Rookie battleground: Cowboys vs. Eagles breakdown for draft picks/UDFAs

Each week we dive into each team’s rookie class and compare how they stack up against each other. (Grades for each player are the overall offensive or defensive grade handed out by PFF.com) Dallas Cowboys Tyler Booker (OG) First Round Booker’s night in Vegas looked like vet-caliber guard play from a rookie. Dallas didn’t hide him, and […]

Each week we dive into each team’s rookie class and compare how they stack up against each other. (Grades for each player are the overall offensive or defensive grade handed out by PFF.com)

Dallas Cowboys

Tyler Booker (OG)

First Round

Booker’s night in Vegas looked like vet-caliber guard play from a rookie. Dallas didn’t hide him, and he didn’t need hiding. He kept the right B-gap drama-free while the Cowboys controlled the tempo and Dak carved out a huge performance. The box score backs the narrative as Dallas allowed just one sack for one yard and churned out 114 rushing yards on 31 attempts, part of a 381-yard, 24-first-down outing in a 33–16 win.

ESPN’s win-rate board slots Booker among the league’s better interior run blockers with a 76% run-block win rate, top-10 at his position, while the Cowboys’ line sits 10th in pass-block win rate (66%) and 13th in run-block win rate (72%), context that matches what the tape keeps showing with Booker. PFF has him at 77.2 with a run-block grade near, the best among all rookie guards, and a 61.6 pass-blocking grade which ranks second. That’s a pretty encouraging rookie guard profile.

The Philadelphia test is different for Booker as this is less of a one-man wrecking ball like Vegas, and more wave after wave. The Eagles aren’t the league’s top pass rushing team this year, with a pass-rush win rate is at 36%, which ranks 19th. But they win with depth and interior push. Jaelan Phillips still threatens edges with speed-to-power, Jalen Carter can dent pockets from 3-tech, and Jordan Davis ranks top-10 in defensive tackle run-stop win rate at 40%. The checklist for Booker is protect Dak Prescott from Carter’s relentlessness, and bring the same firm run blocks that showed up in Vegas so Dallas can stay ahead of the sticks.

Grade: 70.1

Donovan Ezeiraku (DE)

Second Round

Ezeiruaku’s Vegas tape looked great as a run defender. He threatened the corner early to set the table, then mixed in speed-to-power and a tight inside counter once the right tackle started oversetting. His best reps showed up on pressure downs where he played with disciplined rush lanes and a late pressure that forced throws that missed the target.

The encouraging thing about Ezeiruaku is that the motor never dips and the fourth quarter looked like first quarter, which is how those pressures start turning into drive-enders.Philadelphia is a different exam. Quarterback Jalen Hurts turns bad gap integrity into explosive plays. Expect chips and an RPO game that tests edge discipline.

Grade: 79.7

Shavon Revel Jr. (CB)

The Cowboys finally got their long-armed rookie corner on the field at last. Activated from NFI ahead of the Raiders game, Shavon Revel made his NFL debut 429 days after his ACL tear. Dallas kept him on a pitch count and things all looked fine. He’s a press-friendly outside corner built for modern condensed splits. Physical at the line, patient feet, and can disrupt the route.

If Revel’s next meaningful action comes against Philadelphia, his dance partners are DeVonta Smith, A.J. Brown, and Dallas Goedert, quite the trio. Smith is the volume engine right now with 49 receptions for 665 yards and three touchdowns. Brown is having a quieter year by his standards but remains a bully at the catch point with 38 for 457 and three touchdowns. Goedert is the red-zone hammer, so compressed-field leverage and tackle strength matter. Those are very different problems to solve for Revel in one afternoon so get ready to watch him closely this week.

Grade: 62.6

Shemar James (LB)

Fifth Round

James’ Vegas tape was a bounce-back in the ways coaches care about, even if it didn’t come with fireworks. He played on schedule, stacked leverage-sound fits, and finished as a rally tackler. The box shows a clean, useful night with seven total tackles while Dallas held Las Vegas to 27 rushing yards.

Philadelphia’s offense is first in red-zone touchdown rate (75%) and leans into short-field efficiency even while their third-down conversion sits 29th at 34%. They don’t need a dozen explosive plays to hurt defenses, they need two first downs and a red-zone snap. Add personnel pressure points with Saquon Barkley as the volume back with 662 rush yards and four touchdowns, means James’ job becomes less about splash and more about denying the easy button.

Grade: 39.9

Jay Toia (DT)

Seventh Round

Toia had a light workload last week with 13 defensive snaps and registering zero tackles or pressures. He’s operating now as Dallas’s fourth defensive tackle behind Quinnen Williams, Osa Odighizuwa, and Kenny Clark, which means spot duty in base, short yardage, and the odd heavy package. With a tougher opponent on deck and Solomon Thomas possibly returning from last week’s injury, expect the rotation to tighten even more for Toia. His snaps could dip as the staff leans on the other four, making him probably inactive if Thomas returns.

Grade: 29.9

Alijah Clark (DB)

UDFA

Clark is ticketed for special teams this week with only emergency spot duty at safety if required. He can flash by showing his speed, finish tackles, and flip field position with no flags.

Grade: 32.7

Jaydon Blue (RB)

Fifth Round

Inactive

Grade: 50.0

Ajani Cornelius (OT)

Sixth Round

Inactive

Grade: N/A

Phil Mafah (RB)

Seventh Round

Inactive

Grade: N/A

Trikweze Bridges (CB)

Seventh Round

Inactive

Grade: 36.4

Philadelphia Eagles

First Round

Campbell comes into the Cowboys game looking every bit like a star rookie linebacker. The 21-year-old has piled up 52 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception. Campbell owns an 78.4 overall grade, which ranks first among rookie linebackers. On tape that shows up as real sideline-to-sideline range, clean tackling, and impressive comfort in coverage for a first-year off-ball linebacker.

He reads routes well, closes throwing windows quickly and has enough juice to turn the corner as an occasional edge rusher. The weaknesses are more about context as he’s still learning Vic Fangio’s hybrid l role, and Philly’s run-stop win rate sits outside the top 20, down in the mid-20s league-wide, so he’s being asked to help lift a run defense that hasn’t always held up, even when he’s doing his job.

That challenge is cranked up against Dallas, whose offense sits third in total yards and second in points-per-game, meaning Dak Prescott and a balanced attack punish missed tackles and bad run defense rather than living on hero ball. If Campbell’s diagnosing speed and tackling efficiency carry over, he gives the Eagles exactly what they need in this matchup who can both plug interior lanes when the Cowboys lean on the ground game and still hold up in space when Prescott spreads it out, turning what has been a soft underbelly for Philly into a potential strength for four quarters.

Grade: 78.4

Andrew Mukuba (S)

Second Round

Mukuba has quietly become a snap-to-snap fixture in the middle of the Eagles’ defense, and his profile heading into Dallas is pretty clear as a rangy enforcer first, work-in-progress cover safety second. The rookie has already logged essentially a full-time role and he’s played every defensive snap in three of his last four outings. He has 43 total tackles, 0.5 sacks, three pass breakups and two interceptions on the year. He’s one of the better run defenders at the position with a 81.5 run-defense grade which is second among rookie safeties. But his overall mark sits at 57.5 largely because of a 46.8 coverage grade which ranks 15th out of 21 rookie safeties, reflecting the occasional late angle or ball-tracking lapse in space.

That makes his matchup with Dallas fascinating, because the Cowboys’ offense lives in the areas he patrols. Dallas is a top-tier unit by efficiency in the passing game ranking first in pass yards per game, leaning heavily on George Pickens’ vertical. He now ranks second in receiving yards. Jake Ferguson’s chain-moving, red-zone seam work is something else to watch for and he’s caught seven receiving touchdowns this season. Dallas also uses spread looks and 3-receiver personnel at a high rate, forcing safeties like Mukuba to handle deep halves, match crossers, and trigger downhill on play-action.

For Philadelphia, the hope is that Mukuba’s strengths with a fast downhill trigger, secure tackling, and disruptive blitz ability help choke off Javonte Williams and the screen game while adding an extra rusher to muddy Prescott’s reads, but there’s no doubt the Cowboys will try to isolate his weaker coverage metrics with Pickens on deep overs, CeeDee Lamb with his playmaking skills, and Ferguson up the seam. How well he holds up in those moments will go a long way toward deciding whether his rookie physicality or Dallas’ precision passing wins the night.

Grade: 57.5