ESPN Cowboys Insider Todd Archer Talks Von Miller, Pickens & More with Rich

The Cowboys had been circling Von Miller since before training camp, and according to Todd Archer, Miller was circling right back.

Archer, calling in to the show from Cowboys camp in Oxnard, said he had just gotten off the phone with DeMarcus Ware, who had been talking to Miller throughout the process. "The only team that has really reached out to him in this process is the Cowboys," Archer relayed. Miller helped will it into existence by posting pictures of himself on social media, and inside the building it never felt like a maybe. "It was going to be a when it was going to happen, not an if."

The fit is not complicated. Miller's nine sacks with Washington last year would have led the Cowboys in 2025, which tells you everything about why the pass rush still needed help even after the other moves Dallas made on defense.

Archer was careful about expectations. "You're not asking Von Miller to be the Denver Von Miller, right?" The role is situational pass rusher, plus a sounding board for the young players in the room as they learn a new system.

That system belongs to Christian Parker, who is 34 and has never called a defense in a game. Archer does not sound worried. People on the sideline in Seattle described a coordinator who stayed even keel and did not ride the highs and lows. Parker came up around Vic Fangio, but he set the terms himself in his first press conference. "It's not going to be Vic Fangio's defense. It's going to be the Dallas Cowboys defense."

Around him is a group that finished last in the league in just about everything a year ago and now includes a freshly extended Quinnen Williams, a full year of Kenny Clark, Caleb Downs, and a healthy Donavan Wilson. Archer said the players get insulted when people suggest finishing 20th would be a triumph.

The other camp story is George Pickens, who Archer says has been the best player in Cowboys camp. His explanation is one word: comfort.

Comfort for the coaches, who now know what Pickens can do after last season, and comfort for Pickens himself. Asked why it has gone so much better in Dallas than it did in Pittsburgh, Pickens kept coming back to the same thing. He feels comfortable with the coaches, comfortable with his teammates, and like everybody there gets him.

Archer thinks the organization is part of that. "This is the Cowboys. They've been around these situations before where not everything turns into a big deal." He would like the contract from Dallas, and Dallas would ultimately like to do it, but he is also showing out for every other team watching to see whether he can do it twice and be a model citizen. Jerry Jones has said that is a good place for the team to be.

The culture piece showed up in a smaller moment. When the joint practice with the Rams ended in sprints, Rich noted Pickens telling the Rams to move on, that it was none of their business. Rashaan Gary told the show last week that the players instituted those runs themselves, and Archer confirmed it also happened on family day in Oxnard, when the staff tried to send everyone to the beach and the players said no, we want to run. Dak Prescott has carried the leadership load for years, the Mikey in the Life cereal commercial who will try anything. Now there is a leadership council of 11 players.

Asked where the weakness is, Archer went pass rush first, and until he sees Miller practice, he is staying there. The good Dallas defenses he has covered had a Micah Parsons or a DeMarcus Ware putting up double digits. Health is second, since Prescott has not played consecutive full seasons since 2019 and turns 33. The offensive line is third, with Tyler Guyton answering the question at left tackle and Terence Steele holding down the right side.

On the trades, Archer reported no regret about DeMarcus Lawrence, whose all-around ability is missed more than his sack totals, and who hugged it out with the team before Saturday's preseason game. On Parsons, blunter. "I know there's no regret about the Micah Parsons trade." Dallas was prepared for him to miss multiple weeks after he had his back examined. Then he got traded to Green Bay, and the back suddenly felt a whole heck of a lot better.