This isn’t how any NFL rookie wants to start their first full offseason.
Up-and-coming Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku was arrested for reckless driving in Texas on Sunday, January 11, according to multiple reports and Collin County arrest records.
From CBS News Dallas: “Dallas 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.”
The Cowboys released a statement to CBS, simply saying they were aware of Ezeiruaku’s arrest.
Ezeiruaku, a 2025 second round pick (No. 44 overall), played in all 17 games for the Cowboys as a rookie, with 9 starts, 40 tackles, 2 sacks, 9 TFL, 12 QB hits and one safety.
“Cowboys DE Donovan Ezeiruaku was arrested in Collin County yesterday on a charge of reckless driving,” The Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Nick Harris wrote on his official X account on Monday, January 12. “Uncharacteristic mistake for Ezeiruaku who has been everything the Cowboys could’ve hoped for off the field early in his time in Dallas.”
Ezeiruaku Adapted Quickly After Parsons Trade
The Cowboys put Ezeiruaku and their entire defense behind the 8-ball when they traded NFL All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers shortly before the start of the regular season.
Ezeiruaku seemed to adapt quickly, and Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox tagged him as the team’s potential “Breakout Star” for the second half of the season.
“Rookie pass-rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku has already made an impact for the Dallas Cowboys,” Knox wrote on November 13. “He 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 Quinnen Williams at the trade deadline, and he should create regular one-on-one opportunities for the guys playing next to him.”
“Donovan Ezeiruaku is suddenly the league’s top rookie pass rusher,” Pro Football Focus reporter Ryan Smith wrote on November 8. “A couple of impressive weeks vault the Cowboys edge defender past Abdul Carter for the top PFF pass-rush grade among first-year players.”
NFL Draft Stock Plummeted Over Size
Ezeiruaku put together one of the greatest seasons by a college pass rusher, ever, in his final year at Boston College in 2024 with 16.5 sacks, 20 TFL and 3 forced fumbles in just 12 games.
Those are the type of numbers — and against the type of competition — that almost guarantee you a spot in the first round of the NFL draft.
For Ezeiruaku, 6-foot-2 and 248 pounds, it meant dropping to the Cowboys in the second round.
That drop happened almost entirely because he’s 2-3 inches shorter and 30-40 pounds less than what teams think an ideal NFL edge rusher should look like.
From Bleacher Report’s pre-draft scouting report: “Undersized and lacks the strength to hold up against offensive linemen as a run defender in the NFL … Lack of size and strength also shows up when trying to turn speed to power as a pass-rusher.”
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