The new season is underway, and the Cowboys defense find itself rich in explosive talent. Familiar faces like Micah Parsons and Osa Odighizuwa lived up to their playmaker reputations in Week 1 but new talents like Marist Liufau and DeMarvion Overshown are also flashing as key playmakers for this 2024 campaign.
The quickness and impact of these players cannot be understated. Parsons is widely considered one of, if not, the preeminent pass rusher in the NFL. Odighizuwa is fast becoming one of the league’s top pressure-producing interior defensive linemen. All four are explosive. All four are gamebreakers. All four add a special explosiveness to the Cowboys defense. And all four must be preserved for late in the year.
Liufau was dinged up in Week 1, but the rookie linebacker has shown he’s an explosive second-level defender who has been said to play like his hair is on fire. And Overshown, fresh off an ACL induced redshirt season, appears to be moving at a different speed than the rest of the world.
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Spanning from September through potentially February, the NFL season is a long one. There are 17 regular season games and as many as four postseason games on the slate. Like a marathon, just surviving to the end is a feat onto itself. Players understandably break down.
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In previous years Parsons and Odighizuwa have both seen their production drop as seasons progress. They have been such critical components to the defense coaches have had a hard time taking them off the field to set a more preservation-focused pace.
A similar situation could be facing the two new guys at linebacker as well. Liufau straight from college, and Overshown straight from IR, are two budding star LBs with only one game on their professional resumes. The riggers of a 17+ game season are going to hit hard this year so the question is how much of a toll will it take?
All four playmakers rely heavily on their explosiveness to be difference makers. Take away that explosiveness late in the season and the Cowboys lose one of their most vital elements at a time when games mean most. Deep rotations and modest usage rates will be key to keeping Dallas’ most explosive players explosive down the stretch.
This might sound like a simple ask but there’s nothing simple about it. Overshown and Liufau instantly make the defense faster which impacts both phases of the game. As some of the smartest players on the roster, they fly to the ball. Overshown specifically looks to be shot out of cannon when in pursuit, doing things other players simply cannot.
Quick play at the second level is critical in stopping dual-threat quarterbacks like Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Jayden Daniels and Daniel Jones. Those four alone represent 44 percent of the remaining games on the Cowboys regular season schedule. It’s going to be hard putting Overshown on a snap count in these games but for the long-term interest of the club, it’s necessary.
Same goes for Parsons and Odighizuwa. Parsons is by far Dallas’ best edge rusher and with Sam Williams already out for the season, it will be difficult for Mike Zimmer to reduce his snaps. For the good of the postseason, he must. Odighizuwa is by far the Cowboys top interior pass rusher, yet Zimmer must find a way to do the same. He needs late season Odighizuwa looking like early season Odighizuwa and for that to happen, he probably needs a lower pitch count early.
The Cowboys have to find a way to make their January look different this season. They need to keep their eye on prize and that means doing things in the early season so they can be at their best late in the season.
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