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Training camp has arrived! We are finally going to be treated to some Dallas Cowboys football. Sure, it’s just practice, but we’ll all spend the next six weeks watching the team showcase their ability. And right now, there’s quite a lot of them as 90 guys are tracking out to Oxnard, Ca. preparing for the 2019 season (so far Ezekiel Elliott not among them, though).
While many of us already have several favorites to cheer for now is a good time to shake up that Etch-A-Sketch and wipe the slate clean as we start evaluating all these players. Many of them are guys we are already acquainted with, but there is a large list of lesser-known players we might want to pay attention to. It’s always good to put a number to these names so when we see a guy make a play we know who it is.
Let’s break down the Cowboys 90-man roster, identify their jersey numbers, and provide a quick little refresher for some of the less popular guys roaming around Oxnard.
QUARTERBACK
4 Dak Prescott
7 Cooper Rush
3 Mike White
5 Taryn Christion - Nothing really to see here. The Cowboys opted to not bring in a veteran to be their fourth quarterback, so instead they’ll roll with the rookie from South Dakota State that helped make Dallas Goedert a star.
Considering he was the last guy added after Allen Hurns was released, Christion is nothing more than a camp arm.
RUNNING BACK
21 Ezekiel Elliott
36 Tony Pollard
40 Mike Weber
26 Darius Jackson
46 Jordan Chunn - An undrafted free agent from a year ago, Chunn spent last year on the practice squad. He rushed 14 times for 47 yards last preseason, and with a couple new rookies now added to the mix, it doesn’t look promising that he’ll make the team this year.
FULL BACK
49 Jamize Olawale
42 Ryan Yurachek - The Cowboys and Raiders love swapping fullbacks as Yurachek spent last year on Oakland’s practice squad before signing with Dallas. A former tight end in college, the team has created a little bit of competition at fullback, so I’d hold off a bit before going out and buying an Olawale jersey.
TIGHT END
82 Jason Witten
89 Blake Jarwin
86 Dalton Schultz
80 Rico Gathers
84 Codey McElroy - An undrafted free agent by the Los Angeles Rams a year ago, McElroy didn’t see any action in 2018. He’s a former minor league baseball player and has the hops from playing basketball, but this three-sport athlete is a long shot to make the team.
WIDE RECEIVER
19 Amari Cooper
13 Michael Gallup
18 Randall Cobb
10 Tavon Austin
85 Noah Brown
14 Lance Lenoir
16 Cedrick Wilson
81 Jon’Vea Johnson - Some have already heard the buzz about Johnson as his 4.3 40 time makes him a burner in the open field. He’s a pretty decent route runner too and his touchdown every 4.75 catch rate makes him a great candidate to be a big playmaker in this offense.
83 Jalen Guyton - Another one of this year’s undrafted receivers, Guyton is also a speedster who can be a vertical threat for this team. He’ll need to learn to be more physical at the point of the attack as NFL caliber corners will man-handle him if he doesn’t improve.
11 Reggie Davis - For Davis, this is his fifth team in three years, but he’s yet to find a home anywhere. He’s another under the radar receiver who can absolutely fly. He’s got a leg up on the rookie burners as he’s been through training camps before, but it’s going to come down to who can make enough plays to separate himself from the pack.
15 Devin Smith - Former teammate of Ezekiel Elliott at Ohio State, Smith’s career has been plagued by knee injuries. The Cowboys took a flyer on him hoping he can be healthy and regain some of that talent that made him the New York Jets second-round pick in 2015. Plays like this will certainly help his chances.
OFFENSIVE LINE
77 Tyron Smith
72 Travis Frederick
70 Zack Martin
71 La’el Collins
52 Connor Williams
75 Cameron Fleming
73 Joe Looney
76 Xavier Su’a-Filo
66 Connor McGovern
65 Mitch Hyatt - This All-American from Clemson could end up being a great value undrafted free agent signing. He’s been talked about so much now, that it doesn’t seem quite far to classify him as an under the radar guy. The offensive line group is deep this year, but don’t rule him out as a possible swing tackle for the future.
61 Adam Redmond - Claimed off of waivers during cuts last year, Redmond added some much needed depth at guard and even saw some action when Zack Martin went down. He’s more seasoned than this new crop of UDFA’s and his effort and intensity level usually keeps his game respectable. He’s a savvy player, so he’s not just going to quietly go away.
63 Jake Campos - An undrafted free agent from a year ago, the team stashed Campos on the practice squad. At 6’7” 304 pounds, he’s a big guy, but he’s stiff and still needs to add some strength to his frame. He’s had a year to work on his game, but will it be enough for this former Iowa State left tackle to sneak his way onto the team?
69 Brandon Knight - The Indiana right tackle is another undrafted talent that people shouldn’t sleep on. Not only does he play with a lot power and is tough to move, but he has tackle/guard flex that the team absolutely adores. He also plays with a little bit of nastiness and he’d win my vote as the player most likely to get involve in a camp scuffle this year.
78 Cody Wichmann - This former Rams guard actually saw some NFL action in 2015 and 2016, but he’s spent the last two seasons on the practice squad (Titans in 2017, and last year with Dallas).
60 Derrick Puni - The Central Missouri UDFA has some athletic traits that are appealing, but he’s lacking in fundamentals. He doesn’t use his hands very well and had a very unimpressive OTAs and minicamp. This Division II left tackle needs a lot of work and it’s going to be a challenge to even make the practice squad.
62 Larry Allen Jr. - How great would it be to have Larry Allen on the team again? The son of Hall of Famer is trying to find a home where his dad dominated for so many years. To this day, I’ve never seen an offensive lineman run this fast.
DEFENSIVE END
90 DeMarcus Lawrence
58 Robert Quinn
97 Taco Charlton
92 Dorance Armstrong
51 Kerry Hyder
56 Joe Jackson
74 Jalen Jelks
68 Ricky Walker - An undrafted free agent who can play both inside and out. He’s got some sudden burst to his game and that was on display during OTAs and minicamp. While he’s hard worker, he has his work cut out for him to make the team. His non-stop motor will keep him in good favor with the coaching staff.
67 Shakir Soto - He went undrafted last year and spent some time in Denver and Oakland last year. Most recently, he got to play in the AFF league for the San Diego Fleet before it went under. Similar to Walker, he can play on the outside or even the nose, and his relentless pursuit will keep coaches happy.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
98 Tyrone Crawford
96 Maliek Collins
99 Antwaun Woods
79 Trysten Hill
95 Christian Covington
93 Daniel Ross
64 Daniel Wise - A great value UDFA, Wise could be a sneaky-good pick to make the team. He’s got the get-off and instincts to get around blockers. While the defensive tackle position group is real deep this year, a player with Wise’s skill set might surprise some people. While making the team will be difficult, he’s definitely one of the top undrafted free agents who stands a shot to make the team.
LINEBACKER
55 Leighton Vander Esch
54 Jaylon Smith
50 Sean Lee
48 Joe Thomas
53 Justin March-Lillard
59 Chris Covington
41 Kyle Queiro - An UDFA free agent from a year ago, Quiero spent last season on the practice squad. A safety/linebacker hybrid, the team is allowing him to play closer to the line of scrimmage now.
57 Luke Gifford - One of this year’s undrafted free agents, Gifford has some upside and is a linebacker to keep an eye out for. He racked up 12.5 tackles for a loss, including 5.5 sacks his season year at Nebraska.
45 Andrew Dowell - An UDFA from Michigan State, Dowell possesses a lot of athleticism and has already shown he can hold his own in coverage. There are a couple of these wild card undrafted guys who could play well enough to push a veteran off the squad and Dowell might be one of those guys.
43 Nate Hall - The Cowboys must have a thing for UDFA linebackers from Northwestern as Hall follows Queiro as the second one in a row. Similar to his teammate, his path to the NFL most likely will include the practice squad.
CORNERBACK
31 Byron Jones
24 Chidobe Awuzie
30 Anthony Brown
27 Jourdan Lewis
33 Mike Jackson
32 Donovan Olumba - At 6’2” the Portland State corner was one of Kris Richard’s projects from a year ago. He went undrafted and was signed to the practice squad. Just as he did last year, Olumba can generate a little buzz as he is super competitive and isn’t a stranger to making plays. Olumba has a real shot to crack the 53-man roster if the Cowboys go deep at DBs.
29 C.J. Goodwin - An undrafted free agent in 2014, Goodwin has made his way around the league as he’s played on several different teams. Most of the action he saw came in 2016-2017 with the Atlanta Falcons. He played in three games last year for the Cowboys, but only three of his 53 total snaps came on defense. His ability to play special teams give him an outside shot.
34 Treston DeCoud - This 2017 fifth-round draft pick of the Houston Texans comes from my Alma Mater (Oregon State), so it’s always nice to pull for a former Beaver. He only lasted one season in Houston where he played in 10 games. He was signed to the Cowboys practice squad last year. He got promoted to the active roster for one game against the Tennessee Titans where he logged just five snaps on special teams.
39 Chris Westry - The former Kentucky backup is the team’s tallest corner, standing at 6’4” with 33 3⁄4 inch arms. What’s even more impressive is this lanky corner has 4.31 speed, making him an interesting project for Kris Richard and company. There’s no doubt the team loves his size, but can they harness his skills and get him NFL ready enough to warrant a roster spot?
SAFETY
38 Jeff Heath
25 Xavier Woods
20 George Iloka
35 Kavon Frazier
37 Donovan Wilson - Being a sixth-round pick from this year, you’d have to figure he’s got a slight edge to make that roster as the team wants to give him every opportunity to show his value. Despite being more of a hard-hitting run stopping safety, he has shown good coverage ability and that’s the type of versatility the team loves. Keep an eye on number 37 as people could be jumping on the pet cat bandwagon real soon.
23 Darian Thompson - The Cowboys have had their eye on Thompson for a while as he was the 49th ranked player on their draft board in 2016. A former third-pick for the New York Giants, his tenure with New York was cut short after just two seasons. He was signed to the Arizona Cardinals practice squad last season, but then was poached by the Cowboys where he played in 10 games last year. He only saw one defensive snap as most of his action came on special teams.
28 Jameill Showers - Back in 2015, Showers was just an UDFA quarterback trying to find a spot on the depth chart. While things didn’t work out at QB, the team loved what he gave them on special teams and was eventually converted to safety. He’s been living on the practice squad these last few years, and many thought the his days in Dallas was over after he suffered a knee injury in camp last year. But he’s back again.
SPECIAL TEAMS
2 Brett Maher
6 Chris Jones
91 L.P. Ladouceur
1 Kasey Redfern - A 27-year old backup punter who only has one career game to his name. Normally, we’d suggest he’s just a camp leg to give Chris Jones a break, but many of us thought the same about Brett Maher last year, so who knows?
47 Drew Scott - While it’s going to be really hard to beat out veteran long-snapper L.P. Ladouceur for his job, the team always has to be on the look out for his eventual successor. At 38-years old, L.P. is the oldest player on the team, so it’s never too early to start grooming his replacement.