3 Cowboys who are tumbling down the depth chart after recent moves

During the first wave of free agency, the Dallas Cowboys were once again one of the least active teams in the league. They remain one of the only teams that have yet to sign an outside free agent but they did at least somehow keep both Donovan Wilson and Leighton Vander Esch.

Of course, stating the fact that they’ve signed no one from the outside is very misleading because they have finally been active. Dallas hasn’t gotten into the bidding wars for available players but they made two huge trades as they landed Stephon Gilmore and Brandin Cooks.

The addition of these two stars will help the roster tremendously but isn’t great for these three players who are falling down the depth chart.

3 Cowboys who are tumbling down the depth chart after recent moves

3. Jalen Tolbert, WR

Since the 2022 NFL Trade Deadline was approaching, the Cowboys have been tied to Brandin Cooks. They were unable to come to terms on a deal last season and Cooks finished the year out with the Houston Texans.

Now in the offseason, the two sides started talking again and Cooks is now headed to Big D thanks to a very one-sided trade.

Not only did Dallas land Cooks in exchange for a mere fifth-round pick in 2023 and a sixth-rounder in 2024, but the Texans are paying a third of his salary this year.

There’s not a single thing to dislike about this deal for the Cowboys. Unless you’re Jalen Tolbert.

After being selected in the third round last year, Tolbert managed just two receptions all season. And before Sunday’s trade, he was moving up the chart as Noah Brown left in free agency. He could have also benefited from the departure of Dalton Schultz who received a huge amount of targets from Dak Prescott.

Now with Cooks on the roster, Tolbert is again fourth at best and could find himself battling a rookie or even a second-year player such as Dennis Houston for a chance to be active on game day.

2. Jabril Cox, LB

When it appeared Leighton Vander Esch was about to head out in free agency, it seemed as if it was about to open the door for Jabril Cox who is entering year three in the NFL. A former standout at North Dakota State, Cox had a great season in 2020 after transferring to LSU.

There were still some questions due to the competition he played against for most of his career but he was still considered a steal in Round 4 for Dallas.

Unfortunately, a torn ACL ended his rookie season and he was absent for much of the 2022 campaign as well with just six tackles in nine appearances.

To make things tougher on him, the Cowboys added a former teammate last year when they drafted Damone Clark out of LSU. Clark fell to day three due to a neck injury but was back sooner than expected and had 47 tackles as a rookie.

With Vander Esch back, Dallas will go with Clark, LVE, and Micah Parsons as their top linebackers. They also have high hopes for Devin Harper, who is expected to replace Luke Gifford on special teams. This is going to be a big season for Cox as he aims to make a mark but it won’t be easy as he keeps sliding down the depth chart.

1. Kelvin Joseph, CB

No one ever wants to see a player hurt but the truth is, injuries often open the door for young players to succeed. That’s how Dak Prescott was able to take the starting job as a rookie as he started in Week 1 when Tony Romo and Kellen Moore were injured — and he never lost the job from there.

For Kelvin Joseph, he had that chance when Anthony Brown joined Jourdan Lewis on the injured reserve. With both out, Joseph moved into a starting role but the second-year cornerback from Kentucky proved to be quite the disappointment.

He struggled mightily in coverage with his worst performance coming in a Week 15 loss to Jacksonville. In this one, the Jags came back from a 27-10 deficit to shock Dallas and Joseph was guilty of giving up two touchdowns in that second-half meltdown.

With Stephon Gilmore set to wear the star on his helmet, Joseph finds himself sliding down the depth chart. Throw in the fact that Jourdan Lewis is still under contract and healthy as well as the presence of DaRon Bland, who had five picks as a rookie, and things aren’t looking good for Joseph.

It’s not time for them to move on from him but this training camp is going to be huge for him as he tries to get his NFL career back on track.

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