Dallas City News

The NFL mandates that teams release a depth chart before each preseason game. The Cowboys did just that on Tuesday, even if the insights from that chart turned out to be limited.

And if last year is anything to go by, we won’t learn anything from the next two preseason depth charts either: In 2023, the Cowboys simply published the same depth chart for all three preseason games.

But that doesn’t mean the Cowboys coaches weren’t busy watching film from the two weeks of camp and reviewing their practice notes. And one of the things they were likely doing in the process is slotting their players into some kind of a depth chart; a depth chart they have been building since the start of OTAs and one that is constantly being reconfigured – even if the unofficial official chart may not change.

So we’re going to do a similar exercise today and take a look at what the Cowboys’ final 53-man roster could look like based on what we’ve seen so far in training camp. To do that, we’re going to look at two separate projections, both from guys who’ve been to Oxnard and have observed training camp (Jon Machota of The Athletic and David Moore of the Dallas Morning News).

Both projections are combined in the tables below. We published a similar summary of roster projections just two weeks ago, and it’s interesting to contrast and compare the current projections with those from two weeks ago. The table is color-coded accordingly:

GREEN: players that have improved their stock

YELLOW: players whose spots don’t appear to be fully secure yet

RED: players that dropped off the list versus two weeks ago

• Two weeks ago, Trey Lance was locked in as the No. 2 guy. Machota still sees him that way, Moore has Cooper Rush ahead of Lance. The preseason games should provide more clarity here.
• At running back, the consensus seems to be that the Cowboys will carry just three guys, with Hunter Luepke pretty much set at fullback. That means Deuce Vaughan and Malik Davis are out. Royce Freeman was 1/3 on the projections two weeks ago, now he’s 2/2.
• At wide receiver, Tyron Billy-Johnson seems to be moving up and rookie Ryan Flournoy looks like the odd man out. Flournoy was 2/3 last time and is now out completely, no doubt because he has been limited with an injury.
• Tight end is probably more about whether the team carries three or four guys. Brevyn Spann-Ford or Princeton Fant could be the fourth guy. Time seems to be running out for Peyton Hendershot.
• Nate Thomas looks like the 10th guy on the OL, but do the Cowboys keep 10 or go short?

A lot less turbulence on defense:

The Sam Williams injury obviously impacts the defensive line. For now, Moore pencils in Al-Quadin Muhammad as the fourth edge rusher, but Machota explains that the answer might lie in a trade:

It also could mean that Dallas adds a veteran defensive end after teams trim to 53. A trade for a defensive end or defensive tackle should both be on the table. This group on paper certainly isn’t as strong as it was last year, and Parsons is going to play more off-the-ball linebacker.

For now, the injury has the Cowboys also going long at defensive tackle. Rookie Justin Rogers is marked in green, he was 2/3 last time, but seems to have solidified his position.

Elsewhere Eric Scott solidifies his grip on the No. 5 CB spot (with Gareon Conley’s surprise retirement), Israel Mukuamu might have a shot if the Cowboys go short on the front seven, and C.J. Goodwin may not make the final 53, but he’ll make the team regardless.

So that’s where we stand at this point in the preseason. The preseason games and a few more practices could shake up these projections once more, but as far as projections go, these are probably as good as it gets at this point of the season, even if the unofficial official depth chart may not reflect these changes the next time it is published.