There are a lot of different reasons why the Dallas Cowboys decided to make the trade for Quinnen Williams at the deadline. First and foremost, he’s an incredible player in the prime of his career. And even if the Cowboys don’t make the playoffs this season, he is the type of foundational player the franchise can build a defense around moving forward.
But another factor as to why the Cowboys made this move is that they believed his presence could impact the players around him.
One such player is Osa Odighizuwa, whom the Cowboys paid a ton of money to this offseason. Odighizuwa has always been a solid player, but he’s never played next to a player like Williams, and he’s already unlocking parts of his game.
Cowboys DT Osa Odighizuwa had a career performance in win vs. Raiders
Williams was dominant in his debut with the Cowboys, racking up 1.5 sacks and a career-high five QB hits. But he wasn’t the only defensive tackle for Dallas who had a career day. Odighizuwa led the team in pressures with eight, which was also his personal best, according to Pro Football Focus. He was the team's highest-graded defender with a grade of 90.6.
Odighizuwa was incredible with Williams on and off the field on Monday, and a big reason why is that he was fresh. Rather than playing 51 snaps like he did in Week 9 against the Cardinals, Odighizuwa played 40 snaps, 34 of which came on passing downs. He wasn’t asked to eat up double teams in the run game and instead could focus solely on getting to Geno Smith.
The game script obviously helped out here as the Cowboys held a double-digit lead for most of the game, but there is no doubt that the heavy rotation at defensive tackle helped Odighizuwa. He no longer has to be “the guy” in the defensive tackle room. Instead, he can fit into his role and be part of a deep rotation of pass rushers.
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And that room should only improve once Solomon Thomas and Perrion Winfrey return from their injuries. The Cowboys activated Winfrey from injured reserve on Tuesday, so he could make his season debut this Sunday against the Eagles.
The acquisition of Williams can be a force multiplier for the Cowboys, and we are already seeing the impact it’s having on Odighizuwa. If that can continue for the final seven games of the 2025 season, don’t be surprised if this defense improves much faster than anyone anticipates.
Having multiple defensive tackles who can create quick pressure is a cheat code in the NFL, and that was on full display in Week 11. Now let’s see if they can do that against the Eagles and their dominant offensive line on Sunday.