Jaishawn Barham was one of the most exciting developments early in the season, immediately establishing himself as the Cowboys' best downhill defender. Nobody on the roster sheds blocks between the tackles better than the third-round pick.
However, Barham's impact has been felt less and less in recent weeks. Even with DeMarvion Overshown missing time, he's taken a backseat to Dee Winters and Shemar James. He played just three snaps in Week 9 and logged only 16 snaps against the Cardinals. A notable downturn for a player who rarely came off the field in the first six games.
Barham's deficiencies as a full-time off-ball linebacker have really hurt the defense. So much so that he's spent more time with the outside linebackers at practice as Dallas prepares to host the 7-1 San Francisco 49ers this Sunday.
Talk about an unexpected development.
Barham looked like the Cowboys' best linebacker to start the year. Now, he's fourth on the depth chart and could spend more time rushing the passer this week. Life comes at you fast in the NFL.
Jaishawn Barham is too raw to play at linebacker
Just how much has Barham's playing time decreased? He played 60 total defensive snaps in Week 6 against the Packers. Over the last three weeks, he's totaled 40 snaps, per Pro Football Focus. That's a precipitous drop, and it's easy to understand Christian Parker's logic.
Unfortunately, there is more to playing linebacker in the NFL than defeating blocks and tackling ball-carriers between the tackles. Barham's lack of awareness in coverage has been a huge detriment at times.
You can probably recall more than 10 instances this season in which the Cowboys left the flat wide open. More often than not, Barham was the culprit.
While PFF's coverage metrics aren't perfect, they paint a telling picture of how much Barham has struggled in that area. He's allowed 17 of 21 targets to be completed for 196 yards and a 105.6 passer rating. The game is moving a little too fast for him right now, and that's OK.
Barham wasn't a full-time off-ball linebacker at Michigan, so there was always going to be a learning curve. He doesn't do well in space right now. That will get fixed, but Dallas can't afford to have him learning by trial and error right now. Those improvements will have to be made behind the scenes.
In the meantime, Parker is hopeful that Barham's pass-rushing background can inject some life into a defensive front that has struggled to generate consistent pressure beyond Quinnen Williams.
Barham is no stranger to rushing off the edge
Malachi Lawrence is out for a minimum of four weeks with an ankle injury, and Donovan Ezeiruaku has yet to practice this week with his own ankle injury. If he can't go, Rashan Gary, Von Miller, James Houston and Tyrus Wheat would make up the OLB rotation.
Barham split time between edge rusher and off-ball linebacker at Michigan, but he was primarily deployed as a pass rusher in 2025, logging 162 snaps on the edge, per PFF.
He finished the year with 27 pressures, three sacks and a 13.1 percent pass-rush win rate, while his nine quarterback hits ranked 28th in the country.
However, Barham didn't see much burn on the edge over the summer, which made sense given how natural he looked playing at the second level. His instincts against the run jumped off the tape, leaving many members of Cowboys Nation thinking the team finally found a menace at linebacker.
However, Barham didn't see much burn on the edge over the summer, which made sense given how natural he looked playing at the second level. His instincts against the run jumped off the tape, leaving many members of Cowboys Nation thinking the team had finally found a stud linebacker.
That may still be Barham's future. His development has simply hit a detour. There's no reason the Cowboys should abandon the idea of him becoming a full-time off-ball linebacker, but there's also no reason his rookie season should be reduced to a developmental year.
If moving Barham to the edge allows him to contribute while he continues to refine his game as a linebacker, it's a win-win for everyone involved.
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