Training camp for the Dallas Cowboys in Oxnard, California has officially wrapped up, and the team has already landed back home in Texas.
It was a long few weeks of evaluation for the Cowboys’ coaches and executives, and it’s time to start thinking about what the final roster will look like at the deadline next week.
By August 27th, all NFL teams must cut down their rosters to 53 players ahead of the regular season. In previous years, roster cutdown was a gradual event throughout the preseason, but now, teams can carry 90 players all the way until the deadline.
Surely, the Cowboys will have some tricks up their sleeve to manipulate the process in their favor like they have done so in previous seasons. For example, it is nearly a guarantee that a few vested veterans will be released to leave room for players who are subject to waivers.
The Cowboys don’t want to lose certain players to waivers, so they leave them on the 53-man roster for one day and then move them to the practice squad before other teams can poach them.
Predicting the final 53-man roster was not an easy thing to do. Especially taking into consideration the clerical moves the Cowboys will probably execute to keep young players from hitting the waiver wire.
My roster prediction will be split up into two articles, starting with the offense today, and you might be surprised at how wide receiver heavy the initial roster will be.
Quarterback (2)
Dak Prescott, Trey Lance, Cooper Rush (Emergency 3rd QB)
The quarterback position was the easiest to predict because, under the new rules, a third quarterback no longer counts against the 53-man or gameday roster. The battle between Trey Lance and Cooper Rush is irrelevant.
HC Mike McCarthy might choose to alternate which is the designated emergency quarterback on a week-to-week basis depending on the matchup, but these three quarterbacks are locks for the roster.
Running Back (4)
Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dowdle, Royce Freeman, Hunter Luepke
Running back might have been the next easiest position to predict, but you’ll notice there are still a couple of notable names missing.
Ezekiel Elliott has not played this preseason, an early indicator that he has nothing to prove and his roster spot is locked in. Rico Dowdle can be mentioned in the same breath.
After those two, it gets a little hairy. Between Royce Freeman, Malik Davis, Deuce Vaughn, Snoop Conner, and Nathaniel Peat, who stays?
Ultimately, I landed on Royce Freeman and Hunter Luepke to help this offense. Freeman’s physicality is undeniable, and for a team wanting to establish the run, his toughness is a welcome sight.
I almost left Luepke off for the Cowboys to hope he clears waivers, but they like him so much, I don’t think they’d risk that. So, he makes the final roster at the expense of a fourth tight end.
Wide Receiver (7)
CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks, Jalen Tolbert, KaVontae Turpin, Jalen Brooks, Ryan Flournoy, Jalen Cropper
The Cowboys go heavy at wide receiver for two reasons. First, even though they’d like to establish the run, it’s a pass first league, and there is talent to spare in the current wide receiver room.
Ryan Flournoy and Jalen Cropper are players who the Cowboys would hate to see be picked up on waivers by another team.
The second reason is that we still don’t know how the CeeDee Lamb contract situation will play out. If his hold out extends into the regular season, Dallas may have wished they kept a young talent like Cropper on the roster. He’s a shifty player who can also return kicks and punts.
Brandin Cooks is one of the best WR2 in the league, and Jalen Tolbert may have finally turned the corner to be a key contributor in the offense with Michael Gallup gone for good. KaVontae Turpin will be moved around the offense to exploit mismatches, but his main objective is on special teams.
Tight End (3)
Jake Ferguson, Luke Schoonmaker, John Stephens Jr.
It might surprise some to see only three tight ends on the roster. Players like Peyton Hendershot and Brevyn Spann-Ford just don’t quite make the cut.
I would have loved to include a fourth tight end, but like I explained above, keeping Hunter Luepke came at the expense of this position. Luepke doubles as both a fullback and an H-back when needed, providing the run game support a fourth tight end usually would.
Jake Ferguson is in for a breakout season, and I fully expect him to be considered a top-5 tight end by season’s end. Luke Schoonmaker is healthy and hopefully can contribute to match his draft pedigree.
The X-factor is John Stephens Jr. He is an athletic freak and former wide receiver in college. He replaces Hendershot as the Y who can flex out in certain packages to create mismatches. Hendershot struggles with drops, and the Cowboys decide Stephens’ upside is too much to ignore.
Offensive Line (8)
Starters: Tyler Guyton, Tyler Smith, Cooper Beebe, Zack Martin, Terence Steele
Reserves: TJ Bass, Asim Richards, Chuma Edoga
Predicting the starting offensive line was cloudy at the start of camp, but the skies have cleared up since then to give us a better picture of what to expect.
An injury to Chuma Edoga opened the door for Tyler Guyton to develop and show that he can handle the transition from college to the NFL. Guyton looks comfortable, and has even won his fair share of reps versus Micah Parsons.
The only other real battle along the offensive line was at center between Brock Hoffman and Cooper Beebe. Beebe, like Guyton, showed us that the Cowboys do know what they’re doing when it comes to drafting offensive linemen.
Both rookies were able to claim starting spots over the established veterans before training camp finished. Staples Tyler Smith, Zack Martin, and Terence Steele remain in their spots.
The reserves were more difficult to predict, and this is where clever roster maneuvering comes into play. TJ Bass has the flexibility to play all three positions on the interior of the offensive line, and will be the backup at center should something happen to Beebe during the game.
Asim Richards is another player who has the flexibility the Cowboys crave in their players. He can play the guard spots, but can also play tackle if needed. When Guyton left practice with knee soreness, Richards was the player the Cowboys plugged in at left tackle.
Chuma Edoga is going to be out several weeks with a foot injury, but the Cowboys are enamored with his experience. He will make the initial roster, but will be placed on Injured Reserve-Designated to Return so he can provide depth when healthy.
His spot will then be taken by another player who hopefully clears waivers. Names like Josh Ball or Nathan Thomas come to mind. The Cowboys like to carry nine offensive linemen for depth, so they won’t keep only eight.
The Dallas Cowboys end up with 24 players on offense (25 with the emergency quarterback). Questions, comments, concerns? Let me know what you think, and stay tuned for the defense and special teams predictions later this week.