DETROIT – Western Michigan football's
Marshawn Kneeland became the 53rd player in program history to be selected in the NFL Draft after he was taken by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round with the 56th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft on Friday night.
Kneeland is the first Bronco ever to be selected in the draft by the Cowboys.
The Grand Rapids, Mich., native played 38 career games with the Broncos, making 82 tackles, 13 sacks, 28 tackles for loss, and three forced fumbles. This past season he was named Second Team All-MAC after wreaking havoc on the conference with 57 total tackles, 4.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss. Kneeland also had eight QB hurries and two forced fumble. Kneeland was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week after his performance against Eastern Michigan, in which he had a career-high 11 tackles, four tackles for loss, three sacks, one safety and a forced fumble that led to a defensive touchdown.
Kneeland was invited to and impressed at the Reece's Senior Bowl before doing the same at the 2024 NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
Western Michigan has now had six student-athletes drafted since 2021, and four years straight for the longest current streak in the Mid-American Conference. Kneeland is the ninth Bronco to be selected in the second round, joining recent selections Skyy Moore (Kansas City, '22) and D'Wayne Eskridge (Seattle, '21). He also marks the second-straight year that member of the Bronco defense has been drafted, with linebacker Zaire Barnes going in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft to the New York Jets.
