itself, Williams wasn’t around to take advantage. After Armstrong and Fowler left for Washington in free agency last year, the table was set for Williams to have his breakout season. Unfortunately, a knee injury in training camp ended his season before it even started.
Williams’ recovery is going well, and he is expected to be 100% entering training camp. That’s great news for a guy who is entering a contract season as he is in the final year of his four-year rookie deal. If there is a time to shine, that time is now.
While his health is better, the young pass-rusher enters an all too familiar situation where he finds himself once again in a crowded position group. Guys like Lawrence and Chauncey Golston left in free agency this year, but the team has reloaded over the last 15 months. Starting with back-to-back seasons where the team selected edge rushers Marshawn Kneeland and Donovan Ezeiruaku, suddenly the team has a couple of young players whom they’ll want to give playing time to.
The Cowboys also addressed the position in free agency this spring before Ezeiruaku fell into their lap in the second round of the draft. The team signed two former first-round picks in free agency, Dante Fowler and Payton Turner. The addition of Fowler is particularly worth noting as he is coming off a double-digit sack season and should be a key member of the Cowboys’ edge-rushing rotation.
Last season, the Cowboys were hit hard with injuries along the edge, forcing them to reach deep, relying on players like Golston and Carl Lawson. This year, they are stacked with talent, which poses the question: What does it all mean for Williams?
As it stands now, it’s going to be difficult for the team to find enough playing time for all their edge rushers. Kneeland is entering year two, and he should see the field plenty as he’s one of the better run-stopping defensive ends. Fowler is the team’s fiercest sub-package pass-rushing option, so his role should be well-defined. Williams could slide in as DE#4 in a best-case scenario, but what happens if either the rookie Ezeiruaku or the free agent Turner starts turning heads? Even with keeping a safety-net depth surplus of players, the team could find itself a little saturated at the position group if one of these new guys is showing out.
Training camp will provide more data, but if the Cowboys are in a situation where they are six players deep at defensive end with no ability to give everyone adequate playing time, they should look into reallocating their resources. Imagine a healthy Williams on full display in preseason games against third-string offensive tackles. What kind of buzz could that generate? Could they flip him for a player who could provide them a greater service at another position? Or possibly help replenish next year’s draft capital?
With a deep group filled with many young homegrown players, Williams could be the odd man out. Other factors might come into play as well. Does he have the strength to help against the run, or is he just a one-trick pony? Does he approach the game the right way for the new coaching staff, whether it’s character, mental processing, or overall effort? These are legit questions that will reveal themselves soon enough, but there’s a range of outcomes that could find Williams on the trading block as final roster cuts approach.
