The NFL is an ever-evolving game. However, one thing that is consistent is that teams that want to win the Super Bowl better have young talent. The Seahawks and the Patriots, the two teams in the Super Bowl last year, were loaded with young stars, including Drake Maye, Devon Witherspoon, Nick Emmanwori, Christian Gonzalez, etc. Having dynamic players on rookie deals is a must in today’s NFL.
It wasn’t that long ago that the Cowboys were loaded with young, elite talent. Take the 2023 Cowboys, for example. On that squad, CeeDee Lamb (24), Tyler Smith (22), Micah Parsons (24), and Daron Bland (24) were all All-Pro selections and were among the best players at their respective positions. And yet, none of them were even 25 years old.
While all those players are still in their primes (with Parsons obviously now in Green Bay), they are all on second contracts and are no longer cheap. But after several years of fantastic draft classes, do the Cowboys suddenly have a void of young stars on their roster compared to the rest of the NFL?
Cowboys ranked near bottom of the NFL in young talent
In a recent article by ESPN's Aaron Schatz, he wrote about every team’s young players (under the age of 25) and ranked them from 1-32 going into the 2026 season. This is an annual column for Schatz, as he had the Cowboys at No. 17 last season. But with Tyler Smith and CeeDee Lamb aging out of this list, Dallas has now fallen down to No. 24.
Here is a snippet of what Barnwell had to say about the young corps for the Cowboys entering the 2026 season:
“Most of Dallas' offensive line graduated from our list this year, but right guard Booker is still only 22 years old, as is fourth-round offensive tackle Drew Shelton. The rest of the young talent is mostly on defense. On the edge, Donovan Ezeiruaku is 22, and Malachi Lawrence is 23; but their birthdays are only two months apart (Sept. 25 for Ezeiruaku, July 21 for Lawrence). First-rounder Downs is 21. Linebacker Shemar James, who started six games last season, is 22.”
Barnwell pointed out that Tyler Booker and Caleb Downs are both “blue chip” players whom the Cowboys can build around, but the positional value of a guard and a safety doesn’t stack up as well to a team like the Patriots with their young players at quarterback, left tackle, and cornerback.
The good news for Dallas is that they still have a lot of talent on their roster, but they don’t quite fit into the under-25 criteria for Barnwell. CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Tyler Smith, and Quinnen Williams are all in their 20s and are among the best players at their respective positions. For that reason, there is no big reason to panic.
However, it does outline an issue that could arise soon for Dallas. Because the 2023 and 2024 draft classes yielded limited success, it has really hurt the Cowboys in terms of their young talent. Mazi Smith and Tyler Guyton should be ascending stars, but that just isn’t the case, especially for Smith, who is on his second team.
The Cowboys are hopeful that the 2025 and 2026 draft classes can usher in a new wave of talent, and we already saw that to a degree with Tyler Booker and Donovan Ezeiruaku last season. If they can hit on Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence, this could be one of the strongest young corps in the league and could easily shoot up Barnwell’s rankings at this time next season.
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