FRISCO, Texas – A week before the 2025 season began, the Cowboys acquired defensive tackle Kenny Clark in the Micah Parsons trade. At the NFL's trade deadline, Dallas made another trade at the position for defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.
The pair only played seven games together during the 2025 season and now have the chance to go through an entire offseason together and build chemistry. For Williams, having Clark in his corner even in their limited time together has paid dividends.
"Just having him in the room, I've benefitted tremendously from it," Williams said. "Just having a leader like he is, a player that he is, a guy who holds everybody accountable and a guy who does everything right on the field and off the field. He's a dominant player; he's been a dominant player for years. I've been studying him for years."
"Just holding each other accountable to be the best we can be. We're both still learning, both still growing, and both want to be All-Pros and defensive player of the year candidates. So we keep pushing each other, keep holding each other accountable, and just keep trusting our coaches and the coaching staff to turn this thing around, especially on defense."
In 2026, the Cowboys' defense will look completely different than the year before. Not just from a personnel standpoint, but schematically under new defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
In their short time working together, Clark has recognized that the little things are a big emphasis for what Parker wants to do.
"Just the attention to detail," Clark said. "This defense is going to be huge on the details, huge on pre-snap and all that kind of stuff. All that stuff is going to be really good for us. We've got a lot of smart players on all three levels of the defense, and that'll be great for us."
When watching some of the best defenses around the league, Williams sees a lot of the same things that Parker is looking to do for the Cowboys implemented in those elite units. With that combined with new position coaches and new personnel, it creates an enticing combination.
"90% of this whole entire defensive staff is turned over. The guys we brought in from coaches all the way down to players in unbelievable," Williams said. "The scheme itself, you gotta see around the league. A lot of people run the same scheme and have unbelievable success… all the top defenses in the league kind of run this scheme. Super excited the way that CP runs it, how meticulous he is, the details he hones in, and to be around a great group of guys."
When it comes to where they fit in the scheme, Clark sees a lot of similarities between his role under Parker and what he was tasked with in his nine seasons with the Packers.
"I'm primarily a nose, but I'll be playing everything like I have through most of my career," Clark said. "Three [technique], big-end, there's nothing I haven't played."
In his first full-season with the Cowboys, Williams is looking to grow his game at getting after the quarterback.
"I think I can be better at pass rushing. I think I can change up some of my game, change up some of my footwork," Williams said. "Having BT Jordan here is a blessing, for sure, because he's one of the best in the business at perfecting pass rush, and I know definitely I need that."
Williams had 1.5 sacks last season in seven games with the Cowboys, and has had strong pass rushing seasons in the past. Jordan, the Cowboys' pass rush specialist consultant, helped the Denver Broncos become one of the best pass rushing units in the league over the last few years and has been lauded by many of Dallas' defenders this offseaon.
Williams and the rest of the Cowboys' defensive players have heard plenty about how much they struggled as season ago. So, how much better can they be in just one season?
"Tremendously," Williams said. "We were the bottom of the bottom. Being the last of the last, the bottom of the bottom, there's a lot of improvement we can make. We've got the right defensive staff to make those improvements, we've got the right guys in the locker room, drafted the right guys in the locker room to get those improvements, and everybody taking full accountability to get that improved. Having a great offense that we have, we have to improve."
