![\"Cowboys](\"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2244889905-e1763085462698.jpg\")
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Just mention the words \u201cedge rusher\u201d to a\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0fan and you might see them wince, even if just slightly. Might be that way for awhile.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s what happens when you trade away a generational player, in his prime, at that position. Which the Cowboys did when they sent\u00a0Micah Parsons\u00a0to the\u00a0Green Bay Packers\u00a0this summer.<\/p>\n
While everyone around the Cowboys has collectively mourned Parsons\u2019 departure the last few months, someone on the roster has begun to quietly assert himself in place of the perennial\u00a0NFL\u00a0All-Pro.<\/p>\n
Bleacher Report\u2019s Kristopher Knox\u00a0tagged Cowboys rookie edge rusher\u00a0Donovan Ezeiruaku\u00a0as the team\u2019s potential \u201cBreakout Star\u201d for the second half of the season as he seems to continue to get better every game.<\/p>\n
\u201cRookie pass-rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku has already made an impact for the Dallas Cowboys,\u201d Knox wrote on November 13. \u201cHe has two sacks and 10 quarterback pressures.The Boston College product has had both sacks, three QB hits and three tackles for loss over his last three games, and his production could continue rising over the second half of the season. Dallas added\u00a0Quinnen Williams\u00a0at the trade deadline, and he should create regular one-on-one opportunities for the guys playing next to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
There might be no player on the roster more poised to benefit from the new look Cowboys defense than Ezeiruaku.<\/p>\n
When the Cowboys take the field for Monday Night Football against the\u00a0Las Vegas Raiders\u00a0in Week 11, they\u2019ll do so with a pair of new starters in Williams, a 2-time NFL All-Pro, and another high impact player in inside linebacker\u00a0Logan Wilson, who they obtained in a trade with the\u00a0Cincinnati Bengals.<\/p>\n
Williams, 6-foot-3 and 303 pounds, is a 2-time NFL All-Pro who is one of the league\u2019s premiere run stuffers. Wilson is a playmaker on both levels, with 12 career interceptions and is on pace for his fifth consecutive season\u00a0with over 100 tackles.<\/p>\n
\u201cDonovan Ezeiruaku is suddenly the league\u2019s top rookie pass rusher,\u201d\u00a0Pro Football Focus reporter Ryan Smith\u00a0wrote on November 8. \u201cA couple of impressive weeks vault the Cowboys edge defender past\u00a0Abdul Carter\u00a0for the top PFF pass-rush grade among first-year players.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ezeiruaku put together one of the greatest seasons by a college pass rusher in his final year at Boston College in 2024, when he won the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation\u2019s top collegiate defensive end with 16.5 sacks, 20 TFL and 3 forced fumbles in just 12 games.<\/p>\n
Those are the type of numbers \u2014 and against the type of competition \u2014 that almost guarantee you a spot in the first round of the NFL draft.<\/p>\n
For Ezeiruaku, 6-foot-2 and 248 pounds, it meant dropping to the Cowboys at No. 44 overall in the second round. That drop happened almost entirely because he\u2019s 2-3 inches shorter and 30-40 pounds less than what teams think an\u00a0ideal NFL edge rusher\u00a0should look like.<\/p>\n
From Bleacher Report\u2019s\u00a0pre-draft scouting report: \u201cUndersized and lacks the strength to hold up against offensive linemen as a run defender in the NFL \u2026 Lack of size and strength also shows up when trying to turn speed to power as a pass-rusher.\u201d<\/p>\n
The New Orleans Saints aren’t where they want to be in the standings, but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t get their search right when picking a new head coach this past offseason.<\/p>\n
After a 5-12 season, the Saints were looking around for a new head coach and selected Kellen Moore after he worked as the offensive coordinator for the Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles. Right now, the Saints are 2-8, but young playmaker Chris Olave had nothing but praise for the work he has done so far this season while speaking to Kay Adams on “Up & Adams.”<\/p>\n
“He’s just a great leader,” Olave said to Adams. “He does everything right. I feel like he is so detailed with his work. He knows how to win football games. I mean, not this year. Not this year, but he came from a Super Bowl to a tough situation in just a year. Just the way he carries himself.<\/p>\n
“Even being 2-8, I know it’s tough. I know he’s so frustrated. I know it’s taking a lot on him. Just the way he leads. Team meetings, he leads the team with such great energy and just moving on so quick and try to move on and get some wins. I feel like he does a great job at that and I’m excited moving forward.”<\/p>\n
Moore is known around the league as one of the top offensive minds in the NFL. Although things haven’t been clicking for New Orleans yet, it showed promise against the Carolina Panthers last week and now has a week off to prepare for its next matchup next week against the Atlanta Falcons.<\/p>\n
If Tyler Shough can play like he did against the Panthers the rest of the way, then Moore is going to look even better by the time the season ends. At the end of the day, if the head coach is right, the quarterback is right, and there are pieces around like Olave, this team should be able to turn things around as soon as 2026.<\/p>\n
Shortly after the trade deadline, Olave addressed the state of his extension talks with the Saints.<\/p>\n
“It’s in the works…I want to be in New Orleans forever,”\u00a0Olave said on a recent episode\u00a0of the Up and Adams Show.<\/p>\n
This kind of eagerness to stay in New Orleans is exactly what Saints fans need to hear right now. Olave is the best player on their roster, and it would be a huge deal to keep him on the team for the next four or five years.<\/p>\n
Olave could sign for over $100 million, similar to the deal that his college teammate, Garrett Wilson, recently signed with the New York Jets.<\/p>\n
Either way, keeping Olave on the team for the next few years would be huge for the franchise. It would also be huge for rookie quarterback Tyler Shough, who’s still learning and growing as a young signal caller.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Just mention the words \u201cedge rusher\u201d to a\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0fan and you might see them wince, even if just slightly. Might be that way for awhile. It\u2019s what happens when you trade away…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10879,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t