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 RoundCurrently missing time with high-ankle sprainGrade: 65.0 Donovan Ezeiraku (DE) Second Round Carolina’s offense is a split personality, […] 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 RoundCurrently missing time with high-ankle sprainGrade: 65.0 Donovan Ezeiraku (DE) Second Round Carolina’s offense is a split personality, and that matters for a rookie edge. On paper, the Panthers block the run really well and pass protect just below average. They rank seventh in Run Block Win Rate (73%), but in pass protection they rank 27th in Pass Block Win Rate (54%). So basically, defenses feel their pads on first down, but you can squeeze the pocket if you’re patient and smart. The headache is the guy behind that line, a familiar face, Rico Dowdle. He’s fresh off detonating Miami for 206 rushing yards last week, so if the Dallas’ edges don’t set the edge and tackle clean, he will break off runs again. For Ezeiruaku, his snap usage is trending up, and has done so every week since the first game against Philadelphia, thanks to his hot motor and relentless energy on defense. If the Cowboys force passing downs and Ezeiruaku keeps his rush-lane integrity, he’s walking into the kind of matchup that rewards his speed and rush sequencing. The Panthers want to bludgeon you on early downs and ask their tackles to hold up long enough after that. Ezeiruaku has been inching closer every week to a sack, and this is the kind of game where he could finally be raising his arms to celebrate.Grade: 59.7 Shavon Revel Jr. (CB) Third RoundCurrently on Non-Football injury list (NFI) Jaydon Blue (RB) Fifth Round The fifth-rounder out of Texas finally got the green light in Week 5 and made his presence felt straight away with a 32-yard kickoff return that jump-started field position in the win over the Jets. He struggled in the run department with only seven yards on four carries. What jumped off the screen was pace. Blue pressed the front side on zone runs like a vet and hit the return lane with urgency. The blocking wasn’t always there so he struggled to get past the second level, but you can see his speed and how it is just waiting for an opportunity.Grade: 64.2 Shemar James (LB) Fifth Round What has flashed on tape with Shemar so far is he plays every down with urgency and a plan. Dropped into the lineup after Jack Sanborn exited, James looked better than his predecessor. Hopefully this week, James will work on his pursuit angles and awareness on play-action, something he did struggle with last week. It’s been positive from James so far, and leading the team in tackles against the Jets is a good place to return to when asking if he deserves more playing time. He’s quick, aggressive, mostly right at reading his landmarks, and all that’s encouraging for a rookie linebacker.Grade: 49.4 Ajani Cornelius (OT) Sixth RoundInactiveGrade: N/A Jay Toia (DT) Seventh RoundInactiveGrade: 30.2 Phil Mafah (RB) Seventh RoundInactiveGrade: N/A Carolina Panthers Tetairoa McMillan (WR) First Round The Panthers didn’t spend the No. 8 pick on McMillan to let him idle on the sideline. He stepped right into the lineup as a true outside receiver and looked the part from snap one. The early stats have him at 24 catches for 351 yards, but no touchdown as yet. The frame and wingspan with McMillan is huge. At 6’5”, 212 pounds, he plays every inch of it without getting stiff. He boxes out like a power forward, flashes late hands on the boundary, and wins those back-shoulders and digs through the defender, not around him. The routes are about tempo, not sprinting, then he taps the brakes at the stem, and snaps back downhill for clean separation, is amazing to watch. Layer in the ball tracking and body control along with functional toughness to block and finish through contact, and you’ve got a rookie who stays on the field in any situation. McMillan profiles as a chain-mover with fireworks and the guy who’ll keep drives alive on second-and-eight and still sneak an explosive play in when the corner blinks. As the timing with Bryce Young improves, the highlight plays should start arriving.Grade: 75.1 Nic Scourton (OLB) Second Round The Panthers took Nic Scourton at pick number 51 and looked to bolster their defense with a strong and power moveable chess piece. After a bumpy August, he’s climbed right into the rotation and stayed there. The box score has been light so far, but the film speaks. Scourton rushes with a plan, not just a standard long-arm to the chest, he can flatten the edge, then snap back under when a tackle oversets. He’s sturdy enough to set a hard edge, patient enough to cash late when the pocket resets, and nimble enough to stay attached on boot-action throws. In terms of his role at Carolina, they’re giving him a chance for sure, but it’s limited. Watch him bounce across the front and hunt in long yardage situations while the vets chew early downs. Keep stacking second-effort rushes and tidy edge fits, and the stat line will catch up to the tape. Smart money says the first sack lands sooner rather than later.Grade: 71.2 Princely Umanmielen (OLB) Third Round The Panthers are still figuring out what Princely Umanmielen wants to be on Sundays, and that’s okay as rookie edge roles don’t always arrive quickly. He’s been limited to 81 total snaps while the staff shuffles packages, but the flashes are easy to spot. He has a springy first step, a good long-arm stab

Jerry Jones on looking at trades, Dak Prescott’s play and more – Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys,com Jerry Jones thinks the Dallas Cowboys could be buyers at the trade deadline if the price is right. Could the Cowboys add via trade before the deadline? The NFL trade deadline falls on November 4. That’s 28 days away, and […] Jerry Jones on looking at trades, Dak Prescott’s play and more – Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys,com Jerry Jones thinks the Dallas Cowboys could be buyers at the trade deadline if the price is right. Could the Cowboys add via trade before the deadline? The NFL trade deadline falls on November 4. That’s 28 days away, and the Cowboys will play in four more games before the deadline comes around. With some encouraging signs from how the Cowboys have played through the first five games, does Jones feel enticed to test the trade waters and see if he can add somewhere? “I think that old sign is out, ‘Open for Business,’ is there. I think that we are continually looking. As we go on into this season, teams will position themselves where they basically feel like less of a contender because of the losses or because of circumstance on their team.” Jones said. “That’s when you’ll see sometimes some better players that are available because the team has decided to start redoing some things on their salary cap structure, for instance. There’s opportunity there, and that’s when you start getting those calls. And yes, we’re in a position to improve our team if we get an opportunity to.” Coaching played biggest role in win vs. Jets Down four starters on the offensive line and plenty of others on both sides of the ball, the Cowboys’ depth needed to step up in a big way against the Jets. They did, and Jones attributed their success to the coaching staff. “It was unquestionably the coaching that, in my mind, was the overriding reason that we played as well with the situation we were in,” Jones said. “It also bodes well for how defensively, we’re evolving into executing that scheme better. So there were a lot of things there, including the score, that made it great for us to play like we did.” The good news for the Cowboys is they’re expected to continue getting healthier and potentially get some of their starters back as early as this week, and the reps in-game that depth pieces got against the Jets can help raise their confidence for when and if they’re called upon again. Cowboys bring back 2024 camp standout to bolster thin secondary – Todd Brock, Cowboys Wire The Cowboys brought back a fan favorite from the 2024 preseason to add some depth to the beaten-up secondary. The Cowboys are welcoming back a familiar face to a defensive backfield still missing several key pieces. Dallas signed safety Julius Wood to the practice squad on Tuesday, marking the 24-year-old’s second stint with the team. Wood originally went undrafted in 2024 out of East Carolina. There, he was roommates with cornerback Shavon Revel Jr., the Cowboys’ third-round draft pick this past spring who is still awaiting clearance to practice after a knee injury. The 6-foot-1-inch, 193-pound Wood spent the summer of 2024 in camp with the Cowboys but was waived during final cutdowns just prior to the start of that year’s regular season. The Titans claimed Wood off waivers and played him in nine games, where he saw a fair amount of action on special teams and just a handful of defensive snaps. Late in the season, he received a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drugs policy and was required to sit out the final five games of Tennessee’s season and the first game of his next season; he has been reinstated by the league, per reports. He was with the Titans again this past summer but did not survive final cuts. Wood turned some heads in his first camp with the Cowboys, notably logging multiple interceptions during the 2024 preseason. Veteran safety Malik Hooker is current on injured reserve in Dallas. Juanyeh Thomas filled in nicely for Hooker in Week 6’s win at New York, but the position is perilously thin behind Thomas and Donovan Wilson. NFL fines Cowboys owner Jerry Jones $250K for obscene gesture toward fans during win over Jets – Jeremy Bergman, NFL.com Some might say Jerry Jones was just embracing New York culture. The NFL has fined Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones $250,000 for displaying an obscene gesture toward fans during Sunday’s win over the New York Jets, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported on Tuesday. Jones — who is likely to appeal the fine, Pelissero reported — was seen in a viral video pointing toward fans from his box at MetLife Stadium and then giving the middle finger. The Cowboys owner apologized for the act on Tuesday during an appearance on his radio show, explaining that the “inadvertent” finger was a response to Cowboys fans. “That was unfortunate. That was kind of an exchange with our fans out in front of us,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan. “There was a swarm of Cowboys fans out in front — not Jets fans, Cowboys fans. The entire stadium was brimming with enthusiasm of Cowboys and certainly late in the game.” Jones added: “(The gesture) was inadvertent on my part because that was right after we made our last touchdown, and we were all excited about it. There wasn’t any antagonistic issue or anything like that. I just put up the wrong show on the hand. That was inadvertently done. I’m not kidding. If you want to call it accidental, you can call it accidental. But it got straightened around pretty quick. I had a chance to look at it. It got straightened out pretty quick, but the intention was ‘thumbs up,’ and basically pointing at our fans because everybody was jumping up and down excited.” Jones and the Cowboys have not yet formally

Every week, we gather to discuss the latest news about the Dallas Cowboys and seek our writer’s perspective on each headline. Welcome back to the roundtable. This week we have David Howman, Tom Ryle, Jess Haynie, and Sean Martin.  What was more impressive about the victory against the Jets, the offensive efficiency or the defensive improvement? Mike: On […] Every week, we gather to discuss the latest news about the Dallas Cowboys and seek our writer’s perspective on each headline. Welcome back to the roundtable. This week we have David Howman, Tom Ryle, Jess Haynie, and Sean Martin. Mike: On the offensive side, Dallas strung together a pair of 90-yard touchdown marches and rattled off 30 unanswered points despite missing four starting linemen and playing without CeeDee Lamb, as well as KaVontae Turpin and Miles Sanders. Dak Prescott diced the Jets for four scores, two to Jake Ferguson, while Javonte Williams stacked 135 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns. Doing that on the road, behind a taped-together front, screams portable, bankable efficiency. That doesn’t erase what the defense did. The Cowboys defense had been underwhelming so far this year, yet they totalled five sacks on a mobile and elusive Justin Fields, and Marist Liufau caused a brilliant fumble that flipped the script and really became the pivot point of the game. The lasting takeaway is simple, the Cowboys defense dictated the pace and ended drives through adversity with so many people being pessimistic about the defensive unit. That’s the part you can count on week to week. Tom: It has to be the defense. While the way the offense functioned with so many missing pieces deserves a ton of praise, that was to a degree a continuation of what we’ve been seeing. But the pressure on Justin Fields was a quantum leap. Keep that up, and this is a dangerous team. Sean: I’m going with the offensive efficiency, and I don’t think it’s particularly close although the defense changing things up was a very welcome sight as well. I have no idea how this isn’t a bigger storyline around the league, other than the narrative around Prescott already being what it is and not budging. Greg Olsen mentioned during the broadcast that most teams would struggle to move the ball down one starting lineman, and we’ve seen the Cowboys be completely hamstrung by one or more in the past. On Sunday they were down four and it never once seemed to matter. They called the same plays, got the same movement in the run game, and let Dak operate at an MVP-level once again. It was truly insane and hopefully a sign of more unstoppable things to come for an offense that will not only get healthier up front, but also out wide with Lamb waiting to return as well. Howman: I’m sticking with the offense. I was encouraged by the defense, for sure, but Dallas was missing four starters on the offensive line and both CeeDee Lamb and KaVontae Turpin, and they still came a field goal away from a 40-burger. That’s a level of offensive efficiency we haven’t seen in quite some time. Jess: I just finished an article about how special that offensive performance was given the o-line situation. We better enjoy Klayton Adams and Conor Riley while we have them, because I bet they’ll be getting attention from other teams next January. How much of the offense’s identity should flow through Javonte Williams after his big day? Mike: Javonte Williams just put a stamp on a game the way true lead back does by finishing runs, keeping the offense on schedule, and punishing light boxes. That’s exactly the kind of identity Dallas has lacked the past couple of years. But the sweet spot isn’t feed him till the wheels fall off, it’s feature him intelligently and let his success be the on-ramp for everything else. In the red zone, he’s the hammer and it’s clear his home is when the offense is playing from the ten-yard line. Pair his downhill looks with tight end leaks on a short field, and this offense has suddenly found the perfect recipe to find regular success. If Dallas’ offense is a house, he’s the foundation right now. Sturdy enough to build on and strong enough to add more pieces as the season draws on. Tom: His threat to break a big gain opens up the offense, so they need to keep him a big part. Teams will have to keep more in the box and that gives the passing game more space to cook. He has been such an important addition. Sean: Williams continues to look like the perfect fit to mesh with this blocking scheme and offensive identity as a whole. When the blocking is there for him, Williams can get the tough yards or hit a home run like he did at the end of the half. When its not, like on a third and short on the first touchdown drive, it still doesn’t matter as Williams can make people miss in tight spaces. The Cowboys will need to find some way to keep him fresh by continuing to work either Miles Sanders or Jaydon Blue who made his debut at the Jets, but Williams is such a breath of fresh air compared to what they’ve had in the backfield before him. Howman: Javonte Williams is the man in the running back room. All due respect to Jaydon Blue, who fans love, but this is Williams’ show. Not only is he running great, but his threat opens up so much in the play-action passing game, which is exactly what Brian Schottenheimer said he wanted to do back when he was hired. Jess: Once Lamb is back, I still say your offense runs through Dak Prescott and the level at which he’s playing. But Williams is a huge part of that, so you definitely want to keep things fairly balanced. It depends on the week and the weaknesses of each defense you

Dallas Cowboys owner, president, and general manager Jerry Jones has been fined for the NFL. Specifically Jones has been fined $250,000 for what he described as an “unfortunate” gesture made during the team’s win on Sunday against the New York Jets. There was footage captured following Sunday’s win over the Jets of Jerry flashing what […] Dallas Cowboys owner, president, and general manager Jerry Jones has been fined for the NFL. Specifically Jones has been fined $250,000 for what he described as an “unfortunate” gesture made during the team’s win on Sunday against the New York Jets. There was footage captured following Sunday’s win over the Jets of Jerry flashing what appeared to be an obscene gesture at fans in attendance (Jets fans to be clear). Jerry spoke of the incident during his Tuesday appearance on 105.3 The Fan and said it was “unfortunate” because he meant to display a thumbs up as the moment was right after a Cowboys touchdown. Below you can see what happened. A warning that the NFL considers the gesture to be obscene in nature. Jerry’s story of intending to display a thumbs up (which carries the opposite meaning of the hand signal that he displayed as far as conventional norms are concerned) clearly did not fly with the league office and that is why they are fining him. As you were. See More: Dallas Cowboys News

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 […] 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. See More: Dallas Cowboys Roster

With injuries mounting for the Dallas Cowboys, it was time to dig into their depth chart to get players on the field, that meant seeing some rookies get extra playing time. How did the rookie class help in the massive win at MetLife on Sunday? Let’s dive in and find out. OG Tyler Booker  Currently […] With injuries mounting for the Dallas Cowboys, it was time to dig into their depth chart to get players on the field, that meant seeing some rookies get extra playing time. How did the rookie class help in the massive win at MetLife on Sunday? Let’s dive in and find out. OG Tyler Booker Currently out with a high ankle sprain. DE Donovan Ezeiruaku (Game stats- Snaps: 46, Total Tackles: 3, Pressures: 5, Sacks: 0, TFL: 0) The rookie rushed like he had someplace to be. Ezeiruaku came out with the same energy he’s showed all season long so far. He kept Justin Fields uncomfortable without losing rush-lane integrity, something we mentioned on the Reading Between the Line series, squeezing the pocket from the outside so the escape hatches stayed closed. About that first NFL sack, he was this close, twice. Early, he sold speed, stabbed the chest, and flattened at six yards, forcing Fields into a hurried throw that died in the flat. Late, he won again off the edge on a twist, arriving a blink after the ball left. That’s the difference between “almost” and “got him,” and you can feel the bridge getting shorter. What popped all afternoon was his motor. In the fourth quarter, Ezeiruaku brought the same heat as he did at the start of the game. He chased a boot all the way to the sideline, retraced on a screen, and still had enough to collapse the edge on the very next snap. The pressures showed up because of the Jets’ play-calling with more quick game passes and fewer leisurely shots downfield like Fields had at the start of the game. This was a great outing for Ezeiruaku that says to coaches to trust him more. The film says the first NFL sack is imminent, the motor says he’ll keep knocking until the door opens, and the Cowboys just found a few more snaps for a rookie who’s learning how to turn speed into finishes. CB Shavon Revel Jr. Non-Football Injury list RB Jaydon Blue (Game stats- Snaps: 11, Rush Attempts: 4, Rush Yards: 7, Avg: 1.8, Kick Returns: 1, Return Yards: 32) For a first NFL snap, Blue didn’t tiptoe, instead he made himself useful in a hurry. The rookie’s debut doubled as a special-teams spark, and the Jets felt it on contact. The headline flash came early in a 32-yard kickoff return that looked like fast-forward with a clean track, one cut, and suddenly Dallas was playing on the front foot. That’s how you earn a second touch before the coaches even catch their breath. Blue’s best play might’ve been the one without a stat. A square, tidy pass-pro pickup that gave Dak the extra half-beat to finish his read. With his shoulders down, hands inside, and showing no-panic textbook stuff for a rookie back willing to put his body on the line. Overall, Blue looked ready, but his turn running the ball didn’t come to much in this game with four carries for seven yards. Still, it was good to see him finally play. LB Shemar James (Game stats- Snaps: 59, Total Tackles: 15, Pressures: 1, Sacks: 0) James got tossed to the field more when Jack Sanborn left with a concussion, and the rookie made an impact. He played fast, he played angry, and he finished with 15 tackles, a team and career high. He showed his ability to scrape, trigger, finish, and then repeat. It wasn’t all clean. On tape you’ll spot a couple of rookie tells with an over-pursuit on split-zone that opened the cutback lane, a play-action step toward the mesh that opened a window behind him for the quarterback, and one perimeter snap where his angle gave up an extra few yards. Those are teachable dings, not red flags, speed is his superpower, and sometimes the throttle outruns the brakes. The good far outweighed the bad for sure as James stacked bodies at the line, ran through contact in traffic, and closed space on checkdowns before they could turn into explosives. He flashed control late, and much like Ezeiruaku, he came with the same motor in the fourth quarter. OT Ajani Cornelius Inactive DT Jay Toia Inactive RB Phil Mafah Injured reserve WR Traeshon Holden Practice squad TE Rivaldo Fairweather Practice squad LB Justin Barron Practice squad CB Alijah Clark (Game stats- Snaps: 11, Total Tackles: 1) Clark was called up and played exclusively on special teams. He made one fantastic textbook play as a gunner, getting downfield in an instant using his speed, making the tackle on the returner quickly to quell any chance of a major return. The special teams kick and punt return coverage was good all day by Dallas, not really giving up any major chunk return by the Jets. Clark was a major part of that unit and it should give Cowboys fans some excitement that the team has a solid gunner, and possibly cornerback in time. See More: Dallas Cowboys Roster

The Dallas Cowboys are coming off of a win for only the second time this season and it was an emphatic one where they took care of the New York Jets with relative ease. Obviously we all wish that the Cowboys were 5-0 as opposed to 2-2-1, but the reality is that they have played […] The Dallas Cowboys are coming off of a win for only the second time this season and it was an emphatic one where they took care of the New York Jets with relative ease. Obviously we all wish that the Cowboys were 5-0 as opposed to 2-2-1, but the reality is that they have played five games and we can start to draw legitimate conclusions about who they are and will be as cooler weather (hopefully) starts to arrive. Our discussion question for today is rather simple: What part of the Cowboys are you most confident in? To be clear we are talking the thing that you would bet the house on. This is the thing that you would swear by. For some it may be the play of Dak Prescott. For others, it could be Javonte Williams running through opposing defenses. Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below. See More: Dallas Cowboys Roster