Dallas has plenty of players who need a bounce-back year in 2025.
Pressure and the Dallas Cowboys go hand in hand. Regardless of the talent on the roster, the Cowboys are consistently the team under the most pressure to perform every season.
This upcoming year is no different, and after a disaster of a season in 2024, Dallas is under increased pressure to turn things around this fall. With that theme in mind, today we take a look at three players on Dallas’ roster who are under the most pressure to perform well in the upcoming season.
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1) QB Dak Prescott
When you’re the star quarterback of America’s Team, there will always be immense pressure to deal with. Dak Prescott is no stranger to this, and the 31-year-old signal-caller will again be under pressure to perform in 2025.
Prescott is coming off one of the most disappointing seasons of his nine-year NFL career. While a mid-season hamstring injury did limit him to playing in just eight games, his performance during those eight contests was subpar for his standards.
On the year, Prescott completed just 64.7% of his passes, the second-lowest mark of his career. His Passer Rating (86.0) and QBR (45.3) followed suit, both the worst he has put on record since entering the league back in 2016. He also finished 25th in the NFL in EPA+CPOE (0.050/min 250 snaps) and 22nd in EPA/Play (0.018).
Plenty of contributing factors led to Prescott’s down year, and the lack of impact moves last offseason set him and the rest of Dallas’ offense up for failure from the start. The Cowboys have still need to make some moves on the offensive side of the ball yet, but there seems to be a strong belief they will add a few playmakers to help make Prescott’s job easier in the draft.
No matter who’s lining up beside him, as long as he’s the starting quarterback, Dak Prescott will always be the most scrutinized and under-pressure player on the Cowboys’ roster.
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2) DE Sam Williams
One positive for the Cowboys to look towards in 2025 is the return of pass-rush specialist Sam Williams. The 2022 second-round pick was poised to have a breakout campaign in 2024 but, unfortunately, tore both his ACL and MCL at the start of training camp, forcing him to miss the entire year.
Williams’ injury occurred at the end of July, so the 25-year-old figures to be ready to go for the start of the regular season this September. If that ends up being the case, that’s big news for a Cowboys’ defense that will really need someone to step up and help their pass rush alongside All-Pro Micah Parsons.
Dallas lost a pair of defensive ends, Chauncey Golston and DeMarcus Lawrence, in free agency this month, making it even more imperative Williams hits the ground running in his return. The Ole Miss product is also entering the final season of his rookie contract, giving him even more incentive to put together a solid year before hitting the open market.
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3) OT Tyler Guyton
When the Cowboys drafted Tyler Guyton with the 29th pick in last year’s draft, they hoped they had found their next Tyron Smith. Unfortunately for Guyton and the Cowboys, the 23-year-old could not hit the ground running during his first season in the league, putting together a rather uninspiring rookie year.
In 15 games (11 starts), Guyton allowed 26 total pressure, 14 QB Hurries, and six sacks. Guyton’s Pro Football Focus offensive grade of 49.4 was the worst among all offensive linemen on Dallas’ roster.
One big problem area for the first-round pick during his rookie year was penalties. The 23-year-old was flagged 18 times during the 2024 season, the second most of any player in the league.
Despite his struggles, the Cowboys have not gone out this offseason and acquired a veteran left tackle, making it extremely likely Guyton will be back as the full-time starter this year. If this is the case, Dallas will need a much better version of Guyton if they want to have any shot of making a return to the playoffs.
