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Dallas Cowboys 53-man roster projection: Plenty of competition at linebacker; could Cowboys carry five RBs?
Jon Machota
With the draft complete, the Dallas Cowboys roster is starting to take shape. Plenty of position battles will be settled over the upcoming months, but we don’t have time to wait for that.
Here’s my way-too-early 53-man roster projection.
QUARTERBACK
1.) Tony Romo
2.) Brandon Weeden
3.) Dustin Vaughan
The Cowboys like Vaughan enough that they didn’t draft another QB over the weekend. He’s still in the developmental stages, but he’ll be on the roster.
RUNNING BACK
4.) Darren McFadden
5.) Joseph Randle
6.) Lance Dunbar
7.) Ryan Williams
8.) Jed Collins
It gets tricky here because five running backs are probably too many. Jason Garrett will keep a fullback, which means Williams could be the odd man out. But I’m keeping him at this point because I’m not certain who from the group will emerge during training camp.
WIDE RECEIVER
9.) Dez Bryant
10.) Terrance Williams
11.) Cole Beasley
12.) Devin Street
13.) George Farmer
Beasley could return punts, but they still need to find a kick returner to replace Dwayne Harris. That final spot could come down to Farmer, Antwan Goodley, Lucky Whitehead and Reggie Dunn. Then again, maybe they keep six wide receivers. Either way, I like Farmer’s chances, especially after being given $55,000 guaranteed.
TIGHT END
14.) Jason Witten
15.) Gavin Escobar
16.) James Hanna
No surprises here. The same group as last season.
OFFENSIVE LINE
17.) Tyron Smith, T
18.) Zack Martin, G
19.) Travis Frederick, C
20.) Doug Free, T
21.) Ronald Leary, G
22.) Mackenzy Bernadeau, G
23.) Chaz Green, T
24.) Darrion Weems, T
The Cowboys signed Weems to a one-year deal in February. He’ll likely battle for the final offensive line spot.
SPECIAL TEAMS
25.) Dan Bailey, K
26.) Chris Jones, P
27.) L.P. LaDouceur, LS
Same as the tight ends, no need to change it up from last season.
DEFENSIVE LINE:
28.) Jeremy Mincey, DE
29.) Tyrone Crawford, DT
30.) Greg Hardy, DE
31.) Randy Gregory, DE
32.) DeMarcus Lawrence, DE
33.) Terrell McClain, DT
34.) Nick Hayden, DT
35.) Ryan Russell, DE
36.) Jack Crawford, DE
37.) Ken Bishop, DT
I have Ken Bishop, Davon Coleman and Josh Brent fighting for the final defensive tackle spot. I have Ben Gardner competing for the final defensive end spot. Gardner has a good shot to open the season on the 53 with Hardy facing a lengthy suspension.
LINEBACKER
38.) Sean Lee
39.) Rolando McClain
40.) Anthony Hitchens
41.) Jasper Brinkley
42.) Andrew Gachkar
43.) Damien Wilson
44.) Kyle Wilber
A lot of competition for theses seven spots. Other possibilities include: Cameron Lawrence, Keith Rivers, Dekoda Watson and Mark Nzeocha.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
45.) Orlando Scandrick, CB
46.) Brandon Carr, CB
47.) Morris Claiborne, CB
48.) Byron Jones, CB/S
49.) Corey White, CB
50.) Tyler Patmon, CB
51.) Barry Church, S
52.) J.J. Wilcox, S
53.) Jeff Heath, S
I went with only three true safeties because the first-round pick has position flex. If Claiborne is healthy, Jones could see a lot of time at safety, where he last played in 2012.
Jon Machota
With the draft complete, the Dallas Cowboys roster is starting to take shape. Plenty of position battles will be settled over the upcoming months, but we don’t have time to wait for that.
Here’s my way-too-early 53-man roster projection.
QUARTERBACK
1.) Tony Romo
2.) Brandon Weeden
3.) Dustin Vaughan
The Cowboys like Vaughan enough that they didn’t draft another QB over the weekend. He’s still in the developmental stages, but he’ll be on the roster.
RUNNING BACK
4.) Darren McFadden
5.) Joseph Randle
6.) Lance Dunbar
7.) Ryan Williams
8.) Jed Collins
It gets tricky here because five running backs are probably too many. Jason Garrett will keep a fullback, which means Williams could be the odd man out. But I’m keeping him at this point because I’m not certain who from the group will emerge during training camp.
WIDE RECEIVER
9.) Dez Bryant
10.) Terrance Williams
11.) Cole Beasley
12.) Devin Street
13.) George Farmer
Beasley could return punts, but they still need to find a kick returner to replace Dwayne Harris. That final spot could come down to Farmer, Antwan Goodley, Lucky Whitehead and Reggie Dunn. Then again, maybe they keep six wide receivers. Either way, I like Farmer’s chances, especially after being given $55,000 guaranteed.
TIGHT END
14.) Jason Witten
15.) Gavin Escobar
16.) James Hanna
No surprises here. The same group as last season.
OFFENSIVE LINE
17.) Tyron Smith, T
18.) Zack Martin, G
19.) Travis Frederick, C
20.) Doug Free, T
21.) Ronald Leary, G
22.) Mackenzy Bernadeau, G
23.) Chaz Green, T
24.) Darrion Weems, T
The Cowboys signed Weems to a one-year deal in February. He’ll likely battle for the final offensive line spot.
SPECIAL TEAMS
25.) Dan Bailey, K
26.) Chris Jones, P
27.) L.P. LaDouceur, LS
Same as the tight ends, no need to change it up from last season.
DEFENSIVE LINE:
28.) Jeremy Mincey, DE
29.) Tyrone Crawford, DT
30.) Greg Hardy, DE
31.) Randy Gregory, DE
32.) DeMarcus Lawrence, DE
33.) Terrell McClain, DT
34.) Nick Hayden, DT
35.) Ryan Russell, DE
36.) Jack Crawford, DE
37.) Ken Bishop, DT
I have Ken Bishop, Davon Coleman and Josh Brent fighting for the final defensive tackle spot. I have Ben Gardner competing for the final defensive end spot. Gardner has a good shot to open the season on the 53 with Hardy facing a lengthy suspension.
LINEBACKER
38.) Sean Lee
39.) Rolando McClain
40.) Anthony Hitchens
41.) Jasper Brinkley
42.) Andrew Gachkar
43.) Damien Wilson
44.) Kyle Wilber
A lot of competition for theses seven spots. Other possibilities include: Cameron Lawrence, Keith Rivers, Dekoda Watson and Mark Nzeocha.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
45.) Orlando Scandrick, CB
46.) Brandon Carr, CB
47.) Morris Claiborne, CB
48.) Byron Jones, CB/S
49.) Corey White, CB
50.) Tyler Patmon, CB
51.) Barry Church, S
52.) J.J. Wilcox, S
53.) Jeff Heath, S
I went with only three true safeties because the first-round pick has position flex. If Claiborne is healthy, Jones could see a lot of time at safety, where he last played in 2012.
