Why filling a certain position is key to Christian Parker’s defense

NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 01: ILB CJ Allen #3 of the Georgia Bulldogs rushes the quarterback during the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal game between the Ole Miss Rebels and the Georgia Bulldogs on Thursday January 1, 2026 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, LA. (Photo by Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The 2026 NFL Draft is less than a month away, and while making transactions close to the week of the draft is something the Dallas Cowboys have not been shy about in recent years, it is still this draft where Dallas holds a pair of first-round picks that are looming large as the best opportunity for the Cowboys to improve their defense.

A defense that was abysmal in 2025 under Matt Eberflus has been forced to yet again take a few steps backwards in order to move forwards with a new defensive coordinator, with Christian Parker now in charge. One position that Eberflus had his fingerprints all over that will especially need retooling is linebacker. Kenneth Murray was one of the faces of the porous Cowboys defense last season, and now moving on without him, the worst part of the one-year Murray experience may be the way he took valuable snaps away from Marist Liufau.

Liufau’s chance to make up for this in Parker’s defense will come with a bit of a position change as well, as the Cowboys will be using him as an outside linebacker in pass rush duties. This isn’t to say that 100% of Liufau’s snaps will be in pass rush and not have some dedicated to coverage, but even the thought of not having Liufau as a more traditional style linebacker on any majority of snaps makes the depth chart at LB even more unsettling. Moving past Liufau, the Cowboys would then be counting on DeMarvion Overshown, second-year draft pick Shemar James, and Justin Barron.

Where to expect Parker’s defense to improve the most The Cowboys not exactly making good on “busting their budget” and “borrowing from the future” to field a new defense has created a tough task for Parker right off the bat. One area that will be a strong indicator of how well the Cowboys defense is playing this scheme will be the Cowboys’ improvement in yards per passing attempt against. In Parker’s first season with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024, that defense went from being top ten in this metric the year before to the absolute best in the league, with more than a full yard of improvement.