Poll: Which Cowboys rookie has the path of least resistance towards starting?

The Dallas Cowboys spent an enormous amount of their draft capital, just about all of it really, on the defensive side of the ball. Given that they had one of the worst defenses in the NFL last year that reaction certainly makes sense.

The Cowboys spent their first six picks on defense, a first in franchise history. They are expecting big-time contributions from the likes of Micah Parsons, Kelvin Joseph, and Jabril Cox this season with some hopefully nice moments from Osa Odighizuwa, Nahshon Wright, Quinton Bohanna, and others along the way.

Which Cowboys rookie, speaking more defensively here, has the path of least resistance towards being a starter? This is an idea we talked about in the latest video on the Blogging The Boys YouTube Channel. Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel (which you can do right here) so you see everything we are doing. We have been, and plan to continue being very busy.

In talking about the Cowboys rookie class there are obviously a handful of picks that have more obvious paths to being starters. Simply being a starter is hardly an achievement worth celebrating, but we do want to see these players get opportunities and do so as soon as possible generally speaking.

Also on the subject of starting, the best rookie on the team might not necessarily get the first crack at starting. So much of earning a top role involves depth, or a lack of it, at the position that the player players.

So all of that being said, which Cowboys rookie will become a starter first?

Micah Parsons

This feels like the lowest hanging fruit as he is the team’s first-round draft choice, but it is clear and obvious that the Cowboys are going to give Micah Parsons a ton of opportunities early on.

Something touched on in the video above is that Parsons has already made a sizable impact in that his presence alone seemingly gave the Cowboys the freedom to decline Leighton Vander Esch’s fifth-year option. Reading the tea leaves, they didn’t do that just to keep Parsons on ice.

We have heard Parsons say that he believes he will be starting at MIKE and will be doing his best to get after the quarterback on third down. The opportunities are going to be there, mostly because they have to be.

Kelvin Joseph

For the second year in a row the Cowboys spent a second-round pick on a cornerback. Trevon Diggs managed to find his way to the field rather quickly last year, some of that was due to other players being out, and it stands to reason that Joseph could, too.

Speaking in a grand sort of way, what cornerbacks on the roster do you really trust more than Joseph right now on paper? There is the aforementioned Diggs, but are you really standing on a table to argue in the name of Anthony Brown or Jourdan Lewis ahead of the rookie?

Honestly Joseph might be starting sooner than anybody else if not for the position he plays. The depth isn’t exactly promising, but it is such a tough learning curve in the NFL.

Jabril Cox

A similar argument can be made for Jabril Cox that is made for Micah Parsons. It is understandably more difficult to see the Cowboys immediately going to him over Jaylon Smith or Leighton Vander Esch, but that time is going to come.

Cox is a bit more of a wildcard in the sense of this particular conversation and his time might not truly come until 2022 when Dallas has moved on from at least one of (or maybe both) of Smith and Vander Esch. Still though he has a high opportunity to see serious playing time in 2021.