When the Dallas Cowboys drafted linebacker Marist Liufau in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft, they thought they were adding a cornerstone. The Notre Dame standout was a well-studied high-octane player. At 6-foot-2, 238 pounds, he fit the image of what Dallas was building in their linebacker room, making him a coach's dream from Day 1.

Day 2, and beyond, didn’t go quite as well for Liufau’s career. While the rookie flashed in early action, he wasn’t the consistent performer the Cowboys need him to be in order to secure an everyday starting role. Liufau started nine games his rookie year, the most starts he’s had in a single season as a pro, but he regularly made mistakes in reads and freelanced in a way that hurt the defense overall.

After moving from off-ball to on-ball in Christian Parker’s 3-4 defense this season, it appeared Liufau’s days were numbered. But a summer injury that landed him on IR seemed to buy him some time with the Cowboys, even if it was ultimately delaying the inevitable.

In a low-key Week 9 move, the Cowboys activated Liufau onto the roster, giving him a chance to make his season debut against the Indianapolis Colts. The whole episode was noteworthy, to say the least.

Marist Liufau’s fit on the Cowboys

From the start, it was hard to see how the 238-pound Liufau fit as an edge player on Parker’s defense. While the instinctual triggers of the edge benefit Liufau’s explosive playing style, the physicality and mismatches on the edge present major chanllenges for Liufau.

Those challenges were seen on Sunday when Liufau was routinely taken out of plays as he scored a team-worst 35.9 defensive grade from Pro Football Focus. At times it looked like Liufau was running to blockers instead of attacking the ball, calling into question his fit as an edge player in this system.

The on/off splits paint an even uglier picture.

When Liufau was off the field, the Cowboys defense allowed a somewhat respectable 5.8 yards/play and +0.080 EPA/play. When Liufau was on the field, the Cowboys suffered some of their most significant wounds of the day, yielding an average of 10.9 yards/play and allowing +0.426 EPA/play. Given the worst defense in the NFL allows +0.149 EPA/play, that’s a historically poor number. Sample size clearly plays a part in this, but this is not a good sign for the returning linebacker.

Designated to return

The potentially major item at hand, is the limited number of players the Cowboys are allowed to designate for return from IR. With Liufau’s return, Dallas only has one remaining. That means they will have to be strategic with who they shelf for the year and who they carry on the roster.

Using one of the limited designations for Liufau was a curious decision even before the lackluster effort in Week 9. He’s a fringe roster player without a clean fit on this defense, but that’s the way things went down so there’s no choice but to roll with the punches. With any luck, his play improves as he grows accustomed to his new role but as of now this looks like a designation Dallas may come to regret.