Dallas City News

The Dallas Cowboys have been spoiled with a stockpile of edge rushers over the last few seasons, but the departures of Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler to the Washington Commanders, plus the injury to Sam Williams, is testing the depth behind Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence. This makes second-round pick defensive end Marshawn Kneeland a key component to what the Cowboys do defensively in 2024.

New defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer will need Kneeland to adapt to the NFL quickly and provide some juice rushing the passer from the perimeter as well as being able to be solid against the run, which the Cowboys desperately need. After a recent practice, Parsons spoke to the media out in Oxnard, California. The perennial All-Pro not only tipped his hat to Kneeland, but he compared him to one of the best edge rushers in the league over the last decade.

“I think he’s a young Cam Jordan. He’s got that dog in him. He’s got unteachable characteristics.”

Jordan has spent his entire 13-year career with the New Orleans Saints, and he’s been a menace. He plays with power, which is something Kneeland gets praised for. They have almost identical arm lengths, and both can stop the run and be disruptive against the pass. Also, Jordan and Kneeland are high motor guys, so this is a pretty good comp by Parsons.

The rookie spoke to the media on Wednesday. Not only did he appreciate the nod by Parsons, but he mentioned another important nugget.

“I definitely appreciate that. Great athlete. Great person. Micah said he wanted to sit down and dissect some Cam Jordan film with me. We’re gonna get around to that. It’s a great feeling to have somebody like Micah speak so highly about me.”

This is exactly what you want to see if you’re Zimmer. Parsons spoke about being more vocal and doing more of the leadership things this offseason. This is the epitome of that. It’s the perfect situation for Kneeland to have a guy like Parsons actually show him how to translate what they’re seeing on film in practice. It’s another advantage for Kneeland to have an All-Pro in his corner during the learning process, and it shouldn’t be undervalued.

Parsons is undoubtedly going to be even more of a chess piece under Zimmer now that the Cowboys have added defensive tackle Jordan Phillips and edge rusher Carl Lawson. It also means that Kneeland has a huge opportunity to have a major role, especially with Sam Williams out for the season. To Kneeland’s credit, he’s taken the opportunity and run with it so far in camp, so the expectations for him are starting the ramp up.

Zimmer was very complementary of his shiny new toy and mentioned something specifically he’s working on.

“Marshawn’s been great in camp. He’s working real hard on some of the pass rush stuff, because I don’t think he was as efficient in doing that. He’s been great against the run. He’s a worker and I think he’s going to continue to work.”

That’s what Kneeland needs. He’s got the power aspect. If he can get some pass rush stuff down like getting a plan to together if his initial move doesn’t work, Kneeland will be an even more well-rounded player early on, and with a significant workload ahead of him, that just gives him an even better chance to produce out of the gate this season.