The Dallas Cowboys have a lot of new faces on defense, including defensive coordinator Christian Parker, and one of the featured elements of their defense is pumped about how they're shaping up on that side of the ball. "The growth, it's like night and day," Cowboys star defensive tackle Quinen Williams said about the team's defensive growth on Wednesday, according to the Cowboys' team website. "Starting in OTAs, and starting the first week of training camp, getting a chance to go against one of the best offenses in battle every single day has helped us tremendously.
The mindset coming from the coaches, top down to the players and to the leadership, has been drastically changed. It's just fun, man. "I just can't wait to see the process and the results from all the hard work.
But, we're not done yet." In 2025 under defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, Dallas was last in the NFL in opponent passing yards (251.5 per game) and opponent points (30.1 per game), 30th in opponent total yards (377.0 per game), tied for 22nd in sacks (35.0) and 10th outright in opponent rushing yards (125.5 per game). The year prior (2024), the Cowboys were 31st in opponent points and 28th in opponent total yards under defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. For context, the Cowboys were fifth in opponent points in 2022 and 2023, seventh in opponent points in 2021 and fifth in opponent total yards in 2023.
The aforementioned success came under defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who left Dallas after a three-year stint in the role (2021-23) to become the head coach of the Washington Commanders. The Cowboys moved on from Eberflus in favor of Parker, the former Philadelphia Eagles passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach. This is Parker's first stint as an NFL defensive coordinator.
"It's been amazing — from where we started off in OTAs to where we are at now," Williams said about the team's defensive progression. "We've got some fine-tuning, some things to clean up, some things to do, but I feel comfortable. The progressions that we made, the growth and the development that we have made, and to go into the right direction that we wanted to go into." Dallas signed Williams, a 2022 All-Pro and a Pro Bowler in each of the last four years, to a three-year, $105.9 million extension in August, with the $35.3 million average annual value second among NFL interior defensive linemen.
In a 2025 campaign split between the Cowboys and New York Jets – Dallas acquired Williams from New York at last season's NFL trade deadline for a 2027 first-round pick, a 2026 second-rounder and defensive lineman and 2023 first-rounder Mazi Smith – Williams logged a combined 2.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, one interception and 53 combined tackles across 15 regular-season games. He ranked second among defensive linemen with an 88.8 overall grade and seventh with 51 total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. As for the players joining Williams, Dallas signed safety Jalen Thompson (three-year, $33 million deal) and cornerback Cobie Durant (one-year, $4 million deal) and acquired veteran linebacker Rashan Gary from the Green Bay Packers, among other moves.
Regarding the draft, the Cowboys traded up one spot to select Ohio State Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs with the No. 11 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and also selected UCF Knights linebacker Malachi Lawrence with the No. 23 pick.
Dallas opens its 2026 regular season on the road against the New York Giants on Sept. 13.
