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By Jon Machota
1h ago
The first practice of Cowboys training camp takes place in 34 days. If everyone stays healthy, the 53-man roster they’ll go with to enter the season doesn’t seem that difficult to project. But injuries happen and some players could perform so well in training camp and the preseason that they force their way onto the Week 1 roster.
If the season started today, this is our prediction for Dallas’ 53-man roster.
Quarterback (2)
Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush
Not much of a competition here. Prescott is the obvious franchise quarterback and Rush is clearly the backup over the other two QBs on the roster: Will Grier and Ben DiNucci. “(I’m) healthy,” Prescott said last month. “The healthiest I’ve been in a long, long time. … Just being out there and not having any restrictions or being held back, and engaged in the team activities. It’s exciting.”
Running back (4)
Ezekiel Elliott, Tony Pollard, Rico Dowdle, Ryan Nall
The first two spots need no explanation. The final two could get interesting. Dallas is expected to keep a fullback and that job will come down to Nall or Nick Ralston. Nall gets the nod because of his NFL experience. He played in 33 games with the Chicago Bears over the previous three seasons. Dowdle will be fighting for the No. 3 RB job with undrafted rookies Aaron Shampklin and Malik Davis and JaQuan Hardy (undrafted last season). That third spot could be decided by who the coaching staff feels offers the most as a kick returner.
Wide receiver (5)
CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, James Washington, Jalen Tolbert, Noah Brown
It’s very possible that Gallup (knee) could start the season on the physically unable to perform list, which would open up a roster spot for Simi Fehoko, last year’s fifth-round pick. But if all are healthy, these are the top five wide receivers on the Cowboys’ depth chart. It was disappointing that because of injuries we didn’t get to see Washington and Tolbert was limited during organized team activities and minicamp. Both are expected to have huge roles this season, replacing Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson.
Tight end (4)
Dalton Schultz, Jake Ferguson, Sean McKeon, Jeremy Sprinkle
Whether Schultz signs a long-term deal before the July 15 franchise tag deadline or not, he’ll be the Cowboys’ No. 1 tight end. He’s clearly their best player at the position. It’ll be interesting to see who gets the second-most snaps with Blake Jarwin no longer on the roster. It could be Ferguson, this year’s fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin, depending on how quickly he picks up the offense. McKeon and Sprinkle combined to catch only seven passes last season for 58 yards and a touchdown. Both will likely have large roles on special teams.
Offensive line (9)
Zack Martin, Tyron Smith, Tyler Smith, Terence Steele, Tyler Biadasz, Connor McGovern, Josh Ball, Matt Waletzko, Matt Farniok
The Cowboys would probably like to keep 10 offensive linemen, but one of those spots ended up going over to the defensive line in this projection. The expected starting lineup is Tyron Smith at left tackle, first-round pick Tyler Smith at left guard, Biadasz at center, Martin at right guard and Steele at right tackle. During OTAs and minicamp, Waletzko was the backup left tackle while Ball was the backup at right tackle. Farniok will compete for the backup center job with undrafted rookie free agents Alec Lindstrom and James Empey. McGovern, who could compete at center as well, is regarded as someone who can help at all three interior line positions.
Defensive line (11)
DE: DeMarcus Lawrence, Dante Fowler, Dorance Armstrong, Sam Williams, Chauncey Golston, Tarell Basham
DT: Neville Gallimore, Osa Odighizuwa, Trysten Hill, Quinton Bohanna, John Ridgeway
Veteran Carlos Watkins was the odd man out despite having played 438 defensive snaps last year. Dallas would be thrilled to have a difficult decision like this because it would likely mean the others are all healthy entering the season. Lawrence, Armstrong, Fowler and Williams should see the most snaps off the edge. Gallimore and Odighizuwa should see the most snaps on the inside. Golston is an interesting player who the Cowboys plan to use on the outside on early downs and move inside during passing downs.
DeMarcus Lawrence (Tim Heitman / USA Today)
Linebacker (5)
Micah Parsons, Leighton Vander Esch, Jabril Cox, Luke Gifford, Devin Harper
Fifth-round pick Damone Clark, who had spinal fusion surgery in March, could miss all of the 2022 season. If he plays, it likely wouldn’t be until late in the year. Parsons will continue to line up all over the field. Vander Esch and Keanu Neal split defensive snaps a year ago with Vander Esch seeing 663 and Neal playing 580. Vander Esch is hoping to play more this year, but Cox is expected to take over Neal’s role. Gifford and Harper will see most of their work come on special teams. Gifford played a team-high 75 percent of Dallas’ special teams snaps last season.
Cornerback (5)
Trevon Diggs, Anthony Brown, Jourdan Lewis, Kelvin Joseph, Nahshon Wright
Diggs, Brown and Lewis are again expected to see the most work. Brown played a team-high 91 percent of the Cowboys’ defensive snaps last season. Diggs was second at 88 percent. Lewis was sixth at 70 percent. Joseph could get into the mix, depending on his health and off-field situation. Even if Joseph doesn’t face any criminal charges after being a passenger in a vehicle from which gunshots were fired that killed a man in March, he could still be suspended by the NFL for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. Wright will likely battle for the fifth and final spot with fifth-round pick DaRon Bland, undrafted rookies Isaac Taylor-Stuart and Quandre Mosely and veteran Kyron Brown.
Safety (4)
Jayron Kearse, Malik Hooker, Donovan Wilson, Israel Mukuamu
This is probably the best shape the Cowboys have been in at the safety position over the past decade. Kearse and Hooker are the starters with Wilson being the first off the bench. Kearse played the third-most defensive snaps last season while leading the team in tackles. The expectation is that Kearse and Hooker, the 15th overall pick in 2017, will be even better in their second season with Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. Mukuamu will see competition for the final spot from Tyler Coyle, an undrafted free agent last year, and undrafted rookies Juanyeh Thomas and Markquese Bell.
Special teams (4)
Jonathan Garibay, Bryan Anger, Jake McQuaide, C.J. Goodwin
Garibay will get some competition during training camp, but the rookie is the only kicker on the roster. Anger remains the team’s punter as he comes off of his first Pro Bowl season. McQuaide will be Dallas’ long snapper for the second consecutive season. Goodwin remains the Cowboys’ special teams ace for the fourth consecutive season. He led the team in special teams snaps in 2019 and 2020. He was second last year.
1h ago
The first practice of Cowboys training camp takes place in 34 days. If everyone stays healthy, the 53-man roster they’ll go with to enter the season doesn’t seem that difficult to project. But injuries happen and some players could perform so well in training camp and the preseason that they force their way onto the Week 1 roster.
If the season started today, this is our prediction for Dallas’ 53-man roster.
Quarterback (2)
Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush
Not much of a competition here. Prescott is the obvious franchise quarterback and Rush is clearly the backup over the other two QBs on the roster: Will Grier and Ben DiNucci. “(I’m) healthy,” Prescott said last month. “The healthiest I’ve been in a long, long time. … Just being out there and not having any restrictions or being held back, and engaged in the team activities. It’s exciting.”
Running back (4)
Ezekiel Elliott, Tony Pollard, Rico Dowdle, Ryan Nall
The first two spots need no explanation. The final two could get interesting. Dallas is expected to keep a fullback and that job will come down to Nall or Nick Ralston. Nall gets the nod because of his NFL experience. He played in 33 games with the Chicago Bears over the previous three seasons. Dowdle will be fighting for the No. 3 RB job with undrafted rookies Aaron Shampklin and Malik Davis and JaQuan Hardy (undrafted last season). That third spot could be decided by who the coaching staff feels offers the most as a kick returner.
Wide receiver (5)
CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, James Washington, Jalen Tolbert, Noah Brown
It’s very possible that Gallup (knee) could start the season on the physically unable to perform list, which would open up a roster spot for Simi Fehoko, last year’s fifth-round pick. But if all are healthy, these are the top five wide receivers on the Cowboys’ depth chart. It was disappointing that because of injuries we didn’t get to see Washington and Tolbert was limited during organized team activities and minicamp. Both are expected to have huge roles this season, replacing Amari Cooper and Cedrick Wilson.
Tight end (4)
Dalton Schultz, Jake Ferguson, Sean McKeon, Jeremy Sprinkle
Whether Schultz signs a long-term deal before the July 15 franchise tag deadline or not, he’ll be the Cowboys’ No. 1 tight end. He’s clearly their best player at the position. It’ll be interesting to see who gets the second-most snaps with Blake Jarwin no longer on the roster. It could be Ferguson, this year’s fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin, depending on how quickly he picks up the offense. McKeon and Sprinkle combined to catch only seven passes last season for 58 yards and a touchdown. Both will likely have large roles on special teams.
Offensive line (9)
Zack Martin, Tyron Smith, Tyler Smith, Terence Steele, Tyler Biadasz, Connor McGovern, Josh Ball, Matt Waletzko, Matt Farniok
The Cowboys would probably like to keep 10 offensive linemen, but one of those spots ended up going over to the defensive line in this projection. The expected starting lineup is Tyron Smith at left tackle, first-round pick Tyler Smith at left guard, Biadasz at center, Martin at right guard and Steele at right tackle. During OTAs and minicamp, Waletzko was the backup left tackle while Ball was the backup at right tackle. Farniok will compete for the backup center job with undrafted rookie free agents Alec Lindstrom and James Empey. McGovern, who could compete at center as well, is regarded as someone who can help at all three interior line positions.
Defensive line (11)
DE: DeMarcus Lawrence, Dante Fowler, Dorance Armstrong, Sam Williams, Chauncey Golston, Tarell Basham
DT: Neville Gallimore, Osa Odighizuwa, Trysten Hill, Quinton Bohanna, John Ridgeway
Veteran Carlos Watkins was the odd man out despite having played 438 defensive snaps last year. Dallas would be thrilled to have a difficult decision like this because it would likely mean the others are all healthy entering the season. Lawrence, Armstrong, Fowler and Williams should see the most snaps off the edge. Gallimore and Odighizuwa should see the most snaps on the inside. Golston is an interesting player who the Cowboys plan to use on the outside on early downs and move inside during passing downs.
DeMarcus Lawrence (Tim Heitman / USA Today)
Linebacker (5)
Micah Parsons, Leighton Vander Esch, Jabril Cox, Luke Gifford, Devin Harper
Fifth-round pick Damone Clark, who had spinal fusion surgery in March, could miss all of the 2022 season. If he plays, it likely wouldn’t be until late in the year. Parsons will continue to line up all over the field. Vander Esch and Keanu Neal split defensive snaps a year ago with Vander Esch seeing 663 and Neal playing 580. Vander Esch is hoping to play more this year, but Cox is expected to take over Neal’s role. Gifford and Harper will see most of their work come on special teams. Gifford played a team-high 75 percent of Dallas’ special teams snaps last season.
Cornerback (5)
Trevon Diggs, Anthony Brown, Jourdan Lewis, Kelvin Joseph, Nahshon Wright
Diggs, Brown and Lewis are again expected to see the most work. Brown played a team-high 91 percent of the Cowboys’ defensive snaps last season. Diggs was second at 88 percent. Lewis was sixth at 70 percent. Joseph could get into the mix, depending on his health and off-field situation. Even if Joseph doesn’t face any criminal charges after being a passenger in a vehicle from which gunshots were fired that killed a man in March, he could still be suspended by the NFL for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. Wright will likely battle for the fifth and final spot with fifth-round pick DaRon Bland, undrafted rookies Isaac Taylor-Stuart and Quandre Mosely and veteran Kyron Brown.
Safety (4)
Jayron Kearse, Malik Hooker, Donovan Wilson, Israel Mukuamu
This is probably the best shape the Cowboys have been in at the safety position over the past decade. Kearse and Hooker are the starters with Wilson being the first off the bench. Kearse played the third-most defensive snaps last season while leading the team in tackles. The expectation is that Kearse and Hooker, the 15th overall pick in 2017, will be even better in their second season with Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. Mukuamu will see competition for the final spot from Tyler Coyle, an undrafted free agent last year, and undrafted rookies Juanyeh Thomas and Markquese Bell.
Special teams (4)
Jonathan Garibay, Bryan Anger, Jake McQuaide, C.J. Goodwin
Garibay will get some competition during training camp, but the rookie is the only kicker on the roster. Anger remains the team’s punter as he comes off of his first Pro Bowl season. McQuaide will be Dallas’ long snapper for the second consecutive season. Goodwin remains the Cowboys’ special teams ace for the fourth consecutive season. He led the team in special teams snaps in 2019 and 2020. He was second last year.
