The Dallas Cowboys need to fix the defense.
While Jerry Jones and the Cowboys have spent much of this offseason adding former first-round picks in need of a change of scenery, Dallas would be wise to add one of the premier edge rushers in this year’s draft class with their first-round pick.
Pro Football Focus’ Ryan Smith put together a list of the top potential pairings of an NFL Draft prospect with a star veteran player, including the Cowboys pairing Texas A&M Shemar Stewart opposite Parsons.
“There are questions about Stewart’s game from a production standpoint,” Smith writes for PFF. “As he never generated more than 1.5 sacks in a season at Texas A&M. While there is room for him to improve his pass-rushing toolbox, Stewart will enter the NFL as an elite run defender from day one. He ranked in the top five among all edge defenders with an 88.2 PFF run-defense grade last season.
“Micah Parsons has established himself as one of the best pure pass rushers in the NFL. He has generated at least 70 pressures in each of his four seasons in the league while earning a PFF pass-rush grade of 91.6 or higher every year.”
Stewart is widely viewed as one of the more perplexing draft prospects given his athletic profile combined with just 4.5 sacks over the past three seasons at College Station.
However, if the Cowboys believe they can harness his explosiveness and 6-foot-6 and 290-pound frame in a scheme with Parsons wreaking havoc on the other side, it could prove to be a prolific and difference-making pass rush duo in the NFC East.
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