Cowboys 2026 draft class<\/a> in an attempt to guess what their snap count will be by the time the season is over. <\/p>\nI decided to leave undrafted free agents out of the exercise because they\u2019re unlikely to make the roster anyways. Let\u2019s dive in. <\/p>\n
S Caleb Downs<\/p>\n
I have no doubt in my mind Caleb Downs will be one of the Cowboys with the highest snap counts on the team. However, I do wonder what it looks like early in the season. Downs is expected to start out at nickel before the Cowboys move him around. At least that\u2019s what we\u2019ve heard from the coaching staff. <\/p>\n
The time will come when even when the Cowboys are playing base defense (without a nickel), Downs remains on the field. But I wonder if that\u2019s the case early on, too. <\/p>\n
Final snap count: 85%<\/p>\n
EDGE Malachi Lawrence<\/p>\n
This is a tricky one. Yes, Lawrence is a first round pick but I don\u2019t believe he\u2019ll beat Rashan Gary and Donovan Ezeiruaku for a starting job right away, if at all in Year 1. While Lawrence fleshes out his run defense, my gut feeling is the Cowboys will use him as more of a pass rusher in obvious passing downs. <\/p>\n
Even still, I\u2019m a big fan of Lawrence and I\u2019m betting on him carving out a consistent role. Plus, I expect plenty of rotation from the defense under new defensive coordinator Christian Parker. <\/p>\n
Final snap count: 40%<\/p>\n
LB Jaishawn Barham<\/p>\n
This is where it really gets complicated. Barham is built to carve out a unique role in Parker\u2019s defense thanks to his versatility to play off-ball linebacker and edge rusher. Many have speculated he could play a role similar to Zach Baun\u2019s in Philadelphia, where the latter walked down to the line of scrimmage to create a 5-man or 6-man front. <\/p>\n
As of right now, I see Barham as a backup with a specific role in certain situations. But there\u2019s enough upside for him to have a much higher snap count than my projection below. <\/p>\n
Final snap count: 25%<\/p>\n
OT Drew Shelton<\/p>\n
With a strong training camp, Shelton could insert himself in the competition for the swing tackle spot. During the offseason program, he got second-team snaps at right tackle alongside Nate Thomas, who is competing for the starting left tackle job with Tyler Guyton. <\/p>\n
Shelton\u2019s athleticism make him an intriguing project for the Cowboys, but one that will probably take a long time. <\/p>\n
Final snap count: 5%<\/p>\n
CB Devin Moore<\/p>\n
Moore is the biggest \u201cboom-or-bust\u201d player from the Cowboys\u2019 draft class. He can play both man and zone and is a strong run defender. However, he faces an uphill battle to get on the field a lot with the likes of DaRon Bland, Shavon Revel Jr., and Cobie Durant in front of him. <\/p>\n
If he\u2019s able to stay healthy, which he wasn\u2019t in Florida, Moore could find his way into the field as one of the top backups. <\/p>\n
Final snap count: 20%<\/p>\n
EDGE LT Overton<\/p>\n
I think Overton\u2019s snap count may surprise Cowboys Nation a little bit. Though he was drafted as an edge rusher, the coaching staff has made it clear they view him as a versatile defender who can also play inside. That\u2019s where his secret may be. <\/p>\n
Behind Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams, the door is wide open to compete for reps. Overton could earn some at three-technique as long as he develops a deeper pass rush repertoire. <\/p>\n
Final snap count: 35%<\/p>\n
WR Anthony Smith<\/p>\n
As a seventh-round pick, Smith will have to earn his spot on the Cowboys 53-man roster before he thinks about having a high snap-count. If he does make the team, I expect the majority of his contributions to come from special teams. On offense, it will be tough to get on the field with George Pickens, CeeDee Lamb, and Ryan Flournoy leading the charge. <\/p>\n
Final snap count: 1%<\/p>\n
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Dallas Cowboys News<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tLatest practice footage shows how Cowboys CB Shavon Revel Jr. can flip position group from question mark to true strength\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\nThe Dallas Cowboys defense should be improved, but a cornerback room with no proven answers is a serious concern. Based on what we\u2019re seeing from Shavon Revel Jr., though, hope exists for him to be the hero. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Watching the Dallas Cowboys rookie class will be one of the most fun aspects of training camp when…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":942890,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2066],"tags":[613,230,229,257,2461,108988,45126,7,18656,7725,34104,6],"class_list":["post-942889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas-cowboys","tag-caleb-downs","tag-cowboys","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-dallascowboys","tag-devin-moore","tag-drew-shelton","tag-football","tag-jaishawn-barham","tag-lt-overton","tag-malachi-lawrence","tag-nfl"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116902842102824548","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942889","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=942889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/942890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=942889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=942889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=942889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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