The Cowboys’ future at edge rusher appears to be taken care of for now.
The Dallas Cowboys did it again.
For the third time in four years, the Cowboys have taken an offensive lineman in the first round. We all know about it. It’s brought up a lot, we get it. The Cowboys love guys in the trenches.
But what isn’t talked about as much is how the team has done the same thing with defensive ends in round two in each of those same drafts.
- 2022: Round 1 = OL Tyler Smith, Round 2 = DE Sam Williams
- 2024: Round 1 = OL Tyler Guyton, Round 2 = DE Marshawn Kneeland
- 2025: Round 1 = OL Tyler Booker, Round 2 = DE Donovan Ezeiruaku
And if you count Micah Parsons in 2021, they have used one of their top two picks on a defensive end in four of the last five drafts. One might say they love guys in the trenches on defense even more.
Nobody will blame them for going after pass rushers, as it’s one of the premium positions in the NFL. Load up and go! That’s the Operatus Mundi of most roster builders at the pro level. But what makes this weird is that the Cowboys keep doing this despite entering the draft deep at the position. They’ve had guys like DeMarcus Lawrence, Randy Gregory, Dorance Armstrong, and Dante Fowler on the team, yet they keep adding more edge rushers to the roster. And it’s good because those guys eventually left in free agency. Fowler is back this year, and the team added free agent Payton Turner, again keeping some decent depth on the end. Their edge rushing room entering the draft looked as follows:
- Micah Parsons
- Marshawn Kneeland
- Dante Fowler
- Sam Williams
- Payton Turner
And now they have Ezeiruaku, giving them six total. At first glance, this might not seem like the best use of premium draft resources, especially when they have so many other needs, but there are a couple of things to keep in mind.
First, three players on that list above have expiring contracts after the 2025 season. The free agents, Fowler and Turner, only signed one-year deals, and Williams is on the last year of his rookie contract. Technically, four of them have expiring contracts, but we’re not counting Parsons because a long-term extension should be right around the corner. That means that while the team is set right now, this group becomes scarce after this season, leaving Parsons, Kneeland, and the recently drafted Ezeiruaku.
The second thing is that the Cowboys are coming off a year where they were struck unusually hard with injuries, with defensive ends taking the brunt of it.
- Williams missed the entire season
- Lawrence missed 13 games
- Kneeland missed six games
- Parsons missed four games
That’s a lot of edge rushers out of action. Entering the year, the team seemed equipped to handle the free agency losses of Armstrong and Fowler, but fate had other plans, and the Cowboys were left high and dry at the position. Chauncey Goltson and Carl Lawson finished second and third on the team in sacks behind Parsons.
The Cowboys will not have that problem this season, and they should have a strong core for future seasons. Ezeiruaku has the talent to find work right away. He has deceptive footwork and employs a sudden eurostep to attack the unsuspecting blocker from either side. When tackles try to get their hands on him, he’ll use his long arms to swat away any resistance. And when you think you might have him contained, Ezeiruaku still gets by you because he is one of the most bendy edge rushers in this draft class. He dips his body and accelerates around the edge. He’s just one of those pass rushers who slips by you before you can even blink. It’s quite impressive.
Another edge rusher may not have been number one on the need list, but that’s okay. The Cowboys didn’t let need keep them from taking a strong talent. Ezeiruaku should be able to work himself into the rotation this year and have a more impactful role in subsequent seasons. His physical traits, fundamentals, and mental makeup should help this guy maximize his potential and give the Cowboys a fierce pass-rushing group now and for years to come.
