Was it really a good trade if you have to make up for it with your first-round pick the next year?
That’s the question the Dallas Cowboys will be asking themselves next April if they do end up drafting an elite edge rusher to replace the dearly departed Micah Parsons rather than going the free agent route as some have suggested.
They can hardly expect anyone they draft to be better than the perennial All-Pro. But that’s not likely to stop them from doing it. Edge rusher is, after all, one of the most important positions in today’s modern NFL.
At 6-6-1 Dallas is likely to miss the playoffs—but just. That means they will draft somewhere in the middle of the first round. ESPN’s Field Yates predicts they will select a middle linebacker, Ohio State’s Sonny Styles, with their first pick at No. 15.
However, let’s not forget they received the Green Bay Packers’ 2026 first-rounder in that Parsons trade. Yates believes they will use that, a No. 28 selection in this scenario, to draft Parsons’ successor directly: Missouri’s Damon Wilson II.
“The defensive investment would continue for the Cowboys here via Wilson, who broke out in 2025 after transferring from Georgia before this season. His 9.0 sacks with the Tigers nearly tripled his 3.5 sacks over the first two seasons of his collegiate career.”
Wilson did have a solid final year with the Tigers—his 9.0 sacks are tied for 16th in the nation and he also had 9.5 TFLs—but he was not even among the top five edge rushers selected in Yates’ latest 2026 NFL mock draft. Could he really make a difference?
Damon Wilson II would add to a surprisingly underrated Cowboys pass rush
No matter what, Wilson would be a welcome addition to a team that currently ranks 18th in sacks (29). And as Yates laid out, Wilson could benefit greatly from an interior defensive line that was much improved via another trade.
“Wilson has very good length, first-step quickness and torque to bend the edge. He also brought it in big games this season, with four sacks against teams ranked in the top 10. After shoring up their interior defensive line by trading for Quinnen Williams, Wilson could be a game changer on the edge for the Cowboys.”
Considering the Cowboys play in prime time more than anyone, Wilson's penchant for big plays in big games won't go unnoticed. But can he match the production of Parsons?
Parsons is tied for third in the NFL with 12.5 sacks this year, twice as many as Dallas’ leader James Houston, who has racked up just 5.5. Some even say Parsons should be in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation.
However, even without Parsons, Quinnen Williams has helped the Cowboys maintain pressure on opposing QBs. Even if they don’t always sack them, their 32.2 pressure rate is tops in the league this season.
Add a high-pedigree edge rusher like Damon Wilson II to an interior already creating mountains of pressure, and you’re going to get a lot more sacks. And sacks generally mean overall success in the NFL.
Could Jerry Jones really manage to get the best of both worlds here? Will he really go down as a genius for that Parsons trade? Only time (and possibly Wilson) will tell.