Are the Eagles a favorite that will be repeated as NFC East Champions after the Super Bowl win?
Chris Bunbaka and Joe Rivera look at NFC East (now Mika Parsons Sands Mika Parsons) and decide who they think will be on top of that division.
Seriously sports
- The Cowboys’ defense is facing radical change in the wake of Mika Parsons’ trade.
- Jerry and Stephen Jones highlight improvements in the run defense, but the pass rush, counted in Parsons’ disruption, faces a lot of uncertainty.
- Dante Fowler Jr. may otherwise have to do a lot of heavy lifting for a unit that features several proven products on the edge.
When he began clicking on Donovan Ezellac at training camp, the Dallas Cowboys rookie sparked a race against his fellow pass rushes.
“We had just had a two minute period, and the first thing Dante (Fowler Jr.) told me was, “I’ll go back there (in the backfield) and see you,” Ezellack said in late July. “I said, ‘No, I’m going to get there first.’ And the first play, I got back there and asked, ‘Where are you?’ ”
A month later, the Cowboys now rely on Ozilak, Fowler and many others to host courtrooms in the opposition backfield.
On Thursday, Dallas agreed to trade two All-Pro Edge Rusher Micah Parsons for the Green Bay Packers in exchange for two first round draft picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark. The move served as an incredible solution to the escalating friction between the league’s most skilled young defensive star and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
However, regardless of what led to the split, Jones argued that his team was driven by the belief that his team could improve both quickly and in the future. Dallas now has to readjust the pass rush that is not fired by Parsons. And within a week the season opener against the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles has little time to sort things out.
Here’s how the Cowboys move forward this season and beyond.
Where will the Cowboys go next in 2025 after Mika Parsons trade?
Parsons’ replicas are non-starters in terms of generating bags and pressure from singular sources.
Parsons recorded 52½ bags in four seasons in Dallas. Five defensive ends on the active roster – Ezellac, Fowler, Marshawn Neeland, Sam Williams and James Houston have paired 73 bags in their careers. Last year’s defense ranked second mostly at 9.22% thanks to Parsons, who had twice the sacks of other players and created both a cleanup opportunity and a lucrative look for others who paid the attention he requested.
But by changing the story along the defence that runs through former coach Mike McCarthy’s previous playoff facelines and the ultimate disappointment of the 7-10 season, Jones and his son Stephen seem to show that the unit is shifting focus rather than trying to replicate what they once had.
“In addition to depth, I feel we can also develop pressure,” Stephen Jones said at a press conference Thursday evening. “I think (defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus) was really good at it in terms of using schemes to put pressure on the quarterbacks. But the scheme runs on is stopping.”
Jerry Jones also kept the possibility that the team “get someone now” using one of the four first round draft picks in the next two years. However, between the lack of top pass rushes normally available in the market and the high cost associated with regular acquisition players, Dallas probably doesn’t have a significant addition to calendar years.
And that means wrapping pass rushes in the tally.
Fowler may have to take charge of much of the early load. The 10th year veteran enjoyed an astounding 2024 breakout that included a 10½ bag, with an eighth place pass rush victory putting him among the league’s elite. But working as a main attraction is a sudden challenge for a 31-year-old, with the player behind him being barely proven.
Apparently trying to hold onto the other starting spots, Kneeland didn’t record the bag as a rookie in 11 games. At 6-3, with a 275-pound robbery, the three-round pick is built to set the edge and overwhelming blocker in his bull rush, but at this point there isn’t much in his game. Williams remains a wildcard after everything lost multiple torn knee ligaments last season, but his pre-injured burst and fluidity made him an appetizing prospect. Houston went on to the roster location with promising camp and preseason performances. And Ezeiruaku, a second-round pick that ranked second in the Soccer Bowl plot in 2024 with a 16½ bag, may be called to provide sparks earlier than expected.
Cowboys 2026 Free Agency Options
At this point, the 2026 free agency class looks particularly promising at edge rushers. But don’t think it’ll just stay that way.
Pro Bowler Nick Bonit looks like a virtual rock to stay with the Denver Broncos, but the Miami Dolphins wouldn’t want to let go of Gellan Phillips as long as the first round of 2021 picks stay healthy. While Trey Hendrickson appears to be heading for a much-anticipated split from the Cincinnati Bengals and a trip to the open market, Jones will almost certainly reserve the best money on the market to a sack artist, nearly five years old than Parsons. And while the Seattle Seahawks Boymuff and the Baltimore Ravens Oda Feowe have managed to price themselves out of the current team’s plans, Jones is happy to surf the waves of smaller free agency rather than making a big splash with the marquee name.
Cowboys’ 2026 draft options
If the Cowboys draft another edge rush after using three second picks in positions over the past four years, it makes sense for the team to target the type of high-end difference maker where Parsons is not gone.
Eight months after the 2026 draft, the class has no clear, elite destroyers in the mold of fellow Pennsylvania Parsons or Abdul Carter, who came third in the New York Giants in April. However, there are still a lot of changes to play throughout the season.
Here are seven draft prospects that could be interesting for the Cowboys if their teams set their sights on a potential Parsons alternative.
1. Keldric Folk, Auburn
At 6-6 pounds and 285 pounds, he is a photo of what the Cowboys are potentially looking for a new era of defence. Throwing the blocker aside, he can be a source of the run game and helps him set the tone ahead of time from day one. His seven bags for 2024 believe in the overall pass rush ability that still needs refinement. But the super-large, heavy-duty edge rush is trending, and forks are like the kind of projects that cowboys and other teams want to take on.
2. TJ Parker, Clemson
With 11 bags in 2024, 19½ tackles for losses and six forced fumbles, he is one of the more proven and promising edge rushes in this class. Parker may not be the overwhelming force that teammate Peter Woods follows the front, but his confusion over the pass is hard to match.
3. Overton, Alabama
Like Faulk, he fits the powerful flip threat bill that Dallas seems to be attracting to. The 6-5, 283 pound former five-star recruit is ongoing as a pass rush after notching only two bags last season, but he was able to thrive with the stunts, twists and slants that Everfurs loves to employ.
4. Friends from Mojo, Oregon
The 6-5, 272 pound defensive, known as “young concrete,” must be of interest to the Cowboys. Uiagaleray is one of the most powerful players in college football and continues to carry a sturdy pursuit that helps to wear blockers consistently.
5. RuebenBain Jr., Miami, Florida
After soft tissue damage hinders him as a sophomore, Bane is doing what he needs to do to reestablish himself as the best prospect. But if he can regain the form he displayed as a freshman, the 6-3, 275 pound power rush should stimulate a lot of interest as a potential early pick when he attacks the scene with 7½ bags and consistent pressure.
