(Editor's Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in 'Mailbag' presented by Miller Lite.)
No single pass rusher on the Cowboys is seemingly going to provide the same production as Micah Parsons. But with that being said, do you think his production can be replaced in the aggregate by this current group of pass rushers? – Adam Smith, Little Rock, AR
Nick: The sack production can be replaced. Micah usually got around 11-15 sacks and I think that is something that could be divided amongst other players. But to me, it's a lot more than that. What about the pressures? Parsons had 72 to easily lead the team and he missed four games. Parsons had 91 in a full season in 2023 to lead the entire NFL. Pressures are just as big as sacks because it also leads to turnovers and third-down stops.
What made Parsons so dynamic is that it was truly one player that teams had to account for and they certainly needed more than one of their own to do it. That's going to be the key. Just because Sam Williams gets two more sacks, and Osa gets three more, and Dante Fowler picks up four or five, that doesn't mean all is good. What made them so great with Parsons is that he truly could wreck a game and he forced teams to change their game plan for him. Every quarterback had to account for No. 11 before the snap and that's a valuable thing to be in a QB's head before the play.
Who takes that role over? Does anyone at all? Could the rookie Ezeiruaku be that guy? The Cowboys are hoping for that and it could happen at some point. But more than just the sacks, this team needs to find a guy who they can count on to consistently get pressure.
Kurt:Well, the depth they have at defensive end was likely one of the factors in the Cowboys' decision to trade Parsons. I mean, on paper, the Dallas defensive line still has four former first-round picks (Dante Fowler, Kenny Clark, Solomon Thomas and Mazi Smith), three second-round selections (Sam Williams, Marshawn Kneeland and Donovan Ezeiruaku) and a third-rounder (Osa Odighizuwa) who might be the best of the bunch.
While none have the star power of Parsons, that's seemingly not a bad group … again, on paper. But we know the reality. Some are getting older, some are coming off down years or injuries, some are young and some just have never met expectations, which in all raises a lot of question marks.
However, this is a golden opportunity for those second-round defensive ends in particular to really take a step forward. If Williams, Kneeland and Ezeiruaku can fill the void left by Parsons and even DeMarcus Lawrence in getting to the quarterback and helping stop the run, the Cowboys may not suffer as much as many fear.
As Kneeland said last week, "Now we all really get to show what we can do." For the Cowboys to have true success in 2025, they definitely need to.
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