It's no secret who the best pass rusher in Oxnard is — it's Micah Parsons, to be clear — but in Year 10, Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence is still a solid ... and even "destructive'' ... second option to have getting after the quarterback.

Lawrence earned his first Pro Bowl nod since earning back-to-back bids in 2017-18 when he racked up a total of 24.5 sacks in the two-year span. Lawrence's six sacks last season were an uptick from his three in an injury-riddled 2021, but head coach Mike McCarthy said Wednesday that the vet's value extends beyond tallying numbers.

"He's such a destructive player and also he is a productive player when it comes in the area of big plays and tackles for losses and takeaway generation," McCarthy said. "When you look at players, every one of these guys is a fine, fine, good football player. There's great moments that they have, but the elite players make the others around them better. When you're consistently a player of destruction, you're creating other opportunities for other players."

The 2014 second-round pick has been a staple of consistency for the last six years, and McCarthy, who is entering Year 4 in Dallas, said this Lawrence is having his best training camp in that time.

Lawrence, who turned 31 in April, will tell you he is still learning how to be better at his position. As part of his goals, he said he focused on understanding coverages better to know how much time he has to get to the quarterback.

"I want to be more dominant," Lawrence said. "I can play a bigger role in taking my dominance to the next level, especially being more familiar with the defense and understanding what (all) my ... responsibilities are."

There are a few players in the Cowboys locker room that McCarthy uses for teaching tape. Zack Martin is one of those players, but on the opposite side, McCarthy uses Lawrence's technique as instruction to younger players.

"If you talk about the fundamentals of football and ball security is a No. 1 fundamental if you're ranking them, with ball extraction, D Law's career is a highlight tape," McCarthy said. "You talk about violent hands, obviously the way he plays with length and, when you look at his veteran experience, his instincts and awareness are extremely high."

Lawrence's consistency since 2017 indicates he isn't showing signs of slowing down. Couple that with the skillsets of Parsons, Dante Fowler, Sam Williams and Dorance Armstrong, and the Cowboys are likely going to once again boast one of the best pass rushes - at a "destructive'' level - in the NFL.

Follow Casey Smith on Twitter @casey_smith2419

COWBOYS FISH REPORT … now a podcast! Join us inside The Star, ANY TIME!

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Dallas Cowboys?

Follow FishSports on Twitter

Follow Cowboys / Fish on Facebook

Subscribe to the Cowboys Fish Report on YouTube for constant daily Cowboys live reports!