How do you think the Dallas Cowboys rookie class fared this season?
The Dallas Cowboys season is officially over and now it’s time to get to work on the 2025 season. From coaches to veterans, and even the rookies, are all about to get deeply examined as the team prepares for a huge overhaul this offseason. Here on Blogging The Boys we analyzed the rookies after each game and previewed the class before each upcoming contest. Here’s a review of each rookie from the full season.
OT Tyler Guyton
It was a tough start for the man-mountain out of Oklahoma, which ended poorly, allowing a sack and getting two penalties in the final game against Washington. That performance led to him getting pulled from the game. Rookie offensive linemen do take time to develop and throughout the year there were glimmers of hope from Guyton, who looked to be taking steps forward to getting better, only to fall apart the next week.
From this year’s offensive tackle class, Guyton finished seventh in total pressures and third in total sacks allowed, so it’s not a complete mess. What he did lead in, however, was penalties where he nearly doubled the amount of the second place rookie tackle. We wrote during the offseason that Guyton came with question marks in a “Buyers Beware” article. The reason for the questions was simple, snap count and playing right tackle. Perhaps the Cowboys draft a new left tackle and move Guyton to the right side. Or they allow him to play through his growing pains at left tackle.
DE Marshawn Kneeland
Kneeland came in with a lot excitement and expectation. Some likened the Western Michigan pass rusher to DeMarcus Lawrence and as things kicked off he did have flashes similar to that of the Cowboys veteran. What we ended up with was a season performance that was inconsistent and disjointed because of injury. He missed a good portion of the middle of the season. He finished the year registering zero sacks, only two tackles for loss and 11 total tackles. The highlight of the year for Kneeland was a fumble recovery he made against Carolina.
C Cooper Beebe
During a season riddled with injuries, Cooper Beebe was one constant that remained on offense and started in all 17 games. On 692 passing sets, Beebe allowed only three sacks and 18 pressures, both of which was less than Zack Martin. We did see a couple of moments where Beebe had an errant snap from shotgun, but generally he was solid. The majority of his work this offseason he needs to concentrate on run blocking. He was inconsistent throughout the year in this department, but he has become a solid starter on the line.
LB Marist Liufau
Marist Liufau has been of the most entertaining watches this year. He was quietly working and stayed prepared, then once DeMarvion Overshown went out for the year, Liufau was thrust into a more prominent role. What we saw was a defensive playmaker who attacked the ball with lethal execution. Was it all perfect and polished? Definitely not, but the foundation he’s set for next year should give Cowboys fans a lot to be enthusiastic about.
CB Caelen Carson
DaRon Bland started the season injured which meant the rookie cornerback had to step up to the plate. It was a tall order to begin with but clearly the pressure and talent level had reached it limit for the young cornerback. Each week the opposing quarterback came in with the same game plan as the previous, target whoever Carson was covering. Carson ended the year with the second-lowest defensive grade on the team (Andrew Booth being the worst), and allowed the second-highest passer rating among Cowboys cornerbacks.
WR Ryan Flournoy
Ryan Flournoy gave fans some excitement with his speed and burst. The start of the year was fairly quiet for the wide receiver but as the season drew on we saw Flournoy begin to make plays. Against Tampa Bay in a thrilling victory, Flournoy made three good catches for 41 yards and was beginning to show some chemistry with Copper Rush. Against Washington in the final week where C.J. Goodwin recovered the fumbled punt, it was Flournoy that made the smart play of running the Commanders player into Jamison Crowder to force the muffed catch. The hope is Flournoy can develop this offseason to become something more than just a special teams player.
TE Brevyn Spann-Ford
Ford had moments this year when Jake Ferguson was out with injury. His best game came against Houston where he caught four passes for 42 yards. But the majority of his work on offense was used as an extra blocker. It should be of no surprise that when Jake Ferguson came back and Ford was used mostly as a run blocker we saw Rico Dowdle suddenly become a viable running back. This isn’t to say Ford was the reason for Dowdle’s success, but he certainly helped.
