News: BTB: Cowboys 53-Man Roster Projection - Post Blue/White Scrimmage

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Early thoughts about the potential roster construction conundrums that could appear as the preseason progresses.

There is plenty of time between now and the start of the regular season for the Dallas Cowboys, just about one month. But soon, preseason will be here and the the camp battles will really take off. So it's not too early to start thinking about the potential roster construction conundrums that could appear as the season approaches. In that spirit, let's take a look at a projected 53-man roster. .

Offense - 25

Quarterback - 3


Romo, Tony

Prescott, Dak

Showers, Jameill

Running Back/Full Back - 5


Elliott, Ezekiel

Morris, Alfred

Dunbar, Lance

Jackson, Darius

Smith, Rod

Wide Receiver - 5


Bryant, Dez

Williams, Terrance

Beasley, Cole

Butler, Brice

Whitehead, Lucky

Tight End - 4


Witten, Jason

Hanna, James

Escobar, Gavin

Gathers, Rico

Offensive Line - 8


Smith, Tyron

Collins, La'el

Frederick, Travis

Martin, Zach

Free, Doug

Green, Chaz

Leary, Ron

Looney, Joe

Breakdown:


The offense will wind up forcing the front office into some very interesting positions. Drafting Dak Prescott makes keeping three quarterbacks almost imperative, which will force the team to carry smaller numbers at other positions. There are likely names missing from every position group that most would expect to be on the "final" 53. Names like Andy Jones, Darren McFadden, and Geoff Swaim don't appear here, while Rico Gathers makes an NFL roster after not participating in organized football since middle school. While this may seem nonsensical, the Cowboys drafted Gathers in order to avoid a fight in undrafted free agency to sign him, and they did so knowing he would not be a polished on-field product in his first training camp. While Jones and Swaim are having very good training camps, and they likely are viable NFL players, neither have the long-term upside that Gathers brings to the table. Knowing this, and understanding the landscape of the NFL, it's extremely unlikely that Gathers would make it through waivers to the practice squad.

Defense - 25

Defensive Line - 10


Crawford, Tyrone

Thornton, Cedric

Mayowa, Benson

Irving, David

Russell, Ryan

Tapper, Charles

McClain, Terrance

Collins, Maliek

Crawford, Jack

McAdoo, Mike

Linebackers - 7


Lee, Sean

Hitchens, Anthony

Wilber, Kyle

Nzeocha, Mark

Wilson, Damien

Gachkar, Andrew

Durant, Justin

Corner Backs - 4


Scandrick, Orlando

Claiborne, Morris

Carr, Brandon

Brown, Anthony

Safety - 4


Jones, Byron

Church, Barry

Heath, Jeff

Frazier, Kavon

Breakdown:


For all the talk about the defense throughout the off-season, it probably breaks down more simply than the offense. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen, but it is the story nonetheless. The two biggest surprises on this side of the ball are probably Mike McAdoo and Kavon Frazier, McAdoo who has shown well early in camp will get plenty of opportunity in the preseason to earn a chance to serve as a placeholder for DeMarcus Lawrence for the first four weeks. Frazier has yet to make much of an impression to observers in Oxnard, but he should get opportunities on special teams as well as some extended playing time on defense in the four preseason games, and a splash play or two in either area is likely enough to secure Frazier a spot as the fourth safety if the team looks to move on from the failed experiment that was J.J. Wilcox.

Practice Squad


Swaim, Geoff

Jones, Andy

Coe, Rodney

Brendel, Jake

Olatoye, Deji

Swanson, Dax

Eagan, Ed

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