Cowboys cut plethora of recent draft picks in 53-man roster prediction

Preseason games are going to give plenty of players a shot at cracking the Dallas Cowboys roster in 2024, but coaches are sifting through practice tape every single day and getting a feel for which guys are going to be on this team in September and which ones could be on the way out.

Only a short time into training camp, we're seeing a number of players stand out for the Dallas Cowboys on both sides of the ball and it appears as though this year's rookie class is slated to make a massive impact compared to what we saw from the disappointing 2023 class. With just a few weeks to make enough of an impression to earn a roster spot, what 53 players do we see the Cowboys after just a little over a week of training camp?

Cowboys 53-man roster prediction after week one of training camp

Quarterbacks: 2 (2/53)

• Dak Prescott
• Trey Lance

At some point, the Cowboys are going to have to dive head-first into whatever their plan is with Trey Lance. Whether we're talking about making him the longer-term backup to Dak Prescott or if the team actually views him as a viable future starting option, he is going to need as many reps as he can get throughout the year.

Cooper Rush could probably be a better asset elsewhere in the league as a No. 2 quarterback, and the time has come for the Cowboys to promote Lance once and for all.

Specialists: 3 (5/53)

• Brandon Aubrey, K
• Bryan Anger, P
• Trent Sieg, LS

Nothing to see here. The Cowboys will be keeping three specialists like pretty much every other team, and thankfully for them, all three of these positions are solidified with no question marks.

Running Backs: 4 (9/53)

• Ezekiel Elliott
• Rico Dowdle
• Royce Freeman
• Hunter Luepke (FB)

The Cowboys could very well keep just three traditional running backs on the roster if Deuce Vaughn doesn't have a good preseason, but it sounds like Royce Freeman has had a strong training camp as he pursues a potential 53-man roster spot. Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy noted recently that they not only like Freeman's all-around abilities as a running back, but they believe he can be a core special teams player as well.

Wide Receivers: 6 (15/53)

• CeeDee Lamb
• Brandin Cooks
• Jalen Tolbert
• KaVontae Turpin
• Tyron Billy-Johnson
• Jalen Brooks

Training camp has provided the opportunity for back-end roster players like Tyron Billy-Johnson and Jalen Brooks to stand out, but we haven't seen all that much of sixth-round rookie Ryan Flournoy. It wouldn't be unheard of, by any means, to see the Cowboys cut a 6th-round pick like that but we know that this team typically wants to keep all its drafted players around at whatever cost.

We'll see if the preseason changes anything at this position but all six of these guys could contribute in significant ways.

Tight End: 3 (18/53

• Jake Ferguson
• Luke Schoonmaker
• John Stevens Jr.

I think we'll see the Cowboys try to sneak a couple of tight ends on the practice squad right away here. They obviously like undrafted free agent rookie Brevyn Spann-Ford a lot, and it would be tough to subject him to waivers after the guarantees he received after signing, but a little seasoning on the practice squad won't hurt.

The big question here is whether or not the Cowboys would actually part ways with someone like Peyton Hendershot. Hendershot has contributed both offensively and on special teams the last two seasons but Stevens has more time under team control with his contract and was well-liked last year before a season-ending knee injury.

Offensive Line: 10 (27/53)

• Tyler Guyton
• Tyler Smith
• Zack Martin
• Terence Steele
• Brock Hoffman
• Cooper Beebe
• Chuma Edoga
• TJ Bass
• Asim Richards

The Cowboys have a lot of youth on the offensive line right now and quite a few of those guys are developmental players. Unfortunately, they may have to say goodbye to a couple of former draft picks who have simply not lived up to their pre-draft billing in 2021 fourth-round pick Josh Ball as well as 2022 fifth-round pick Matt Waletzko.

Preseason games could be huge for those guys but the draft pick cutting spree continues here with the Cowboys parting ways with a couple of guys who were once thought to have starter potential.

They might have to try to sneak seventh-round rookie Nathan Thomas onto the practice squad after some reshuffling on the defensive line.

Defensive line: 10 (37/53)

• Micah Parsons
• DeMarcus Lawrence
• Mazi Smith
• Osa Odighizuwa
• Marshawn Kneeland
• Chauncey Golston
• Carl Davis
• Viliami Fehoko
• Justin Rogers
• Al-Quadin Muhammad

What are the Cowboys going to do now with the loss of Sam Williams to a major knee injury? Are they really going to roll with veteran Al-Quadin Muhammad? Are they going to roll with a younger and less experienced group here? This is one of the tougher position groups to project right now because of the lack of certainty with so many of the guys. But that fact alone might cause the Cowboys to keep 10 players.

Linebacker: 6 (43/53)

• Eric Kendricks
• Damone Clark
• DeMarvion Overshown
• Marist Liufau
• Willie Harvey Jr.
• Damien Wilson

This is a really talented linebacker group for the Cowboys and if everyone stays healthy, defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is going to have a hard time keeping these guys off the field. Zimmer runs a base 4-3 defense so the Cowboys need both depth at this position as well as a couple of guys to play core roles on special teams.

Cornerback: 6 (49/53)

• Trevon Diggs
• DaRon Bland
• Jourdan Lewis
• Caelen Carson
• Eric Scott Jr.
• CJ Goodwin

There are a handful of young cornerbacks making cases for the Cowboys' 53-man roster, including undrafted rookie Josh DeBerry. This group would spell the end for 2021 third-round pick Nahshon Wright, but he would likely get scooped up by Dan Quinn and the Commanders almost immediately.

Safety: 4 (53/53)

• Malik Hooker
• Donovan Wilson
• Markquese Bell
• Juanyeh Thomas

Unfortunately, this would mean saying goodbye to 2021 sixth-round pick Israel Mukuamu for the Dallas Cowboys, who would almost certainly resurface with Dan Quinn and the Commanders just like Nahshon Wright in this roster projection. The roster life cycle for a lot of players could be coming to an end as the Cowboys have a number of other players who are both ready to contribute and have more team control on their contracts.

An offseason of massive change for the Cowboys could see even more notable names on the move in the coming weeks.

The latest Cowboys news and analysis