3 breakout candidates to watch for the Cowboys this season

How many times have we told ourselves that the Dallas Cowboys are going to need players currently on the roster to breakout in order for them to have a successful year.

Well, pretty much for the last 20 years, but I will give credit where it is due. The front office had a really good draft, and did bring in George Pickens who was badly needed to help out the office.

Still, the Cowboys are going to need some players to have a breakout type year for them to achieve what they hope to at the end of the season.

Three guys come to mind for me when thinking about this. Tell me what you think & yes, I understand I could name 500 more, but these are just the first players that came to my mind.

Marshawn Kneeland

The 2024 second-round draft pick out of Western Michigan logged 256 defensive snaps over 11 games.

Kneeland flashed potential – he logged all three of his quarterback hits, plus a season-high five pressures, during his debut in the regular-season opener – but ultimately was unable to register his first career sack.

Cowboys are sticking to their player stack/board despite pressing needs at RB1, WR2, CBeverything, DT2/3 and more.

Similar approach last year when they selected Marshawn Kneeland in the second round.

We’ll see if it pays off, but they have to REALLY hit on these next picks.
— Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) April 26, 2025

He finished with 14 tackles, two tackles for loss, 11 pressures, one fumble recovery and one pass deflection.

The team is hopeful Kneeland, who turns 24 in July, can step in as a rotational pass rusher in a group that features star Micah Parsons, Sam Williams (returning from torn ACL injury), and free-agent signees Payton Turner and Dante Fowler.

Cooper Beebe

Cooper Beebe finished the regular season ranked 13th in PFF grade (65.4) among centers with at least 578 blocking snaps. Beebe’s strength was as a run blocker in Year 1.

He played 16 of 17 regular-season games in his rookie season, and will now look to build chemistry with this new-look offensive line that will see him have Alabama stud Tyler Booker next to him at right guard.

Zach Martin is now retired and Beebe’s natural position of guard is open for competition.

Last season, Brock Hoffman filled in admirably when Martin was injured, but by no means did he slam the door shut for competition this year.

Hoffman’s more natural position is center, so it stands to reason he’d be a better option in the middle where strength and athleticism are less of a factor, and Beebe’s a better option at guard since that’s what he played at Kansas State.

I think Cooper was the steal of the draft a year ago, and in 2025 he is going to get his chance to show why a team should have selected in the first round and not let him fall to the Cowboys.

Luke Schoonmaker

Keep an eye on Luke Schoonmaker. I think with the way Brain wants to run the football, he will have way more chances to be involved this season.

If he does not ball out this season, he could be on his way out of the door, and it would be another wasted pick by the Jones family.

Schoonamaker did show flashes last season when Ferguson went down, having a run for three games that saw him total 55, 56, and 33 receiving yards and a touchdown from a combined 14 receptions.

I think he has the best chance to help himself in 2025, the Cowboys offense now with George Pickens will have plenty of guys to throw the ball to, so if just does his job well enough could have a breakout year in terms of his standards.

Let’s see how the rest of the summer goes and hopefully he will grow even more in his third year, because if not, we might find the Cowboys trying to draft another tight end in the 2026 draft and we will be telling ourselfs, here we go again!