Cowboys' trade with Vikings already looks genius after one preseason game

The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday in a game that was every bit a preseason fixture. It wasn't pretty, but Trey Lance was better and the Cowboys' 2024 draft class showed out, including Tyler Guyton, Marshawn Kneeland, Cooper Beebe and Marist Liufau.

As far as other standouts, undrafted safety Julius Wood is going to make it very difficult for the coaching staff to keep him off the roster. Running back Deuce Vaughn returned from a hamstring injury and made a number of plays.

In a game that oozed pleasant surprises from Dallas' perspective, cornerback Andrew Booth might have been the biggest. Acquired last week from the Vikings in a trade that sent Cowboys 2021 third-round pick Nahshon Wright to Minnesota, Booth played sparingly against the Rams.

After a week of practice, Booth saw plenty of action Saturday night and he made a strong first impression on Mike Zimmer.

Cowboys' trade for CB Andrew Booth already looks like a smart move

The game didn't start off well for Booth. He got beat deep for a long reception early in the first quarter. He almost closed the gap in time to break up the pass, but his diving effort was just out of reach. Giving up a 48-yard catch is not how Booth wanted to start his Cowboys tenure, but he did not hang his head.

In fact, Booth was arguably Dallas' biggest standout on the defensive side of the ball. The 2022 second-round pick led the team with eight tackles. That is as many tackles he produced in 17 games last season with the Vikings. He also broke up a couple passes in coverage.

Tackling in open space is a must in Zimmer's defense and Booth did that in spades. What's so surprising about that is that tackling was one of the biggest knocks on Booth coming out of Clemson, when he was regarded as a first-round prospect. That translated to the NFL, which would explain why he never caught on with the Vikings.

However, that was more about form than a willingness to tackle, so perhaps Zimmer has already dug his teeth into the former Tiger.

The importance of open-field tackling cannot be understated. In Week 1, Eric Scott Jr. missed a tackle on a slant route and it resulted in an explosive play for the Rams. Giving up catches underneath is going to happen. Preventing a big gain is just as (if not more) important than breaking up a pass.

If Booth continues to tackle well he'll waltz onto the 53-man roster as Jourdan Lewis' top backup in the slot and an an already-deep Cowboys secondary will get even richer.

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