The drama with the Dallas Cowboys and pass rusher Micah Parsons is now in the rearview, and there’s a regular season to prepare for, starting with the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night. With Parsons no longer in the fold, the defense needs new leadership, but more importantly, it needs a new best player.
Leadership might be easier to come by. The Cowboys have several veterans who can lead, and when the team captains were announced, it was defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa and safety Donovan Wilson who were awarded the honor. Those are two guys who immediately go to the top of the list to direct the defense.
The 2025 #Cowboys captains:
DT Osa Odighizuwa
S Donovan Wilson
QB Dak Prescott
WR CeeDee Lamb
K Brandon Aubrey
CB C.J. Goodwin— Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) August 31, 2025
Other players who could also be the voices of the unit include safety Malik Hooker and new DT Kenny Clark, who was revered for his leadership with the Green Bay Packers. It could take some time with his new team, but there’s little doubt about Clark’s ability to be a high character member of the defense.
The real question is who is the elite player on Dallas’ defense? The Cowboys have plenty of firepower on offense, but their only real big-time player on defense is now gone. Parsons was a three-time All-Pro who offenses had to gameplan around; he was a game wrecker, and there isn’t another member of the defense who has that ability. There are no other players who can be mentioned as being among the league’s best at their positions currently. No one on the Cowboys’ defense scares offenses anymore.
Clark has three Pro Bowls to his name, while cornerbacks Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland have had All-Pro seasons as well, but neither have been consistent and Diggs is returning from two serious knee injuries in back-to-back seasons. Those are the obvious candidates with the accolades to back up any claim to being elite.
