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3 dueling Cowboys roster projections highlight contested roster spots
Who is the most shocking name you would carry on a 53-man roster right now?
Over the last seven months, the Cowboys have been slowly building their depth chart for the 2026 season. Draft versions of that depth chart informed the Cowboys’ actions in free agency, helped drive decisions during the draft, and were used to drive further roster additions since the draft.
More recently, that interim depth chart has been updated with notes and observations from rookie minicamp, OTAs, and mandatory minicamp, and will continue to be refined over the course of training camp until the ‘final’ 53-man roster is revealed ahead of the season opener.
We’re going to do a similar exercise today and take a look at what-it-does/” title=”Ubersuggest Is Now Inside ChatGPT. Here's What It Does”>what the Cowboys’ final 53-man roster could look like based on what (little) we’ve seen so far prior to training camp and preseason games. To do that, we’re going to look at three separate projections. One from Jon Machota of The Athleticwho jumped the gun with his projection in mid May, one from Joe Hoyt from of the Dallas Morning News from this week, and a third one from Todd Archer of ESPN, also published this week. These three projections should give us a good idea of where public sentiment currently stands regarding the 2026 Cowboys roster.
I’ve combined all three projections in the table below. The table highlights (in yellow) the spots that do not yet appear to be locked down.
| Hoyt DMN | Archer ESPN | Machota Athletic | |
| Quarterbacks | Dak Prescott | Dak Prescott | Dak Prescott |
| Sam Howell | Sam Howell | ||
| Joe Milton | Joe Milton | ||
| Running Backs | Javonte Williams | Javonte Williams | Javonte Williams |
| Hunter Luepke | Hunter Luepke | Hunter Luepke | |
| Jaydon Blue | Jaydon Blue | Jaydon Blue | |
| Phil Mafah | Phil Mafah | ||
| Malik Davis | |||
| Wide Receivers | CeeDee Lamb | CeeDee Lamb | CeeDee Lamb |
| George Pickens | George Pickens | George Pickens | |
| Ryan Flournoy | Ryan Flournoy | Ryan Flournoy | |
| KaVontae Turpin | KaVontae Turpin | KaVontae Turpin | |
| Traeshon Holden | Anthony Smith | Jonathan Mingo | |
| Marquez Valdes-Scantling | |||
| Tight Ends | Jake Ferguson | Jake Ferguson | Jake Ferguson |
| Brevyn Spann-Ford | Brevyn Spann-Ford | Brevyn Spann-Ford | |
| Luke Schoonmaker | Luke Schoonmaker | Luke Schoonmaker | |
| Michael Trigg | |||
| Offensive Line | Tyler Guyton | Tyler Guyton | Tyler Guyton |
| Tyler Smith | Tyler Smith | Tyler Smith | |
| Cooper Beebe | Cooper Beebe | Cooper Beebe | |
| Tyler Booker | Tyler Booker | Tyler Booker | |
| Terence Steele | Terence Steele | Terence Steele | |
| TJ Bass | TJ Bass | TJ Bass | |
| Nate Thomas | Nate Thomas | Nate Thomas | |
| Drew Shelton | Drew Shelton | Drew Shelton | |
| Trevor Keegan | Trevor Keegan | Trevor Keegan | |
| Ajani Cornelius |
No real surprises on offense, the question marks are pretty much about depth.
- Do the Cowboys keep one or two backup quarterbacks? Sam Howell has the experience, Joe Milton has the athletic upside. The preseason games could well sort out this roster battle.
- Who exactly is competing for the backup RB spots? Jaydon Blue makes all three projections, but it may come down to him, Phil Mafah, or Malik Davis.
- The top four wide receivers seem to be set, anything beyond that is pure guesswork right now.
- Three or four tight ends? Michael Trigg got some early hype, can he deliver in camp?
Maybe there are more contested spots on defense?
| Hoyt DMN | Archer ESPN | Machota Athletic | |
| Edge rushers | Rashan Gary | Rashan Gary | Rashan Gary |
| Donovan Ezeiruaku | Donovan Ezeiruaku | Donovan Ezeiruaku | |
| Malachi Lawrence | Malachi Lawrence | Malachi Lawrence | |
| Sam Williams | Sam Williams | Sam Williams | |
| James Houston | Marist Liufau | James Houston | |
| Tyrus Wheat | Tyrus Wheat | ||
| Defensive Tackles | Quinnen Williams | Quinnen Williams | Quinnen Williams |
| Kenny Clark | Kenny Clark | Kenny Clark | |
| Jonathan Bullard | Jonathan Bullard | Jonathan Bullard | |
| LT Overton | LT Overton | LT Overton | |
| Otito Ogbonnia | Otito Ogbonnia | Otito Ogbonnia | |
| Linebackers | DeMarvion Overshown | DeMarvion Overshown | DeMarvion Overshown |
| Dee Winters | Dee Winters | Dee Winters | |
| Jaishawn Barham | Jaishawn Barham | Jaishawn Barham | |
| Shemar James | Shemar James | Shemar James | |
| Curtis Robinson | Curtis Robinson | Justin Barron | |
| Cornerbacks | Daron Bland | Daron Bland | Daron Bland |
| Shavon Revel | Shavon Revel | Shavon Revel | |
| Cobie Durant | Cobie Durant | Cobie Durant | |
| Devin Moore | Devin Moore | Devin Moore | |
| Derion Kendrick | Derion Kendrick | Derion Kendrick | |
| Caelon Carson | Caelon Carson | Trikweze Bridges | |
| Safeties | Caleb Downs | Caleb Downs | Caleb Downs |
| Jalen Thompson | Jalen Thompson | Jalen Thompson | |
| Malik Hooker | Malik Hooker | Malik Hooker | |
| PJ Locke | PJ Locke | PJ Locke | |
| Specialists | Brandon Aubrey (K) | Brandon Aubrey (K) | Brandon Aubrey (K) |
| Bran Anger (P) | Bran Anger (P) | Bran Anger (P) | |
| Trent Sieg (LS) | Trent Sieg (LS) | Trent Sieg (LS) |
Looks like there’s even less competition on defense for roster spots.
- Some competition for the fifth and potentially sixth edge rusher spot.
- Can Justin Barron beat out free agent acquisition Curtis Robinson at linebacker?
- Caelon Carson and Trikweze Bridges look to be competing for the last cornerback spot.
As far as projections go, these three have probably summarized the general sentiment about the roster pretty well at this point of the offseason.
Suspensions (knock on wood), trades, injuries (knock on wood three times), and other things of that nature (knock on wood vigorously) tend to disrupt these projections. But that’s also where depth guys then get to step up and seize their opportunity.
What’s your take on the three projections above, and where do you think they got it wrong?
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