5 bold predictions for the Dallas Cowboys in preseason Week 1
By Randy Gurzi
2. Isaiah Land does a Micah Parsons impersonation
Dan Quinn is about to enter his third season as the defensive coordinator in Dallas and he's brought an entire new attitude to that side of the ball. Gone are the days when the Cowboys' defense can't get a turnover to save their lives as they now take the ball away quite often. They also know how to get after the quarterback.
Right now, their best player in this regard is linebacker Micah Parsons. In two seasons in the NFL, Parsons already has 26.5 sacks and 149 tackles. He's also batted down three passes and forced three fumbles.
Parsons has been quick to credit Quinn for unleashing him and he might have another player to groom this year in Isaiah Land. An undrafted free agent from Florida A&M, Land has had Quinn's attention for a while.
Ahead of the 2022 season, Quinn was scouting Markquese Bell from Florida A&M and Land stood out.
"So, from that time, I've always had my vision on him: the size, the length, could this defensive end play linebacker, could he go down? I know he can rush. Just trying to add — is it one of the examples of what else can they do?" — Quinn on Isaiah Land
Now Quinn has a chance to unleash all those traits and the preseason is the perfect time to see what Land can do. This prediction is that Land plays the majority of the game and does his best to impersonate Parsons by impacting the game against the run and when going after the quarterback with at least two tackles for negative gains and one sack.