With two preseason games in the books for the
Dallas Cowboys, the roster battles are really starting to heat up.
Cooper Rush is generating a lot of interest from the fans as a possible replacement for
Kellen Moore. Can
Noah Brown or
Andy Jones find a spot in the wide receiver room? Will
Rico Gathers move ahead of
James Hanna and/or
Geoff Swaim?
But there is a flaw in that way of looking at things. The real battle for the last few spots on the roster is not as much about how one player looks against another. It is driven a lot more by the numbers. Particularly the number 53. That is where the hard decisions are likely to come. It is not who can make the team as the sixth wide receiver. It is whether the team needs four tight ends more than six wideouts
https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/201...-find-room-on-the-53-cooper-rush-rico-gathers
This is my rankings based on what we've heard from camp as well as what we've seen in the preseason because most of the starters haven't made their preseason debut. This does not denote who will be kept on the roster, only who is having a better showing, and gives us a look at the depth at each position.
Quarterback
1. Dak Prescott
2. Cooper Rush
3. Kellen Moore
4. Luke McCown
Reason: Moore and Rush were even after the first preseason game, but a bad outing by Moore before Rush stepped in and played well Saturday moves Rush ahead. McCown seems to be just taking up space.
Fullback
1. Keith Smith
Reason: No challengers as Smith seems to have locked up this spot with his blocking, good hands and special teams ability
Tailback
1. Ezekiel Elliott
2. Alfred Morris
3. Rod Smith
4. Darren McFadden
5. Ronnie Hillman
Reason: Morris and Smith were pretty even after the first preseason game, but Morris played better in the second. McFadden has had only a couple of good plays.
Wide receiver
1. Dez Bryant
2. Cole Beasley
3. Brice Butler
4. Terrence Williams
5. Ryan Switzer
6. Noah Brown
7. Andy Jones
8. Brian Brown
9. Uzoma Nwachukwa
10. Javonte Herndon
11. Lance Lenoir
Reason: I put Butler ahead of Williams only because of the camp Butler has been having and what we saw in the first preseason game. Switzer gets the edge of all of the younger guys only because of the early reports, while Noah Brown and Jones are pretty even and clearly above the rest.
Tight end
1. Jason Witten
2. Rico Gathers
3. James Hanna
4. Geoff Swaim
5. Blake Jarwin
6. Connor Hamlett
Reason: Gathers is ahead of Hanna and Swaim primarily because he's been given the opportunity to play a lot and has shined in it. It will take a lot for him to move ahead of them on the depth chart because of their reliability as blockers.
Center
1. Travis Frederick
2. Jonathan Cooper
3. Joe Looney
4. Ross Burbank
5. Rueben Carter
Reason: Looney looked bad against Arizona while Cooper was OK against the Rams.
Guard
1. Zack Martin
2. Jonathan Cooper
3. Chaz Green
4. Nate Theaker
5. Byron Bell
6. Dan Skipper
Reason: While I think Cooper needs to show more strength, Green hasn't been able to show if he should be the starting guard because he can't stay healthy and Bell's play left a lot to be desired Saturday.
Tackle
1. Tyron Smith
2. La'el Collins
3. Chaz Green
4. Kadeem Edwards
5. Clay DeBord
6. Emmett Cleary
Reason: Collins has some flaws with his hand usage that he needs to correct and might really be behind Green as far as ability right now because of it, but again, Green can't stay healthy to win any job. Cleary has been exposed at left tackle.
Defensive end
1. DeMarcus Lawrence
2. David Irving
3. Tyrone Crawford
4. Benson Mayowa
5. Damontre Moore
6. Taco Charlton
7. Lenny Jones
8. Charles Tapper
9. Darnell Leslie
Reason: I put Irving over Crawford because of what Irving showed in his brief playing time Saturday. Moore is more active overall than Charlton. Jones came on Saturday to overtake Tapper.
Defensive tackle
1. Maliek Collins
2. Stephen Paea
3. Cedric Thornton
4. Lewis Neal
5. Joey Ivie
6. Jordan Carrell
7. Richard Ash
8. Woody Baron
Reason: We haven't seen the top three, but none of the others have shown reason to believe they've overtaken them. Neal has been the most steady of the rest, while Ivie has flashed on a few plays.
Linebacker
1. Sean Lee
2. Anthony Hitchens
3. Jaylon Smith
4. Mark Nzeocha
5. Damien Wilson
6. Joseph Jones
7. Kyle Wilber
8. Justin Durant
9. Keenan Gilchrist
10. John Lotulelei
11, Lucas Wacha
Reason. I had a hard time deciding whether Nzeocha has outplayed Wilson, and Smith might be ranked too high because there's a lot of speculation involved there.
Cornerback
1. Orlando Scandrick
2. Chidobe Awusie
3. Nolan Carroll
4. Anthony Brown
5. Duke Thomas
6. Marquez White
7. Jourdan Lewis
8. Sammy Seamster
9. Leon McFadden
Reason: Awusie is primarily ahead of Carroll and Brown because he's making plays on the ball. Carroll and Brown are about even at this point, but I didn't think Brown was particularly strong against Arizona while the secondary performed well against LA with Carroll on the field. Lewis would likely be ranked higher, but we simply haven't seen him.
Safety
1. Byron Jones
2. Xavier Woods
3. Jeff Heath
4. Kavon Frazier
5. Jamiell Showers
6. Robert Blanton
Reason: Woods was all over the field Saturday while Heath has had a pretty quiet camp and hasn't really shown up in games.
