The Dallas Cowboys had a surprising offseason and it led to some under the radar names arriving in free agency. Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders arrived to bolster the Cowboys rushing attack and Kenneth Murray and Kaiir Elam arrived to add some playmakers on defense.
No move was the big free-agent splash Dallas was hoping for as they prepare to give Micah Parsons a massive contract extension. But it still was necessary to fix a Cowboys defense that ranked 31st in points allowed and 28th in yardage allowed last season.
One of those signings was projected for a big role as a starter in Matt Eberflus’s offense next season. But after the conclusion of the draft, their stock is down as a rookie could come in and challenge him for the opportunity.
Dante Fowler Jr.’s Stock is Down After Cowboys Add Donovan Ezeiruaku
The Cowboys needed to find an edge rusher after Demarcus Lawrence signed with the Seattle Seahawks in free agency and settled on Dante Fowler Jr. Fowler logged 10.5 sacks and racked up 50 pressures last season for the Washington Commanders and had big expectations for his return to Dallas on a one-year, $6 million contract.
“[I want to] keep showing guys that I’m one of those guys, I feel like I’m better than some of the guys out here,” Fowler said in an interview with Cowboys team reporter Tommy Yarrish. “Just keep coming out there with a chip on my shoulder, keep proving I love football so I play this game for the love of my game, every time I go out there, every time I get an opportunity to play football, I’m going to leave it all out there.”
Fowler’s attitude and production in Washington are reasons for optimism as he returns to Dallas. But it comes with some caveats. Fowler’s previous stint with the Cowboys didn’t go so well as he logged just 10 sacks with 40 total tackles (12 for loss) over two seasons.
Part of the reason his production was so low was that he played significantly fewer snaps as his 642 snaps with the Commanders was almost as many as the previous two seasons combined (652) with Dallas. But he also didn’t have a big boost in productivity with his 60.5 overall grade being on par with the 61.3 grade in 2022 and the 63.8 grade in 2023 according to Pro Football Focus.
This makes Fowler, who will turn 31 in August, more of a stop gap than a solution and the Cowboys hedged their bet by taking Boston College edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku in the second round of the draft.
A 6-foot-3, 248-pounder, Ezeiruaku was a menace in Bill O’Brien’s defense, logging 80 total tackles with 20.5 for loss and 16.5 sacks in his final season. Rushing the passer was also his calling card, ranking sixth among FBS edge rushers with 60 quarterback pressures. While he has issues stopping the run, he’s a sound tackler with an 8.1% missed tackle rate and has upside to go with his elite pass-rushing ability.
Fowler could be worth the investment the Cowboys made in him this offseason. But he could also be left in the dust if Ezeiraku develops faster than anticipated. That could make Fowler more of a reserve than a starting option when camp begins and cause his stock to continue to plummet.