When their number was finally called, they answered. The Dallas Cowboys were severely shorthanded last Sunday afternoon against New York Jets, but fortunately had some of their young, unproven players rise to the occasion and elevate their game when they were needed the most. It’s an encouraging sign for the organization going forward to see a promising youth movement and something that could impact future decisions down the road. Today, we wanted to highlight Dallas’ young standouts.
WR Ryan Flournoy
That wasn’t Miles Austin we saw balling out last Sunday afternoon against the New York Jets. No, that was second-year wide receiver Ryan Flournoy, who now where’s the No. 19 jersey. The Cowboys former 2024 six-round pick had himself a day against the Jets. He hauled in a total of six catches for 114 receiving yards and added another 10 yards on the ground on two end around carries. He looked very much like the real deal, which shouldn’t be all that surprising with the way he played in training camp and preseason. With the current injuries Dallas is facing at WR, he should continue to see more playing time and rightfully so.
LT Nathan Thomas
Nathan Thomas has kind of come out of nowhere with the Cowboys this year. The second-year offensive tackle wasn’t really on anyone’s radar heading into the offseason, but strangely enough he’s impressed Dallas’ coaching staff to the point where they trust him as a starting caliber player. With Tyler Guyton sidelined due to a concussion last week against the Jets, Thomas got the start at left tackle and more than held his own. Dallas’ 2024 seven-round pick is looking as if he’ll play a vital role this year as their swing tackle and quite possibly be part of the equation has a future starter at LT or RT in the not-too-distant future.
LB Shemar James
After losing starting LB Jack Sanborn to a concussion with six minutes still to play in the second quarter last week against the Jets, Shemar James stepped in to replace him and ended up leading the team in tackles with 15. Dallas hasn’t had a LB with that many tackles in a regular-season game since Leighton Vander Esch and Sean Lee, both former first-round picks. A fifth-round pick this year by the Cowboys, James’ performance Sunday afternoon may have him in line for more playing time moving forward, regardless of Sanborn’s injury status. With James, Marist Liufau, and DeMarvion Overshown the Cowboys seem to have a young, promising LB core.
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