The Dallas Cowboys have gone from basically having nothing to speak of at edge rusher in 2025 … to what’s shaping up to be a pretty intense competition to see who gets on the field in 2026.
One of the wild cards in that competition is edge rusher and 2025 2nd round pick Donovan Ezeiruaku, who Pro Football Focus NFL reporter Bradley Locker put on his NFL All-Breakout Team for 2026 â a group trying to project the NFL’s “next great player.”
Ezeiruaku was one of the few bright spots on what turned out to be the NFLâs worst defense in 2025.
“There were several second-year edge defenders pushing for this slot, but Ezeiruaku presents the best combination of a promising first season as well as upside,” Locker wrote on May 13. “Despite sliding to the second round, Ezeiruaku turned in a solid rookie campaign with a 66.8 PFF pass-rush grade, the second-best among qualified newcomers at the position. Whatâs also appealing about Ezeiruaku is how good he looked against the run, sitting in the 85th percentile in run stop rate (8.1%) and the 73rd percentile in PFF run-defense grade (62.8).”
Cowboys Making Offseason Moves at Edge Rusher
If anything, the competition is only going to reveal the player or players most equipped for that kind of pressure after the Cowboys made 2 big moves at the position this offseason, trading for former 1st round pick Rashan Gary and drafting Malachi Lawrence in the 1st round.
âWith Micah Parsons traded away, Donovan Ezeiruaku got to play a ton of snaps as a rookie, mustering only (3) sacks but nine tackles for loss,â Fox Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman wrote. âWith Rashan Gary on board, the Dallas Cowboys have upgraded their overall pass rush from 2025, and Ezeiruaku will benefit from that â he nearly tripled his sack totals from his freshman to sophomore year at Boston College. A young, new defensive coordinator in Christian Parker will improve what was the worst scoring defense in the NFL, and Ezeiruaku could be a central part of that.”
Rough Offseason for Cowboys’ Donovan Ezeiruaku
Ezeiruaku is playing on what’s a pretty lucrative contract for a 2nd-round pick with a 4-year, $10.15 million deal.
âDonovan Ezeiruakuâs stat rankings among rookies: T-1st in Sacks (3), 2nd in TFLs (6), T-1st in FFâs (1),â Cowboys Muse wrote on its official X account on November 7. âAnd we got him in the 2nd round.â
Ezeiruakuâs production dropped off drastically over the last 2 months of the season, which we now know was the result of a hip injury that would eventually require surgery. To Ezeiruakuâs credit, he played in all 17 games with 9 starts, 40 tackles, 12 QB hits, and 1 safety.
The offseason surgery is projected to keep Ezeiruaku from being a full participant in the offseason program â not his only issue away from the field.
Ezeiruaku was arrested for reckless driving in Texas on January 11, according to Collin County arrest records.
From CBS News Dallas: âDallas Cowboys defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku was arrested over the weekend, Collin County jail records show. Jail records show Ezeiruaku was arrested by the Department of Public Safety for reckless driving on Jan. 11. He was released the same day with a bond of $500 and other unlisted conditions.â
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