The NFL preseason officially began this week with the Hall of Fame Game between the Lions and the Chargers.
For the Dallas Cowboys, their evaluation period begins on Aug. 9th with their first preseason game against the Rams in Los Angeles. With this being the first preseason fixture coached by Brian Schottenheimer, many are wondering how he will handle these games.
Mike McCarthy was known for not playing any starters outside of first-round rookies. While players like Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb might not need these reps, there are several new projected starters on this team who do. These players need a decent amount to get ready for the real deal in September.
4 Cowboys starters who need the most playing time in the preseason
1. RG Tyler Booker
This is an obvious one. Booker is the second offensive lineman in a row taken in the first round by the Cowboys. With the offensive line now fully in a youth movement, the Alabama product has a tall task in front of him of replacing future Hall of Famer Zack Martin.
Booker has been running some with the starters in camp and lately showed some good pass blocking during the team's first padded practice. The rookie described his first training camp as doing "algebra in a fist fight". So far Booker looks like he is becoming a solid student.
With fellow guard Rob Jones suffering a neck injury, the pressure is now fully on Booker to get ready to start Week 1. Jones had been running as the starter at right guard in the early part of camp. Now all those snaps are going to go to Booker.
The assumption is Booker will play in all three preseason games. Like the team did with Tyler Guyton last year, the best way to get your first round pick offensive lineman ready is to have him play as much as possible in a real game environment. Even if Booker is protecting Joe Milton, those are meaningful snaps.
2. RB Javonte Williams
Much to the disappointment of some fans, the Cowboys are once again going running back by committee in 2025. The cast they brought in this year however looks better on paper than what they had last year. Right now the man at the top of the depth chart is former Bronco Javonte Williams.
Through the first week of camp he has had a few moments. There was one catch and move he put on Marist Liufau in the open field that showed his ability to be a key part of the pass game. Based on the limitations this group had last season, the running back situation is already looking better heading into 2025.
The two running backs who started for Dallas last season in Rico Dowdle and Ezekiel Elliott barely saw the field in the preseason last year. This year Schottenheimer would be wise to let Williams play at least a few series in the first two preseason games. Last year Dallas started the season with virtually no running game which led to no offensive balance when Dak Prescott was healthy.
Miles Sanders is also competing with Williams for the starting job so there is a possibility both of these backs will see at least a decent amount of playing time in the preseason. Ideally, Schottenheimer should use all three of these games at least in maybe the first quarters to name his opening day starter. With a new team and system, meaningful snaps in the preseason could be nothing but beneficial to Williams.
3. CB Kaiir Elam
The Cowboys are entering this season with key players carrying over injuries from last season. The biggest is Trevon Diggs, who is still recovering from a knee injury he suffered last season. With the loss of Jourdan Lewis also, Dallas traded for Kaiir Elam from the Bills to bolster their secondary.
Elam is coming to the Cowboys looking for a fresh start after some felt he was a first round draft bust in Buffalo. The son of former Cowboy Abram Elam has already been making some plays in the first week of camp. His biggest moment came when he picked off Prescott then celebrated by grabbing a young fan.
While the moment helped Elam make headlines, the corner has some work in front of him. With Diggs potentially out to start the year, Elam is projected to start opposite of DaRon Bland. With the struggles this secondary had last year when injuries happened, the hope is that Elam can be that reliable CB2 for the first several weeks of the season.
Elam should see action in at least the first two preseason games whether Bland plays or not. The more ready he can be for week one the better. For a corner new to the team lining up againt A.J. Brown and/or DeVonta Smith on opening night, Elam will need playing time this preseason.
4. LB Kenneth Murray
With Eric Kendricks not returning, Dallas needs to find a true starter at middle linebacker. They went and got two this offseason in Kenneth Murray and Jack Sanborn. Both are competing for the starting job with Murray entering camp as the favorite.
Despite Sanborn being a Matt Eberflus protégé, Murray has 67 career starts to his name as opposed to 19 for Sanborn. With DeMarvion Overshown still recovering from another inuury, the opportunity is there for Murray to fully seize the job.
Murray spoke highly of his new defensive coordinator early in camp when he met with the media. He seems to have a great attitude about being the man with the green dot on his helmet this season. He has missed practice welcoming a new child to his family, but Murray looks to still be the favorite to be the starter at middle linebacker.
For a player the Cowboys could look to as the "quarterback of the defense", giving Murray at least a few series in the preseason would be a good idea. Even if Murray is mostly commanding backups around him but he shows elements of leadership as early as the preseason, fans should feel more confident about him heading into the regular season.