Every week, we gather to discuss the latest news about the Dallas Cowboys and seek our writer’s perspective on each headline. Welcome back to the roundtable. This week we have Jess Haynie, Sean Martin, and Tom Ryle.
Time to predict the 53-man roster. On offense, who do you predict to be the running backs on the final roster, the wide receiver corps, and the tight ends?
MIKE: At running back, I’d keep Javonte Williams, Malik Davis, Jaydon Blue and Hunter Luepke. Williams is locked in as the lead back, Davis feels like the safest RB2 because of consistency and reliability, Blue gives them the change-of-pace element, and Luepke’s fullback and special teams value makes him hard to cut.
At wide receiver, I’d go with CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Ryan Flournoy, KaVontae Turpin, Jonathan Mingo and Camden Brown, this one seems easy to predict.
At tight end, the keepers will be Jake Ferguson, Brevyn Spann-Ford and Luke Schoonmaker. Ferguson is TE1, Spann-Ford should be TE2 and has the momentum to take a bigger role, while Schoonmaker probably sticks because of draft investment, experience and the fact Dallas has treated him like a safe veteran during preseason. Michael Trigg is the tempting upside choice, but Trigg’s injury makes that harder for me unless Dallas is willing to gamble.
JESS: At RB I have Williams, Davis, Blue, and Luepke. At this point, Mafah and/or Abanikanda feel practice squad bound. WRs are Lamb, Pickens, Flournoy, Turpin, Brown and Mingo. I think they go long there with six because they can now stash Trigg on IR, which means they’ll only keep Ferguson, Spann-Ford, and Schoonmaker on the 53.
TOM: I’ll second Jess on both RB and TE, but I’ll throw a curveball on WR. It’s obvious that Lamb, Pickens, and Flournoy are the top three weapons, with Turpin, primarily a return specialist, counting as part of the group. But I think they will dangle one or both of Brown and Mingo as trade bait. There are some receiver hungry teams out there that might be willing to part with a decent pick. With other options to stash on the PS, I think Jerry and his brain trust would close a deal. (If you force me, I’m guessing Brown would go because of how cheap he is. This is not an endorsement of a trade on my part, just something that popped into my warped mind.)
SEAN: Designating Hunter Luepke as a running back for this, I’d have him along with Javonte Williams, Jaydon Blue, and Malik Davis. I like what Phil Mafah brings, but unfortunately for him I also don’t see anything he does remarkably better than Williams or Davis in the ground-and-pound game, or Blue in the pass game. At wide receiver, the locks are obviously CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Ryan Flournoy, KaVontae Turpin, and like Jess I’m also going to keep both Camden Brown and Jonathan Mingo. Leaving just Jake Ferguson, Brevyn Spann-Ford, and Luke Schoonmaker at tight end. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s interest in Zack Kuntz is notable here, but he hasn’t done enough or nearly have the time remaining before cuts to make enough of an impact to beat out any of the other three here.
On defense, name the final defensive line players you predict to make the roster.
MIKE: Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, Otito Ogbonnia, Jonathan Bullard and L.T. Overton inside, with Rashan Gary, Donovan Ezeiruaku, Von Miller, Malachi Lawrence, James Houston and Marist Liufau on the edge. The interior feels mostly settled, but the tougher call is the edge group. Gary, Ezeiruaku, Miller and Lawrence feel safe, then I’d keep Houston as the pass-rush specialist and Liufau over Sam Williams because of position flexibility and special teams value.
JESS: I’m struggling with Jonathan Bullard right now. He’s missed almost the entire summer, and it seems like L.T. Overton is stepping up and capable of playing the same role. If they keep Bullard, it may just be those two, Williams, Clark, and Ogbonnia. If they cut Bullard, it’ll be for either Tommy Dunn or Jay Toia. It’ll also be one of those two guys if they keep a sixth DL.
TOM: Wait, what about the OLBs? I don’t see them in any of Jess’ projections. And I’m not at all certain how many will be carried at any of the positions. But here’s my choice for the guys that get their hands down:
I will say they keep both Overton and Bullard to go with the obvious ones of Williams, Clark, and Ogbonnia. I think they have to have at least six.
SEAN: Kenny Clark, Quinnen Williams, Otito Ogbonnia, Jay Toia, LT Overton, and Jonathan Bullard would be my six. Again, I agree with Jess about being up in the air about Bullard, but at the end of the day veterans with pass rush juice don’t get cut from teams looking to make some real noise (see: the Von Miller signing). Toia was super impressive against the Cardinals in the preseason game and worthy of his spot as well.
Name the linebackers you predict to be on the final 53-man roster.
MIKE: DeMarvion Overshown is the clear leader and green-dot defender, Dee Winters is obviously locked in after Dallas invested in him, and Jaishawn Barham is too intriguing as a rookie weapon to leave off the roster. Shemar James sticks because of athletic upside and development, while Barron gets the final spot because of his versatility and special teams value.
JESS: This one’s easy: Overshown, Winters, Barham, James, and Barron. If they keep six, throw in Curtis Robinson. But the pecking order at that spot feels pretty clear.
TOM: Inside, I concur on the top five. Now you have to figure out the OLBs. Gary, Ezeiruaku, Miller, and Lawrnece seem the four locks. I think they’ll keep at least five to keep throwing outside rushers at the opponents. I’ll give Houston the nod over Williams, but wouldn’t be surprised if they go the other way.
SEAN: Ah, the position that’s been turned on its head the most by the latest scheme and coaching change on defense. Starting with the pass rushers, we go Rashan Gary, Malachi Lawrence, James Houston, Tyrus Wheat, Von Miller, and Donovan Ezeiruaku. For the rest of the group, it’s Dee Winters, DeMarvion Overshown, Jaishawn Barham, and Shemar James for me.
For the obvious absentee here, It feels like Marsit Liufau is not only caught behind other more natural pass rushers on the edge, but the fact Dallas has some intriguing safeties that can play as hybrid coverage linebackers, while Liufau is also a liability in coverage, does not help him at all.
Give one name that you think will be a surprise player to make the 53-man roster.
MIKE: The surprise name I’d go with is Phil Mafah. Carrying five players at running back sounds heavy, but it could make sense for Dallas because Mafah brings something different from the rest of the room. He has more of that downhill, physical runner profile, and when he has been given chances, he hasn’t looked out of place. With the RB2 spot still carrying a small question mark, keeping Mafah gives the Cowboys another option if they want more size, short-yardage ability, and insurance behind Javonte Williams. It may come down to numbers elsewhere on the roster, but if Dallas decides the run game needs depth and variety, Mafah is exactly the kind of surprise player who could sneak onto the 53.
JESS: I can’t say this guy “will be” a surprise, but he could be. And that’s Marist Liufau. He provides versatile depth with his ILB experience and now learning at OLB. Not saying he’s great at either, but a strong special teamer who can be a body at two positions is not a crazy path to the roster.
TOM: This one is hard, but could the Cowboys go deep at QB and keep Sam Howell on the 53? I think they might not want to put him at risk of being signed away. If he has a good game against the Saints, that could become a real concern.
SEAN: I truly have no idea if this is a surprise or not, but my pick is safety Alijah Clark. Clark and Julius Wood have been paired together through training camp as the duo of dark horse safety candidates doing everything they can to make the roster, showing off of their versatility to try and do so. Clark has the experience, range and instincts at safety, and ability to play down on the second level in a pinch to be a player we’ll hear from again this season – though some fans may still find themselves asking about who Dallas really has here when the final roster is announced, if Clark is indeed on it.
