The preseason is a chance for everyone to prove themselves on a 90-man roster, including former first-round picks who may be on the roster bubble. The Dallas Cowboys have taken some calculated risks on former high draft picks in the past, but they brought in a very intriguing potential piece of their defensive front in the 2025 offseason in former Saints first-round pick Payton Turner.
Turner has not been able to stand out in the 2025 preseason for the team thus far, and is getting outplayed by another reclamation project of sorts, though not nearly as high-profile a player.
James Houston had eight sacks as a rookie with the Detroit Lions back in 2022, playing in just seven games and racking up 11 QB hits in the process.
James Houston pushing former first-round pick off Cowboys roster
The Cowboys need some dart throws on the defensive front to hit for them this offseason. That's why they took as many shots at the board as they did in the first place. And someone like James Houston, who is still just 26 years old, has a chance to actually be something even beyond this year for the team.
Against the Baltimore Ravens, Houston had a pair of quarterback hits, and he's doing enough so far in this preseason that it might be time to have a conversation about Payton Turner and whether or not the former Houston star and first-round pick of the Saints is going to be long for this Dallas roster.
Both of these guys have vastly different body types at the EDGE position, but both need to provide consistent push in the pass rush department. Turner played a career-best 16 games just last season, but the issue (and a consistent one) with both of these guys as pros has been the inability to stay healthy.
Last season was the first time in his career that Turner has played double-digit games in four years. The same was true of Houston, who played in 11 games for two different teams last season.
For the Cowboys, it's all about depth and being able to bring waves of pass rush off the edge. And frankly, draft status means nothing in Turner's case. That was an inexpensive dart throw taken by the Cowboys in the offseason and a worthwhile risk to take overall. You take shots on talented pass rushers, especially if you liked them in the pre-draft process.
But there's nothing wrong with allowing a guy like Houston, who comes in and makes a consistent impression as a pass rusher, to win a competition over someone with better prior draft status.