Players under the most pressure entering Cowboys OTAs next week

Well, we are finally starting to be able to look at some real football for the Dallas Cowboys. Next Monday is the start of mandatory OTAs for the Dallas Cowboys.

Next week is voluntary for veteran players. Under the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, players cannot be fined by their teams for missing OTAs.

However, the three-day mandatory minicamp that follows is strictly required, and unexcused absences result in heavy financial penalties.

In all likelihood, we should see all the main players that Dallas needs there outside of probably George Pickens, but man, that would make a lot of people who love to talk Cowboys drama keep their mouths shut for a little bit longer.

Still, in my mind, the Cowboys have some players who are really going to be under some real pressure when next week starts. Let’s dive into them, and remember this is MY list, you can agree or disagree. Things will change from now until the end of the summer.

Luke Schoonmaker

As these start and the summer starts to heat up for the offseason program, Luke Schoonmaker has to be sweating.

He could be on the verge of not only losing his spot as TE2, but it would not shock me at all if we end up seeing him on the outside looking in, and he gets cut.

Let’s keep it real, since drafting him, Luke has been a huge disappointment.

The veteran is entering the final year of his deal, and unless he wakes up next week and becomes Tony Gonzalez or something, the Cowboys have a way to get out of his deal easy.

If they cut him, the deal has a minimal dead-cap hit of $389,396.

The #Cowboys were a playoff team in 2022 and selected Mazi Smith and Luke Schoonmaker during the 2023 draft.

Smith: 26th (49th on consensus)

Schoonmaker: 56th (100th on consensus)

Those two picks were a big reason why the Cowboys dropped off so quickly in 2024 and 2025. https://t.co/TxN5Hj7JHl

— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) April 28, 2026

I think Brev Spann-Ford blocks better than he does and can do everything just as well as him as a target, and the UDFA Michael Trigg is going to make the roster. I am sold on that before next week even starts.

I would love to be wrong about this because then it means Luke probably did something of value, but I don’t see it happening.

Malik Hooker

One player that has not been talked about enough and is under contract for this season is Malik Hooker.

The thing is, he has a nice number if Dallas ends up cutting him this offseason. If Dallas were to move on from him and get out his contract it would free up around $6.8 million dollars in cap space.

Does Malik Hooker come off the field when the Cowboys are in their base defense this season?@Mr4thAndLong | #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/Gmcn8dCcnM

— DLLS Cowboys (@DLLS_Cowboys) May 5, 2026

With Jalen Thompson signed and getting Caleb Downs, who will probably play nickle back, this is probably 50/50 right now, but Donovan Wilson has yet to be re-signed, so maybe they are rolling with Hooker.

I think this offseason is a big one for him starting next week, and we will see how he looks, but I trust whatever Chriastian Parker wants to do with the defense. His track record speaks for itself when it comes to coaching players on the back end from his time with both the Broncos and the Eagles.

Tyler Guyton

We have to keep this real, Tyler Guyton has all the raw talent in the world, but man has he been bad, and it was hard for me to pick between him and Steele, but with the reworking they did with Terence Steele and his contract, I think he is the safe one out of the two.

I think as of right now, Guyton is going to be the starting left tackle, but his leash has to be as short as possible.

He played all but two of his 650 snaps at left tackle, had a overall 57.5 overall grade from PFF, a 50.0 pass-blocking grade, and a 64.9 run-blocking grade. On top of those grades, he allowed 31 pressures, 6 hits, and 2 sacks.

This feels about right for Dallas.

Tackles are a question mark, but this group could REALLY jump if Tyler Guyton takes a step in Year 3. https://t.co/GCtLnsVFaG

— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) May 12, 2026

Take a wild guess at who was the team’s most-penalized player a year ago? You won’t be surprised when I tell you it was Tyler Guyton.

He has a huge target on him and if he starts to struggle early in 2026, if he gets the job at left tackle this offseason, I would not continue to ride him if he struggles.