Marshawn Kneeland was about to leave Western Michigan.
Kneeland He entered the transfer portal last summer and committed to Colorado. However, Western Michigan's new head coach chose Lou Esposito to be his defensive coordinator, so Nieland decided to stay.
In his senior season, he led Western Michigan University with 4.5 sacks in nine starts and was named second-team All-MAC.
When the NFL draft process began, Nyland kept his contact with the Cowboys to a minimum. There were Senior Bowl meetings and informal discussions. So when it came time to choose in the second round, Dallas selected Nyland with the 56th overall pick on Friday night.
Nyland said he was surprised to be selected by the Cowboys.
Asked to describe his game, Kneeland said, “It was violent and physical. With high momentum and high effort, you always find a way to get to the ball.”
Kneeland finished his collegiate career with 149 total tackles, 13 sacks, and three forced fumbles. He joins former Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton as new additions to Dallas' roster. Guyton was selected in the first round on Thursday.
With edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence entering the final year of his contract, Kneeland looks like the perfect future replacement. The Cowboys currently have a good mix of young defensive ends with Micah Parsons, Sam Williams, Viliami Fehoko, Darrell Johnson, Nyland, and Lawrence.
Lawrence is the oldest member of the group at 31 years old.
“I'm very excited,” Kneeland said. “I’m happy to go there and work with such talented, hard-working people.”
Lawrence's selections included draft picks Junior Colson (Michigan State), Peyton Wilson (North Carolina State University) and Trevin Wallace (Kentucky State), all inside linebackers.
Dallas could have drafted a running back in the second round. However, Texas running back Jonathan Brooks, who was highly regarded by the Cowboys, went to Carolina with the 46th pick.
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