{"id":869502,"date":"2026-04-18T23:21:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T23:21:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/869502\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T23:21:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T23:21:34","slug":"starting-jobs-on-the-line-5-dallas-cowboys-players-with-the-most-at-stake-in-the-2026-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/869502\/","title":{"rendered":"Starting jobs on the line? 5 Dallas Cowboys players with the most at stake in the 2026 NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most of the coverage around the Dallas Cowboys\u2019 upcoming draft is all about the prospects they may pick and those they likely won\u2019t. But what about the players already on the roster? <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Sep
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSep 28, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys linebacker Shemar James (50) lines up during the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers at AT&T Stadium.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Most of the NFL Draft coverage is all about which players your team may pick, when they could pick them, and who to stay away from. <\/p>\n

Today, we\u2019re flipping that on its head. Instead, we\u2019re looking at five players already on the Dallas Cowboys roster whose stock could go up or down depending on who the team picks next week<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with a 2025 third-round pick, shall we? <\/p>\n

1. CB Shavon Revel Jr.<\/p>\n

Revel tops the list for a very clear reason: if the Cowboys land a starting outside cornerback in the draft, he\u2019s likely riding the bench. So far, we know Dallas wants to play DaRon Bland outside<\/a>. And their biggest free agent signing at cornerback, Cobie Durant, has started outside the last two years. <\/p>\n

Adding more to the mix would push Revel Jr. down the depth chart. He\u2019s got the kind of upside that could make him a starter no matter what, but the room is about to get more crowded. <\/p>\n

2. LB Shemar James<\/p>\n

A second-year linebacker and former fifth-round pick, James\u2019 best shot at competing for a starting spot is the Cowboys missing out on this year\u2019s top prospects at the position. If Dallas brings in a free agent veteran, James has a shot at stealing the job at middle linebacker provided he\u2019s able to slow the game down, which he struggled with as a rookie. <\/p>\n

But if Dallas trades up and adds Sonny Styles<\/a>? James will have a tough time getting reps over him and DeMarvion Overshown. The same may apply for other second-round targets such as Texas Tech\u2019s Jacob Rodriguez. <\/p>\n

3. EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku<\/p>\n

If the Cowboys had to play a game today, Ezeiruaku and Rashan Gary would start as the defense\u2019s edge rushers. But what if Dallas picks David Bailey (Texas Tech), Arvell Reese (Ohio State) or Rueben Bain Jr. (Miami)?<\/p>\n

I still doubt Ezeiruaku would be out of snaps, but his count would almost surely be diluted. Gary is a veteran, but Ezeiruaku is a long-term project. And yet, I\u2019d argue a better edge room around him will benefit him more than hurt him. <\/p>\n

4. CB DaRon Bland<\/p>\n

Bland is this low on the list only because he\u2019s likely going to start no matter what. But if the Cowboys draft an outside corner such as LSU\u2019s Mansoor Delane or Tennessee\u2019s Colton Hood, expect Bland to potentially play nickel. <\/p>\n

We know that\u2019s not what he prefers. Neither do the Cowboys. If Dallas instead picks someone such as Clemson\u2019s Avieon Terrell or Indiana\u2019s D\u2019Angelo Ponds, he could be one of the biggest winners of the class. <\/p>\n

5. S Malik Hooker<\/p>\n

New Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker got a couple of \u201chis guys\u201d at safety with the signings of Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke in free agency. Hooker is a projected starter for now, but how could a first-round pick at safety change that? <\/p>\n

Be it Caleb Downs or someone like Emmanuel McNeil-Warren or Dillon Thieneman, it would raise question marks around Hooker\u2019s role. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Jan\t\t<\/p>\n

Dallas Cowboys News<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tRecent Dallas Cowboys trade up rumors would help explain big mystery from their pre-draft strategy\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The Dallas Cowboys are expected by many, including insiders, to move up in the 2026 NFL Draft. If they do, it would help explain their strategy involving pre-draft visits. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Most of the coverage around the Dallas Cowboys\u2019 upcoming draft is all about the prospects they may pick…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":869503,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2066],"tags":[230,229,257,2461,3430,285,7,18995,6,840,2008],"class_list":{"0":"post-869502","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-cowboys","8":"tag-cowboys","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-cowboys","11":"tag-dallascowboys","12":"tag-daron-bland","13":"tag-donovan-ezeiruaku","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-malik-hooker","16":"tag-nfl","17":"tag-shavon-revel-jr","18":"tag-shemar-james"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116428282362329448","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=869502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/869503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=869502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=869502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=869502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}