As much as he might seem like Superman at times, it’s not really fair for the Dallas Cowboys to expect edge rusher Micah Parsons to essentially take on an entire team’s offensive line every time he steps on the field.
It was an issue that seemed to catch up with the Cowboys in 2024 when Parsons missed a career high 4 games and the bottom fell out on both the defense and the season as Dallas stumbled to a 7-10 record.
The Cowboys, to their credit, have attempted to address exactly this in the offseason. They used 3 picks in the 2025 NFL draft on their defensive front with one edge rusher and 2 defensive tackles. They signed a pair of plug-and-play free agent starters with edge rusher Dante Fowler Jr. and defensive tackle Solomon Thomas.
Still, the work must continue. Especially on the interior defensive line.
“The primary concern when looking at their roster is how they plan to improve a run defense that gave up a whopping 4.8 yards per carry,” Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine wrote on May 23. “Solomon Thomas was the only notable defensive tackle they added this offseason.”
One player the Cowboys could sign who is still available is 31-year-old free agent defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard, who started 31 out of 34 games for the Minnesota Vikings over the last 2 seasons, including all 17 games in 2024.
According to Sharp Football Analysis, Bullard is the top free agent interior defensive lineman still available. He played 2024 with the Vikings on a 1-year, $2.25 million contract and offering him a similar deal might be a smart move for Dallas and would add depth to a critical position.
Bullard Struggled to Find Full Time Role Early
Looking back at Bullard’s career, the fact he’s developed into a reliable, full time starter this late in his career makes him kind of an anomaly.
Taken by the Chicago Bears in the third round (No. 72 overall) of the 2016 NFL draft out of the University of Florida, Bullard played all but 2 games over his first 3 seasons but only made 5 starts before he was released before the 2019 season.
Bullard spent the next 3 seasons with 3 different teams — 2019 with the Arizona Cardinals, 2020 with the Seattle Seahawks and 2021 with the Atlanta Falcons — before he caught on with the Vikings in 2022 and spent the last 3 seasons there playing on a succession of 1-year deals.
With the Vikings, Bullard only saw his role increase each year. He started a career high 7 games in 2022 followed by 14 games in 2023 until starting every game in 2024, when he 41 tackles, 7 TFL and 3 pass deflections.
Cowboys Might Be About Through With Mazi Smith
The only reason the Cowboys really need to consider signing Bullard is because of the failure of defensive tackle and 2023 first round pick (No. 26 overall) Mazi Smith to establish himself as a reliable presence up front.
“Former first-rounder Mazi Smith endured a particularly tough 2024 campaign,” PFF’s Mason Cameron wrote on May 9. “He posted an abysmal 34.7 PFF overall grade, marking his second consecutive season of earning a sub-48.0 grade. Although Dallas signed Solomon Thomas in free agency, that doesn’t profile as the answer to the Cowboys’ 30th-ranked run-defense grade (48.0).”
