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Quinnen Williams #95 of the Dallas Cowboys
Remember November? It was a brief and what looked like inspirational moment for the Dallas Cowboys, who rallied together following the tragedy of Marshawn Kneeland and came out of their bye week with a new focus, a new determination, a new three-game winning streak and a new star defensive tackle–Quinnen Williams–to boot.
Williams appeared to be a defensive savior for the Cowboys during that winning streak, at least until they got to the Detroit Lions in Week 14, got drubbed, and started a run of four losses in five games to close the year.
Still, as the Cowboys regroup here in the 2026 offseason, there is a feeling that things are headed in the right direction defensively. They can’t get worse for a team that ranked No. 32 in points allowed, but starting with the hiring of new coordinator Christian Parker and the presence of a strong defensive front built around Williams, there is a sense that the Cowboys are just a few pieces away from fielding a credible defense again.
Quinnen Williams Excited About Cowboys Future
And it should be noted that Williams himself was everything the Cowboys had wanted him to be. This week, the top NFL analytical site, Pro Football Focus, released its “PFF 101: The top 101 players from the 2025 NFL season” list and Williams was the highest-rated Cowboy, at No. 28. (George Pickens was 34, and Dak Prescott was 45).
PFF wrote on Twitter/X, “Quinnen Williams after arriving in Dallas:
89.6 PFF grade (2nd among DI)
32 pressures (3rd)
19.6% pass rush win rate (2nd)
No. 28 on the PFF 101″
Williams spotted that on X and responded with some excitement around what’s next for Dallas and the defense, “Can’t wait for full season with Cowboys Nation.”
Quinnen Williams Was the No. 28 Player in the NFL in 2025
On the PFF website, it was pointed out that even playing for the lowly Jets to start the season, Williams was a “game-wrecker.” He could not rescue a Cowboys defense that was a mess under former coordinator Matt Eberflus, and that was struggling badly with injuries and a lack of personnel on the back end, but he is a cornerstone going forward.
Wrote PFF: “Williams looked like the dominant player of recent seasons in 2025, no matter where he suited up. Playing with both the Jets and the Cowboys, Williams was a game-wrecker against the run with a 91.7 PFF run-defense grade and a 14.0% run-stop rate — each of which led his position. Likewise, he accrued at least 50 pressures for the fourth straight year, and his PFF pass-rush grade rose to 79.0 after he landed in Dallas midseason.”
Cowboys Will Be Built Around the D-Line
Indeed, the success of Williams for the Cowboys will be a critical part of how the story of the shocking Micah Parsons trade that went down in late August last year is viewed. The Cowboys got two first-round picks in the Parsons deal, and shuttled the 2027 pick off to the Jets as part of the Williams deal. They still have one of the first-rounders this year.
Parker, speaking in his introductory press conference this week, sounded as excited about Williams and the D-line as Williams is about the Cowboys.
“The game is definitely won and lost up front,” Parker said. “We have significant players in the front seven, and so I think that you start with that defensive line room, what you’re able to do controlling the pocket and stopping the run, you control what an offense is able to do, you’re dictating to them on your terms, so you’re not playing the whole playbook after you win first and second downs. So I think it starts there, that’s where the excitement starts.”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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