The Dallas Cowboys made a total of nine picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. While the early reviews are positive, it would be silly to expect all nine players to make the roster.
Dallas is the epitome of a draft-and-develop team, but keeping every pick would mean over 16 percent of the roster is made up of rookies. And that doesn't account for one or two undrafted free agents potentially making the team.
Unfortunately, the odd man out this year might be seventh-round defensive tackle Tommy Akingbesote. The Maryland product did not make the cut in Jon Machota's Cowboys 53-man roster projection for The Athletic (subscription required).
Machota has the Cowboys keeping 10 defensive linemen: six defensive ends and four interior defenders. The four DTs are Osa Odighizuwa, Solomon Thomas, Mazi Smith and rookie Jay Toia, who saw a lot of burn with the first-team defense in offseason workouts.
Cowboys rookie Tommy Akingbesote might already be on the chopping block
"Ten seems like a good number, going with six edge rushers and four tackles," Machota wrote. "The first five edge rushers are locked in if all stay healthy. Payton Turner would probably be the odd man out if the Cowboys went with only nine here. There’s not much debate with the tackles. As much as many on the outside would like to see Dallas do more at the position, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see these four tackles open the season."
The irony in this is that defensive tackle is arguably the weakest position on the roster. Cornerback probably takes the cake due to injuries, but there are serious questions behind Odighizuwa, who handled a preposterous workload last season.
Let's not forget the Cowboys cut 2024 seventh-round pick Justin Rogers (also a DT) before he ever played a snap. They also sent 2023 draft picks Viliami Fehoko (DT) and Eric Scott Jr. (CB) packing last summer before their second seasons with the team.
None of this means that Akingbesote is a lock to get cut.
The Cowboys could certainly cut Turner, as Machota floated. A former first-round pick of the Saints, Turner has struggled with injuries early in his career and has 5.0 sacks in four seasons. He only got $1.4 million guaranteed, so Dallas could move on without breaking a sweat.
However, defensive end is a premium position and Akingbesote simply isn't ready yet. He has the traits and potential, but can the Cowboys afford to carry dead weight, for lack of a better term, on the 53? Probably not.
Maybe Akingbesote shocks the world and shines in training camp, but he feels like someone that would benefit from spending a year on the practice squad.