The first round of the NFL draft fell nearly exactly the way the Cowboys wanted, leaving them so many of their desired prospects at 24 that they traded down to 29 and still got one of them, plus an extra selection to boot.
The second round, however, was a different story. Friday night began with loads of players who had been linked to Dallas still on the board, but they seemed to go one after another, with the Cowboys left to watch their options dwindle, waiting their turn with the 56th overall pick.
When the time came, they went with Marshawn Kneeland, the defensive end from Western Michigan. His is a name that didn’t get a lot of attention from Cowboys media in the pre-draft process and mock draft season, so fans will be forgiven if they don’t know a lot about him.
But the Cowboys have shown a knack for using the second round to find hidden gems, players who go on to become household names. And the more you learn about Kneeland, the more it seems like he could be the next in that line.
Cowboys Nation, get to know Marshawn Kneeland.
Kneeland also lettered in basketball and track in high school, and those skills have stayed with him on the football field. His Relative Athletic Score places him in the top 10% of all defensive ends since 1987. Within the class of 2024, he scored higher than Alabama’s Dallas Turner and Penn State’s Chop Robinson, both first-round draft picks.
When Western Michigan fired head coach Tim Lester and the rest of the Broncos staff after a 5-7 season in 2022, Kneeland jumped into the transfer portal. Despite strong interest from TCU and UCLA, Kneeland committed to Colorado after a visit to Boulder. But while meeting afterward with new Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor, Kneeland requested that defensive coordinator Lou Esposito be brought back to the program. When it happened, Kneeland changed his mind and stayed in Kalamazoo for his final collegiate season, leading the team in sacks and earning second-team All-MAC honors.
Dane Brugler calls Kneeland’s game film against Eastern Michigan in October “the best single tape of any pass rusher in 2023.” In a 45-21 win on Eastern’s concrete-gray turf, Kneeland turned in 11 tackles, three sacks, four tackles for loss, a forced fumble that was recovered for a touchdown, and was responsible for two safeties on the day.
Kneeland accepted an invite to Mobile after his senior year, and he made the most of it. After a strong practice week that saw him get the best of several of the nation’s very best O-linemen prospects (including Taliese Fuaga, Roger Rosengarten, and Kingsey Suamataia), Kneeland played throughout the Senior Bowl and recorded one tackle, half a sack, and half a tackle for loss.
Broncos head coach Lance Taylor thanked Kneeland for staying in Kalamazoo by giving him a chance to run the rock in Western’s 2023 season opener. Up 28-17 in the fourth quarter, the 6-foot-3-inch 267-pounder lined up as the tailback from half a yard out on a 4th-and-goal call. The big man followed his blockers and plunged into the end zone for the final score of the game. (It was his second attempt, but he finally punched it in.) He ended his college career with two carries for one yard and one touchdown.
