Cowboys add a potential steal in James Houston

The pass rush savant is a sneaky good addition

As is the annual tradition these days, the Dallas Cowboys kicked off their training camp with a veteran signing. In years past, the team has added impact players like Malik Hooker, Anthony Barr, and Brandon Aubrey around this time. And on Tuesday, they might have found another in EDGE James Houston.

Houston is an athletic freak teeming with potential as a pass rush savant. He originally played college ball at Florida before transferring to Jackson State in Deion Sanders’ second season as head coach.

There, Houston thrived, racking up 16.5 sacks and forcing seven fumbles. It was enough for the Lions to take Houston in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, making him the first Jackson State player to get drafted in 14 years.

Still, Houston was a raw talent, and Detroit stashed him on their practice squad for most of the year. But Houston got some action late in the year, and quickly lit the world on fire. In a Thanksgiving game against the Bills, Houston tallied two sacks on just five defensive snaps.

He finished the season with eight sacks despite playing in just seven games. Houston’s 17 pressures ended up being sixth on the team and his pass rush win rate of 19.3% tied none other than Micah Parsons.

Unfortunately, Houston’s momentum was cut short by a season-ending injury in Week 2 the next year. In addition, the Lions made some tweaks to their defensive scheme heading into 2024 that necessitated Houston playing more off-ball linebacker, and he struggled to make the adjustment.

Ultimately, the Lions cut Houston during the 2024 season, and he was claimed by the Browns, though he only saw 25 defensive snaps in total. At the time, Lions head coach Dan Campbell wished Houston well, saying the edge rusher just needed a fresh start.

Enter the Dallas Cowboys.

Those tweaks the Lions made defensively were geared towards their run defense, specifically getting bigger in the trenches. In Dallas, new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus tends to prioritize smaller, more athletic players, especially on the edges.

That plays directly into Houston’s strengths. He’s a twitchy athlete with elite speed and get-off, not unlike Parsons. Obviously, Parsons is a much more versatile, much more well-rounded player, but Houston offers similar pass rush ability.

His usage is very limited, though. Whereas Parsons is the type of player you’ll keep on the field as much as possible, Houston really only adds value in pass rush packages. That said, he adds tremendous value on those downs, evidenced by his hyper-productive rookie year.

Under Eberflus, Houston can be deployed similarly to Carl Lawson last year, who saw nearly 75% of his snaps come on pass rush downs. Lawson ended up placing third among Dallas edge defenders in pressures and racked up five sacks, filling a crucial role as a rotational and situational pass rusher for Dallas.

Of course, the Cowboys are considerably deeper at the position now than they were last year. Dante Fowler is back after a year in Washington; Sam Williams and Marshawn Kneeland are hoping to take advantage of more opportunities with DeMarcus Lawrence gone; rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku has plenty of hype; and former first-round pick Payton Turner offers hopes to be the Cowboys’ latest reclamation project.

Oh, and there’s that Parsons guy.

In short, Houston’s path to seeing the field is narrow, but he’s flashed elite potential in a designated pass rusher role. If the Cowboys can keep him confined to that role, rather than trying to turn him into a multipurpose player, Houston can thrive just as he did in 2022.