Who is the most surprising person you think will make the Cowboys 53-man roster?
After a little over a week of the Cowboys’ 2025 training camp, we’ve already seen some ripples in this 91-man roster pond. Existing injury situations have been updated, some new ones have started, and players are making good and bad early impressions with their performance. With all of this info to work with, it’s a good time to check back in with our roster projection.
One of the hardest parts of this exercise is not to overreact to these first glimpses out of Oxnard. While some developments will carry through to September, some are just the buzz of the week. A reported camp rock star can find that the music stops fast with a bad preseason showing. Conversely, someone who hasn’t made much noise on the practice field can quickly earn points in those games. So this is still very much a process, and we’re only just getting going.
You can reference the last version of the projection if you want to see what’s changed from early last week. Mostly, it’s because of injuries. But we’ll address the revisions as we go.
OFFENSE (25)
Quarterback (3)
Dak Prescott, Joe Milton III, Will Grier
We need to see how Milton looks in preseason action before we can kick Grier off the roster. Remember, it was shaky play last August that hurt Milton’s stock in New England. And while his athletic gifts are plain to see, it will be how the second-year QB handles more in-game situations, even in preseason, that decides the team’s confidence level. Dumping Grier to save a roster spot makes a lot of sense, but Milton still has to do enough to facilitate it.
Running Back (3)
Javonte Williams, Jaydon Blue, Miles Sanders
Fullback (1)
Hunter Luepke
We’re sticking with this foursome for now. We know Blue and Luepke are making it, and so far, Williams and Sanders have done their part to remain frontrunners. As good as Deuce Vaughn has looked, he’s too redundant with what Blue and KaVontae Turpin already offer. If anyone is going to worm their way into the mix, it’s probably Phil Mafah. But given the restraints of camp practices, the power-running rookie may not get to show his best stuff until preseason.
Wide Receiver (5)
CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Jalen Tolbert
Jonathan Mingo, KaVontae Turpin
Tolbert hasn’t made a big impression so far in camp. Again, it’s too early to make any big changes from that, but it’s definitely got us wondering how he stacks up right now in this competition. Ryan Flournoy and UDFA Traeshon Holden are two names to watch, who’ve already earned more attention so far. There’s still plenty of time for Tolbert to defend his spot, but he’s off to a slow start.
Tight End (4)
Jake Ferguson, Luke Schoonmaker, Brevyn Spann-Ford
John Stephens Jr.
Because Hunter Luekple has versatility as a smallish TE, we can keep this quartet even after Spann-Ford’s ankle injury. He’s still expected back before the end of the preseason and was solidifying his roster spot before going down. It’s a big opportunity for Stephens to get more reps and prove he’s put the injury issues behind him.
Offensive Line (9)
Tyler Smith, Cooper Beebe, Tyler Booker
Tyler Guyton, Terence Steele, Brock Hoffman
Asim Richards, Nate Thomas, Ajani Cornelius
If Tyler Guyton can’t go in Week 1, they will probably call up Hakeem Adeniji from the practice squad for depth. Nate Thomas has been arguably the biggest riser of camp, going from the seventh round and IR last year to potentially starting against the Eagles on September 4th.
DEFENSE (24)
Defensive End (5)
Micah Parsons, Dante Fowler, Marshawn Kneeland
Donovan Ezeiruaku, Sam Williams
Nothing to change here. The biggest question now is how much they want to take Ezeiruaku off the field, given how good the rookie’s looked. But unless somebody gets hurt, it’s hard to see this group changing anytime before final cuts.
Defensive Tackle (5)
Osa Odighizuwa, Mazi Smith, Solomon Thomas
Jay Toia, Perrion Winfrey
Another unchanged group, and not necessarily for good reasons. Smith has been underwhelming so far in camp, but he’s also getting jerked around again with his role and weight. He has to adjust to the change, and hopefully has time to do so. Toia hasn’t made any big waves so far in camp, but he’s also the only true nose on the roster right now. So he’s in by default unless Dallas makes a move.
Linebacker (4)
Jack Sanborn, Marist Liufau, Kenneth Murray Jr.
Damone Clark
Murray has been absent so far while his family welcomes a new child, so the lack of news on him is understandable. Thankfully, the other three guys have all been looking good. Matt Eberflus made his bones as a linebacker guru and his influence is already bearing fruit. It’s especially nice to see with Clark, who fell into obscurity last year under Mike Zimmer.
Cornerback (6)
DaRon Bland, Kaiir Elam, Israel Mukuamu
Kemon Hall, Andrew Booth, Troy Pride Jr.
We had Elam in the projection last time mostly by default due to the injuries, but now he’s on there as one of the hottest names in camp. We just got bad news that Shavon Revel’s injury timetable will likely go into the regular season. We’re also assuming that Trevon Diggs, Josh Butler, and Caelen Carson, who just picked up a 4-6 week knee issue, start the year on some form of injury list until further notice.
While still officially listed at safety, Israel Mukuamu is mainly working at corner right now due to the aforementioned injuries. We’re listing him based on where he’s most likely to get snaps.
Safety (4)
Malik Hooker, Donovan Wilson, Juanyeh Thomas
Markquese Bell
We had UDFA Alijah Clark here last week, but that was more for his supposed corner versatility. He hasn’t made a peep so far in camp, while some of the true corners are stepping up. So now, we’re just sticking with the core four safeties.
Specialists (4)
Brandon Aubrey, Bryan Anger, Trent Sieg
C.J. Goodwin
Given some of the injury issues at other positions, Goodwin is going to have to be every bit as valuable to Nick Sorensen as he was to John Fassel. Carrying a guy who has no real value at his listed position is always tough, but especially with Dallas’ current concerns on the offensive line and cornerback. But we’ve said this before and the special teams ace keeps hanging on, so only time will tell.
