With injuries piling up at DE, Cowboys rookie Chauncey Golston could make his NFL debut vs. Eagles

The injury bug is hitting the Cowboys hard heading into week three against the Eagles. DeMarcus Lawrence will miss significant time with a broken foot, Dorance Armstrong will miss the next month or so with a high ankle sprain, Neville Gallimore is still on the IR-return list, Donovan Wilson is still not practicing with a groin injury, Carlos Watkins will miss Monday Night Football and possibly more with a knee injury, and Randy Gregory is working back from missing week two dealing with COVID.

With all these injuries piling up on the defensive side of the ball, rookie third-round pick Chauncey Golston could be making his NFL debut on Monday Night Football against the division rival, Philadelphia Eagles.

Golston, a 2021 third-round pick out of Iowa, was an intriguing prospect to study. He never flashed elite traits or pass rush ability, but he was as consistent as it gets across the board. After the Cowboys drafted him on day two of the NFL draft, many penciled Golston in to the Tyrone Crawford role in Dallas, and that’s exactly where he’ll likely show up for the Cowboys early in his career. With Lawrence out for the foreseeable future, Golston has the ideal traits to play an important role as a strong-side defensive end, but also has the strength and versatility to offer some juice as a pass rusher from the interior on passing downs.

Golston was one of the better run-defending defensive ends in the 2021 NFL Draft, and that’s likely where he’ll make the biggest impact early in his career. With Armstrong out, and Gregory working back from COVID, there’s a really good chance we’ll get to know Golston quite well in week three, His play will be needed against a zone-read heavy offense, with a good running game both from their quarterback Jalen Hurts, and running backs Miles Sanders and Kenneth Gainwell.