FRISCO, Texas — While the Cowboys weren't exactly quiet during free agency this spring, there is still plenty of work to do for this team that finished 7-9-1 in 2025.
Not only did they add some key players in free agency and via trades, but they also re-signed some of the core depth as well.
Still, there are other guys on this team that must take that next step in order for the Cowboys to be successful in 2026. Today, we'll continue the Next Man Up series with newly-minted outside linebacker Marist Liufau.
- Name: Marist Liufau
- Position: Outside linebacker/EDGE
- Experience: 2
- Games Played/Starts: 34/14
- Years Left on Contract: 2
- How Acquired: 2024 third-round pick (87th-overall)
- Key Stat: 3 career forced fumbles, 3 career fumble recoveries in 2 years
The Past: Up, then down. That's the only accurate way to describe the first two seasons of Liufau's career in the NFL and with the Cowboys. The former Notre Dame standout flew out of the gate as a rookie for Mike Zimmer, eventually taking over duties as the team's defensive green dot due to injury to Eric Kendricks.
That was a tall task he conquered mostly well, but Matt Eberflus didn't see the vision and, as such, chained him to special teams to free up reps for Kenneth Murray and Jack Sanborn; but Liufau still found a way to create takeaways.
The Present: Eberflus is out, and Christian Parker is in. With Parker comes a very different plan for Liufau: moving him to outside linebacker. That means the former Irishman will need to glue himself to new outside linebackers coach Chidera Uzo-Diribe to learn how to rush the passer more often than not, as well as putting on muscle mass to remain durable throughout and after the transition process this offseason — one that could be transformative for him.
The Future: If Liufau can effectively make the move to the edge, he'll kick open the door for all manner of opportunity to make an impact in games opposite Donovan Ezeiruaku, and in rotation with Rashan Gary, Sam Williams and any other edge rushers the Cowboys add to the roster before OTAs and minicamp. Liufau isn't a stranger to standing up and going after quarterbacks and running backs from the edge, seeing as he did it quite a bit at Notre Dame, but this is the NFL … and… he's two years removed from doing it. A major test lies before him, for sure.
