Your projected 2025 starting lineup

[SackMaster]

Note to self. If there is a first round Offensive linemen named Tyler .... expect him to become a Cowboy.

 

[zekecowboy]

Oh, so now we're counting preseason wins too??

LOL, I believe you have the right idea. Wins are going to be rather difficult this year.

 

[Cowboysheelsreds053]

5-7 wins guaranteed

Thought that after Dak went down this season.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Just imagine if we didn't sit out FA.

 

[shabazz]

Just imagine if we didn't sit out FA.

Its easily the most frustrating part of being a fan of this team

There's no excuse for America's Team being among the least spenders in free agency the last two years......and perhaps longer than that

 

[morat1959]

The season starts and ends with the first name on the list. Take the under.

 

[morat1959]

If Lamb goes down we’re screwed

We’re screwed if he doesn’t go down.

 

[CWR]

Injuries have to be accounted for here as well. If you add Overshown and Diggs to that roster that's not too bad a roster at all. We just got unlucky there. I realize we can't really count on Overshown for this year. If we get Diggs back relatively soon that could be a great group of corners.

Add the depth of Ezeiruaku and Fowler, Solomon Thomas and a new 340LB DT, our kicking game, our return game, our Oline could be great and we have good depth there. I think we have two decent TE's as well.

There are holes for sure and I'm not saying we'll win the division or be great but I've seen way worse rosters than this. People need to realize there was almost zero chance we were contending long before the draft. We weren't getting a WR and suddenly going to make some noise in the playoffs. They are retooling and it's going to be at least another year away if not more.

I really think our biggest glaring hole is at WR.

We need more firepower catching the ball. I know we want to supposedly be run dominant, but we still would need to threaten the defense and stretch the field.

 

[stilltheguru]

Dallas will be lucky to be half a dozen win team.

On what world is the roster worse this year than last? I think yall try to be negative to guard your weak hearts. The whole expect the worse and if you get better its a plus. Problem is there's no logical explanation why we'll be worse unless again, you think Jordan Lewis is some hall of famer

 

[jwitten82]

On what world is the roster worse this year than last? I think yall try to be negative to guard your weak hearts. The whole expect the worse and if you get better its a plus. Problem is there's no logical explanation why we'll be worse unless again, you think Jordan Lewis is some hall of famer

Im not sure you can say it's worse, but how can you say it's better?

 

[chicago JK]

It is weird that our "talent guys" and "football guys" see nothing wrong with the WR and RB rooms. Either should have been easy to fix. At least get league average play if they were just a little aggressive in FA.

 

[stilltheguru]

Im not sure you can say it's worse, but how

The pass rush will be infinitely better and that was the main reason for those 12-5 seasons. They weren't stopping the run during those years either. Last years pass rush was terrible after losing fowler, DA and Sam getting hurt. That alone makes them better.

 

[thunderpimp91]

On what world is the roster worse this year than last? I think yall try to be negative to guard your weak hearts. The whole expect the worse and if you get better its a plus. Problem is there's no logical explanation why we'll be worse unless again, you think Jordan Lewis is some hall of famer

Personally I think this is a better roster than 2024, but I also wont pretend that I can't see a scenario where its worse either. Its very possible that RB, CB, and LB are actually worse off than they were a season ago.

A lot of the optimism here is around health, significant progression from the 2024/2023 draft classes, and instant impact from the 2025 impact. All three of those things can happen, but none are really high probability. Rookie classes typically underwhelm based on fan expectations, I can see some growth from the previous classes, but progression is not always a linear thing either....Also we have some guys that are high injury risks going into the year....Parsons typically has some issues for a few weeks each year....Dak only has 1 complete season since 2020....Diggs is likely to start the season on IR....multiple guys who we are hoping for best case scenarios from after ACL/MCL injuries (Williams/Diggs/Overshown/Steele.

We can get into the Xs and Os issues right now too, but a lot of that is still TBD. Is an Eberflus defense really the one to maximize your best player in Micah Parsons? Is going athletic at LB the best move if you wont invest better in run defenders on your front four? Whats the plan to offset bad tackle play if those guys dont see improvement this year?

 

[thunderpimp91]

The pass rush will be infinitely better and that was the main reason for those 12-5 seasons. They weren't stopping the run during those years either. Last years pass rush was terrible after losing fowler, DA and Sam getting hurt. That alone makes them better.

I think this is possible, but its a huge risk the Cowboys are taking....Eberflus love to rush 4 and drop 7 into coverage, and they've built the roster to suggest this will continue this year. In 2024 the Cowboys were 3rd best in sacks, 4th best in pressure rates on defense so they weren't exactly bad. If they can replicate those numbers with better players and rushing just 4 it will absolutely be a good thing....It's possible though that with a less exotic defense than we saw even under Zimmer that even an elite player like Micah Parsons may look a little more human than we are used to.

To me with the questions on the back end of this defense the effectiveness of the pass rush could be a boom or bust for this defense. How much Eberflus is willing to adjust his scheme to get a Micah Parsons matchup advantages will be very interesting to watch.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

QB: Dak Prescott
RB: J. Williams/M. Sanders/J. Blue
WR: CeeDee Lamb
WR: Jalen Tolbert
WR: Jonathan Mingo/KaVontae Turpin
TE: Jake Ferguson
RT: Terence Steele
RG: Tyler Booker
C: Cooper Beebe
LG: Tyler Smith
LT: Tyler Guyton

DE: Micah Parsons
DT: Osa Odighizuwa
DT: Mazi Smith
DE: Sam Williams
LB: Marist Liufau
LB: Kenneth Murray Jr.
CB: DaRon Bland
CB: Shavon Revel Jr.
CB: Kaiir Elam
S: Malik Hooker
S: Donovan Wilson

yeeeshh...looks like a 6, 7 win season.

 

[gimmesix]

Williams at DE looks dubious. You have to figure Fowler will probably get more pass rushing snaps and Kneeland may be the nominal starter as a run defender

Yeah, I'm not counting on Williams for anything.

 

[thunderpimp91]

Yeah, I'm not counting on Williams for anything.

Yeah its a real possibility that he wont even make the roster this year.

 

[Pass2Run]

The pass rush will be infinitely better and that was the main reason for those 12-5 seasons. They weren't stopping the run during those years either. Last years pass rush was terrible after losing fowler, DA and Sam getting hurt. That alone makes them better.

Exactly right. Philly likes a strong middle whereas Dallas likes to load up their edge position. Both can work...

 

[Yobwocs]

It's gonna be lacking in talent for sure. Gotta make up for it in coaching. McCarthy wasn't the guy to add the extra dimension of coaching to a middling team... see 2023 Green Bay game, and the entirety of 2024.

 

[BlindFaith]

On what world is the roster worse this year than last? I think yall try to be negative to guard your weak hearts. The whole expect the worse and if you get better its a plus. Problem is there's no logical explanation why we'll be worse unless again, you think Jordan Lewis is some hall of famer

How? Lets just break it down.

Safeties - Same pair, year older. Worse
Corners - Lost 1 starter. Another wont be ready until who knows when after the season starts. Key backup out longer than that. We added a cast off and a rookie who we hope will be ready. Far worse shape than last year.
LB - Worse. Kendricks was about all we had until Overhown flashed. Now hes coming off injury, who knows when. We added two meh's.
DE - Push with a chance to be better. Lawrence will be missed.
DT - Push. But we suck.

Offense a push. Booker doesnt give us much, IMO. Cooks wont be missed. I like Tolbert and think he can be a 2. Mingo and Campbell are unknowns.

QB - Slightly worse. Dak a year older and coming off injury.

RB - Push. Blue isnt Gibbs. Everyone else is meh.

TE - Could be better if Schoon takes a step.

So yeah, this team is worse. Push at best. Every other team in our div is better. So 6 wins it is.