NFL preseason games are almost always to be taken with a grain of salt. Oftentimes the matchup against lines of the depth chart are uneven. Teams, such as and especially the Dallas Cowboys, sit their starters for the entire exhibition schedule, leading to a bunch of twos and threes going against ones and twos. Add to that the desire of coaching staffs to keep approxiamately 99.9% of their scheme and play changes under wraps, and there's a lot of room for misleading assessment.
Then there's also the stuff that stares an evaluator right in the face that can't be mistaken. Guys who are going to have to play special teams to earn a spot on the 53-man roster, can't look bad while playing special teams. On the other end of the spectrum, players who shine against weak competition often can't climb past proven assets who are sidelined out of precaution. That's what makes roster projections, such as this one, so much fun.
A key thing to look at from the first preseason game, one which the Cowboys defeated the Seahawks 17-7, are the players who didn't suit up. If they aren't known to have had an injury, consider those players locks. The Cowboys held out 29 players and of the four who have injuries (designated with a *), two of them are top rookie picks, making it 27 roster locks out the gate.
- LB 0 D.Overshown
- CB 2 C.Durant
- WR 3 G.Pickens
- QB 4 D.Prescott
- OLB 6 D.Ezeiruaku
- OLB 7 R.Gary
- WR 9 K.Turpin
- WR 19 R.Flournoy
- S 24 M.Hooker
- CB 26 D.Bland
- CB 29 D.Moore *
- RB 33 J.Williams
- S 34 J.Thompson
- FB 40 H.Luepke
- CB 48 Z.Childress *
- G 52 T.Booker
- LB 53 D.Winters
- LB 55 J.Barham *
- C 56 C.Beebe
- T 60 T.Guyton
- G 73 T.Smith
- T 78 T.Steele
- TE 87 J.Ferguson
- WR 88 C.Lamb
- TE 89 B.Spann-Ford
- DT 91 O.Ogbonnia
- DT 92 Q.Williams
- DT 97 K.Clark
- DT 98 J.Bullard *
Then there were those who suited up just to get their feet wet. They played extremely limited snaps, but clearly are going to make the team.
- S 13 C. Downs
- CB 28 S. Revel
- OL 66 T. Bass
- OLB 57 M. Lawrence
Still others are almost assured of their roster spots based on draft pedigree from the last two seasons, and before one knows it, 60% of the roster spots are already secured. So what does a 53-man projection look like? Here's a position-by-position breakdown.
Quarterback (3)
- Dak Prescott
- Sam Howell
- Joe Milton (Emergency QB3 on gameday)
Cuts: None
Running Backs (4)
- Javonte Williams
- Jaydon Blue
- Phil Mafah
- Hunter Luepke
Cuts: Malik Davis (PS), Israel Abinakanda, Jashaun Corbin
Wide Receivers (5)
- CeeDee Lamb
- George Pickens
- Ryan Flournoy
- Kavontae Turpin
- Camden Brown
- Marquez Valdes-Scantling (1 of 2 to Returnable IR, doesn't count against 53)
Cuts: Anthony Smith (PS), Jonathan Mingo (PS), Denzel Mims, Jordan Hudson, Tyler Johnson, Jaden Smith, Traeshon Holden
Tight Ends (4)
- Jake Ferguson
- Brevyn Spann-Ford
- Michael Trigg
- Luke Schoonmaker (trade candidate)
Cuts: DJ Rogers
Offensive Line (8)
- Tyler Guyton
- Tyler Smith
- Cooper Beebe
- Tyler Booker
- Terence Steele
- TJ Bass
- Nathan Thomas
- Drew Shelton
Cuts: Ajani Cornelius (PS), Trevor Keegan (PS), Marcellus Johnson (PS), DJ Wingfield, Chris Glaser, Nick Leverett, Shiyazh Pete
Edge Rushers (6)
- Donovan Ezeiruaku
- Rashan Gary
- Malachi Lawrence
- James Houston
- Sam Williams
- Marist Liufau (trade candidate)
Cuts: Adedayo Odeleye (PS - IPP exemption), Tyrus Wheat (PS), Isaiah Land (PS)
Interior Defenders (5)
- Quinnen Williams
- Kenny Clark
- Otito Ogbonnia
- LT Overton
- Jay Toia
- Jonathan Billard (2 of 2 to Returnable IR, doesn't count against 53)
Cuts: Tommy Dunn (PS), DJ Withers (PS), Kelvin Gilliam
Linebackers (5)
- Dee Winters
- DeMarvion Overshown
- Jaishawn Barham
- Shemar James
- Curtis Robinson
Cuts: Justin Barron (PS), Langston Patterson
Cornerbacks (5)
- DaRon Bland
- Cobie Durant
- Shacon Revel
- Devin Moore
- Josh Butler
Cuts: Trikweze Bridges (PS), Caelen Carson (PS), Derion Kendrick, Zion Childress
Nickel Defensive Backs (2)
- Caleb Downs
- Reddy Steward
Cuts: Ameer Speed (PS)
Safeties (4)
- Jalen Thompson
- Malik Hooker
- PJ Locke
- Julius Wood
Cuts: Markquese Bell (PS), Alijah Clark (PS)
Special Teams (2)
- Brandon Aubrey
- Bryan Anger
Cuts: Trent Sieg (handshake to return before Week 1)
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys 53-man roster projection after first preseason game