Cowboys veteran EDGE has faith in teams young, rising star pass rushers

After making one of the most shocking trades the NFL has seen in years, the Dallas Cowboys turn their attention to the 2025 regular season.

They have a tough task in Week 1 as they face the defending Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, on Thursday Night Football. All eyes will be on the Dallas defense, as they take the field for their first game since trading Micah Parsons.

The big question will be whether they can generate a pass rush without Parsons, but veteran Dante Fowler Jr. believes that won’t be an issue.

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Fowler recently told The Athletic’s Jon Machota that Dallas has multiple young defenders ready to make an impact, including Sam Williams, Marshawn Kneeland, and rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku.

Dallas Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams at training camp at the River Ridge Fields. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

“Sam has been out for a year, so he’s fresh, he’s ready to go,” Fowler said. “Donovan is coming of a (16 1/2) sack season in college, and it translated to the NFL very well. Marshawn, he got his feet wet very early, playing as a rookie.

"People don’t know how big of an advantage that is to go out there as a rookie and be able to play in the trenches as a pro. That’s very tough. Once you get that on your belt and you get your feet wet, you’ll be ready to go.”

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Fowler continued, “Donovan, he just naturally pass rushes. He can wake up out of bed and rush. Just like our James Houston can. I like the way he rushes. I like our edge rushers. … I think the combination (of the new coaches) and the hungriness of the guys in the room, we’ll be ready to go.”

Fowler’s confidence has been echoed by the front office, which believes they still have enough talent to get after the quarterback. While no player on the roster can replace Parsons, Dallas can come out of this looking brilliant if their younger pass rushers rise to the challenge, especially if Kenny Clark helps them improve their porous run defense.

Dallas Cowboys DE DE Donovan Ezeiruaku celebrates during the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Ravens. — Dallas Cowboys DE Donovan Ezeiruaku celebrates during the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Ravens. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

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