The National Football League (NFL) Draft is over and done with, and the latest player with Bahamian roots to play in the league, could be suiting up for ‘America’s Team’ next season.
The Dallas Cowboys have signed undrafted free agent Denzel Daxon, a native of The Bahamas, looking to find hidden gems to fill out their roster for the 2024-2025 season. Daxon, who hails from Crooked Island, finished his collegiate career playing for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Fighting Illini in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area of Illinois.
Daxon is a 6’2” 320-pound interior defensive lineman and played in all 12 games with 11 starts at nose tackle for the Fighting Illini last season. He is regarded as a fantastic run stopper, and with the Cowboys lacking depth on the defensive line, he could have a realistic shot to fight for a spot on the roster.
The Cowboys made eight selections in the 2024 NFL Draft, addressing needs for their roster. After the conclusion of the draft on Saturday, they brought in 13 undrafted free agents, including Daxon.
In his final season with the Fighting Illini, the behemoth finished with 27 tackles, recording three or more in seven games. He more than doubled his career output during his one season at Illinois.
Daxon had a career-high four tackles against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in early October 2023 and matched that output seven weeks later against the Northwestern Wildcats. He started at nose tackle in his debut for Illinois, and posted three tackles in a season-opening win for the Fighting Illini over the University of Toledo Rockets.
Daxon transferred to Illinois from Ohio University with one year of eligibility remaining. He experienced limited action in four years for the Ohio Bobcats, but had eight tackles and one sack, including two tackles for loss, during the 2021 season.
Daxon played high school football for Miami Carol City Senior High School (MCCSH) in Miami Gardens, Florida, earning all-county honors as a high school junior in 2017. He was an honor roll student at Carol City.
