The Dallas Cowboys have 89 players currently under contract. One of those, Ezekiel Elliott, is off the books June 1, leaving the 88. They’ll add a couple more between now and the start of training camp in July, but those contract players are the resource pool they have to work with now. From then on they would eventually make up their 53-man squad to start the season.
The evaluation process for selecting names will begin with small campers and OTAs, but the real work doesn’t start until camp. It’s possible that there will be some veteran additions that will change the account, which makes it too early to come up with a predictable roster that has any chance of being accurate. But we can easily name the 45 or so players who will make up the team from the veterans and top picks.
Besides, the drop is now great fodder for discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of the roster, how some players might be used, and where the camp battles will be. So this is my first attempt of the year at a roster pitch for the 2023 season. (Hey, if people can actually do mock drafts for next year, I can take a stab at this.)
Cowboys 53 man drop list
position | number | player | player | player | player | player | player |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
position | number | player | player | player | player | player | player |
QB | 3 | Duck Prescott | Cooper Rush | Will Greer | |||
RB | 4 | Tony Pollard | Duos Phone | Hunter Lubeck | Ronald Jones | ||
the | 4 | cleaner look | Jake Ferguson | Peyton Hendershot | Sean McCune | ||
WR | 6 | Sir Lamb | Brandine cooks | Michael Gallup | Galen Tolbert | Cavontae Turpin | sim communication |
extra time | 3 | Tyrone Smith | Terrence Steele | Matt Waltzko | |||
And | 4 | Zack Martin | Tyler Smith | Asim Richards | Choma Eduga | ||
c | 1 | Tyler Biadache | |||||
RDE | 3 | Micah Parsons | Dorrance Armstrong | William Fihoko | |||
LDE | 2 | DeMarcus Lawrence | Sam Williams | ||||
NT | 2 | know smith | Jonathan Hankins | ||||
DT | 3 | Osa Odigizwa | Neville Gilmour | Chauncey Goulston | |||
pound | 5 | Leighton Vander Esch | Damon Clark | DeMarvion Override | Gabriel Cox | Devin Harper | |
Cb | 6 | Trevon Diggs | Stephen Gilmore | Daron Bland | Jordan Lewis | Eric Scott | CJ Goodwin |
s | 4 | Jaron Kerse | Donovan Wilson | Hooker owner | Israel Mokwamo | ||
SP | 3 | Brian Unger | Trent victory | Tristan Viscaino | |||
the total | 53 |
Here’s a breakdown of why these players make the list and who don’t.
First, there is a 50/50 split between offense and defense for non-specialist positions. That could be changed one way or the other, but a good sign is that many good players have ended up being left off this list. This is the kind of problem you want. Now on to the individual positions.
quarterback
The first two names are data. And the team will want to carry three after last year’s experience. Will Grier is the default player here, as there are only three on the current roster. But it may be a placeholder. Cowboys usually carry four to camp. They’ll probably invite a couple of unsigned QBs to junior camp for a tryout, but when they start training camp, this will probably be a veteran.
The only thing that might be interesting is if they’re interested in talking to Ben DiNucci about joining the team. He had a great season in XFL. They went to that source last year when they signed Kavontae Turpin, who had a successful year as his return. If there were no ill feelings about his departure, Nooch would certainly be in contention as a QB3, and Cooper Rush might push for a QB2. His familiarity with some on the crew, notably Mike McCarthy, as well as many of the players might be another reason to look up to him.
running back
This is interesting, because of a couple of newbies. Deuce Vaughn is the new change of pace with Tony Pollard taking over the featured tailback role. However, the team needs someone to carry some of the load so that Pollard does not tire out during the season. However, that may be the plan with Pollard playing on the card and the team hoping he’ll be very careful about pushing too much at the position, as they’ve tended to do.
Enter Hunter Luepke, the only 2023 UDFA to make this drop. He’s been listed as a fullback who came out of college, but he’s much more of a running back, capable of carrying the ball, moving sticks in short-range situations, blocking from both the backfield and linebacking, and coming out as a tackle. pass the receiver. That’s why he’s included in the running back room, because he has the ultimate ability to be a lone linebacker rather than just a traditional fullback. Like Vaughn, his true worth will depend on how McCarthy and Brian Schottenheimer use him.
Needing a fourth fullback for depth, the team won FA signing Ronald Jones, but Malik David and Rico Dowdle will use every opportunity to replace him. This will be a fun group to watch at camp and pre-season games.
tight end
The drop here is four, but that’s one place the team could fall short, because Luepke can be used well to fill a role at times. But the team likes the ability to mix and match these players’ different skill sets, with McKeon being a player who will be inactive for most games. Luke Schoonmaker looks like a better version of Dalton Schultz, who was drafted to replace him.
wide future
We know the three appetizers. Turpin makes the list for his running back role, but hopefully coaches will try to integrate him more into the passing game. Other positions are on offer, but they’re far from ready to give up Tolbert after his disappointing rookie campaign. Semi Fuhuko makes the team because of his experience, but he has plenty of people coming after him, including seventh-place finisher Jalen Brooks.
We discussed this overarching projection in a recent episode of Ryled Up on the blogging network The Boys podcast. Be sure to subscribe to our network so you don’t miss out on any of our offers! Apple devices can sign up here And Spotify users can sign up here.
offensive line
This should be discussed as a group, because there too much Moving parts to consider.
Right now, it’s going to give us the idea of putting the top five offensive linemen on the field together, Tyron Smith, Tyler Smith, Tyler Biadasz, Zack Martin, and Terrence Steele as a start. However, this assumes that Steele is ready for the start of the season after his injury. There have also been comments from management that they see Tyler Smith as this year’s tackle, not a guard.
That last element is compounded by the team’s only offensive line tackle in the draft with fifth-round pick Asim Richards, who is expected to be moved to protect from his college position for tackle. The team seems to think their depth of OL is better than most of us do.
Who exactly is this deep? This is a wide open question. If debating Tyler Smith in the tackle is the plan, it would make Tyron Smith the alternate swing, which isn’t a bad thing considering the latter’s age and injury history. But if not, they must have a different swing method, which is why Matt Waltzko swings. Chuma Edoga becomes deep inside, with either he or Richards also supporting the Bayadash.
This leaves only eight offensive linemen on the list. The team has done this before, but this one might be too light, and Tyler Smith is still on guard for the show. If he continues to meddle this year, maybe they should add another name to the group, maybe Matt Farniuk. It will be taken from another location, which may be a wide receiver room or defense.
rush pass
There is a lot of depth to the list. The five names here are a great bunch, and the only thing that changes is if they fall short is another place to add Dante Fowler back into the mix.
Defensive tackle
We were all surprised when the Cowboys got a big DT in the first round, but it didn’t take long to see the value of Mazi Smith. Not only does he have all the attributes you need to see to put the clamps in a running game, his strength and explosiveness can also make him an asset when the other team throws the ball. Jonathan Hankins is a great value. Last year, when he missed time, the run defense really struggled, so having him and Smith should prevent that from happening again. They both can pull off a lot of double bands, which will help someone else.
The three-tech players look good, especially Osa Odighizuwa, but Chauncey Golston’s crisp move to this role adds a nice wrinkle. He’s great for the NASCAR pack in terms of down-passing, providing some real lane-chasing ability on the inside, and he can be swapped for rushing off the edge as well, letting someone like Parsons or Lawrence spoil the opponent’s midsection. offensive line. The addition of both he and Smith have turned this group from a weakness into a true strength of the team.
full back
The DeMarvion Overshown gives the Cowboys three solid players, and they often have only one player on the field under Dan Quinn. Jayron Kearse is more of a hybrid player filling the LB job on many plays, and Overhown could fill a similar role. Gabriel Cox and Devin Harper are on the list primarily for contributing to special teams.
noon corner
CJ Goodwin is another player who gets carried away to work with special teams, so that’s really five corners. The expectation here is that Kelvin Joseph will be released, possibly brought back to the training squad. A lot of people think Jordan Lewis will be cut to make room for someone else, but I don’t see it. This is another strong group for the team.
safety
The four here look clear, although Israel Mokwamo can also play in a corner. If he had to be moved to that room permanently, he would have bumped into one of the other corners, most likely Eric Scott, though the team traded to get him. That would also probably put Markquese Bell back at No. 53.
specialists
Punter and long snapper are hired, but Tristan Vizcaino might just be a placeholder until the team can make competition for the job. As mentioned earlier, there are two slots that need to be filled after June 1, and this is where they will use one of those spots. This drop only uses existing contracts, so for now, Vizcaino is getting the nod.
Feel free to offer your suggestions as to where this 53-man drop might be going wrong in the comments. Just be nice.