Dallas City News

With the Cowboys closing in on their first preseason game of the 2024 season, the team released their first unofficial depth chart on Tuesday. The emphasis here is on the word “unofficial” for a lot of reasons, and much of this will change between now and the start of the season, but one thing in particular stood out the most.

Most of the attention was drawn to the offensive line, where rookie Tyler Guyton is listed as the second team left tackle despite earning several first team reps already in training camp and turning plenty of heads. That’s not all that unusual, though, as the Cowboys did something similar with Tyler Smith in his rookie year.

What truly stood out, though, is the one rookie who was listed as a first teamer: linebacker Marist Liufau.

New defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer has hinted in the past that he plans to use more three linebacker sets than his predecessor, who rarely fielded three linebackers at the same time. The Cowboys were already notoriously thin at linebacker a year ago, which led to the signing of veteran Eric Kendricks, himself a longtime Zimmer disciple, and drafting Liufau.

Kendricks, however, has missed some time already in camp with an injury, offering up more reps for the rest of the bunch. The next two biggest names were Damone Clark and DeMarvion Overshown, both of whom were expected to step into larger roles this year.

Clark actually led the linebacker room in defensive snaps last year, but he also led the linebacker room in missed tackle percentage. Clark struggled especially in pass coverage, leading the team in highest completion rate allowed and coming in fifth in highest passer rating allowed.

Overshown, on the other hand, turned heads on a near daily basis in training camp and seemed destined for a starting role as a rookie. However, he tore his ACL during the Cowboys’ second preseason game, ending his season before it ever truly began. So far in this year’s camp, Overshown has been praised for his increased size while retaining his speed and agility that helped him impress so much a year ago.

And yet, Overshown finds himself behind Liufau on the depth chart. Once again, the emphasis here is that this depth chart is unofficial, and there’s a reason for that. Odds are extremely high that Guyton will be starting at left tackle in Week 1, not Chuma Edoga, and Sam Williams is listed on here despite having been placed on the injured reserve.

But while Guyton’s “demotion” on this depth chart can easily be explained as the Cowboys not wanting to use the anointing oil too soon, as Bill Parcells once said, the same isn’t true at linebacker. Liufau stands out as the only rookie listed in the first team, which has to mean he’s done something right.

This is especially notable because of the players he’s listed ahead of. Overshown has received positive reviews from those in attendance, as has UFL signee Willie Harvey Jr., who even saw some first team reps following Kendricks’ injury. There’s also Damien Wilson, a longtime veteran in his second stint with the Cowboys. And Liufau has surpassed them all to sit at the top of the depth chart as a “mere” third round pick.

There is still plenty of time for things to change, and the Cowboys’ plan to use Micah Parsons at a traditional linebacker spot with some frequency also complicates this picture. But the fact that Liufau sits where he does right now, against some legitimate competition at the position, speaks volumes about his performance thus far in camp.