The Dallas Cowboys took a flier on Ole Miss pass rusher Sam Williams with the hope that his pass rush skills would translate over to the NFL, but injuries and middling performance have left him in a very precarious spot ahead of what could be a pivotal 2024 campaign for him.
Williams played as many snaps in 2024 as anyone reading this article, as an ACL tear after an uninspiring first two seasons in the pros (39 tackles, eight sacks) has put him in a very precarious position. Luckily for Williams, he still has his fair share of supporters in the media.
Jon Machota of The Athletic listed Williams as Dallas' top breakout candidate for the 2025 season, beating out offensive tackle Tyler Guyton and linebacker Marist Liufau. Machota is banking on Williams' physical traits being able to help him get snaps in a crowded non-Micah Parsons edge room.
"The 2022 second-round pick just hasn’t been able to put it all together. His breakout season was supposed to be last year, but a season-ending knee injury in training camp put everything on hold. He took part in some individual drills during minicamp. If he’s healthy, he could be Dallas’ second-most productive pass rusher behind Micah Parsons," Machota wrote.
Cowboys EDGE Sam Williams named team's top breakout candidate
Williams will need to compete with free agent signing Dante Fowler Jr., a pair of fellow second-round picks in Marshawn Kneeland and Donovan Ezeiruaku, and former Saints first-rounder Payton Turner. Those look like grim odds, but Williams believers think that he has enough talent to get the job done.
Fowler is fresh off tallying 10.5 sacks for Washington last season, but those numbers are an outlier when compared to the rest of his pro career. Williams has superior speed when compared to Fowler, and that trait could be enough to eat into Fowler's snaps if he starts to falter.
Kneeland is a promising two-way end, but he lacks the pass rush upside Williams brings to the table when healthy. Ezeiruaku is clearly the guy Dallas wants to stick long-term next to Parsons, but his limitations as a run defender could lead to him being a designated pass rush specialist early in his career.
Williams is coming onto a team that doesn't have a ton of loyalty to someone the past regime drafted, putting him in a very awkward position. However, considering how fluid the depth chart is behind Parsons, Dallas will likely give him a fairly meaty runway to playing time.
Williams is in a very desperate place, as he could conceivably establish himself as Parsons' top deputy or get washed out of the pass rush rotation altogether. Starting strong will be key in convincing Brian Schottenheimer that he is worth putting up with.