Cowboys new special teams ace? $259k guaranteed may have bought a gem – Reid Hanson, Cowboys Wire
It’s not a flashy move, but it’s a smart move.
At one moment in time, Alijah Clark represented all that was right with the NFL last season. The Dallas Cowboys undrafted free agent success story gained national fame for his viral special teams play. The Cowboys made a ton of weird personnel decisions in 2025, but paying top UDFA money for the Syracuse star, $259,000 in guarantees ranked Top 15 in the league, seems like they landed the right one.
Serving as a gunner on the punt team, he made a game-changing
play by forcing a fumble after overcoming blocks, chips and upwards of four stumbles on his tumultuous trip downfield.
Clark’s try-hard attitude and never-quit effort endeared him across the Cowboys fanbase, making him an instant fan favorite and “pet cat” to watch for as training camp opens in 2026.
Standing in Clark’s way will be the annual numbers crunch in the defensive secondary. Christian Parker, Dallas’ new defensive coordinator, is a coverage aficionado. He’s going to be extremely demanding in his selections and will be hard-pressed to give up a valuable roster spot to someone who might be nothing more than a special teams celebrity.
Cowboys Ryan Flournoy Trade Proposal Makes No Sense for Dallas – Randy Gurzi, Sports Illustrated
Dallas needs all the weapons they can get.
He proved himself to be a viable WR3 option and was even an effective WR2 across from George Pickens when CeeDee Lamb missed time with a high ankle sprain. He’s a key member of the Dallas receiving corps, which is why a recent trade proposal from FanSided’s Jake Beckman makes no sense for the Cowboys.
Ryan Flournoy trade proposal is a head-scratcher for Cowboys
Beckman selected one player every NFL team should trade for and said that while the New York Jets shouldn’t be in a hurry to make trades, that they could improve their roster by adding Flournoy.
“However, if they did have to make a trade, they should try to get a wide receiver who’s got some blocking chops, like Ryan Flournoy, the six-foot-one-inch, 200-pounder in Dallas,” Beckman wrote. “He’s not going to break the bank or anything like that, but he’ll add something the Jets could use.”
Beckman is right that Flournoy would give the Jets’ offense a boost, but it would put the Cowboys in a bind. Not only would it leave them incredibly thin behind Lamb and Pickens, but it could cause them some serious issues in 2027 should they be unable to keep Pickens in town.
Cowboys’ RB answer behind Javonte Williams couldn’t be more obvious- Marcus Mosher, The Landry Hat
There’s still time to add a new face.
The expectation is that the Cowboys will give Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah every opportunity this offseason to win the RB2 job. Blue is coming off a very up-and-down rookie season where he was effectively benched for the second half of the season. Whereas Mafah did not see the field until Week 18.
If neither player steps up over the next three months, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Cowboys dive into the veteran market. And there is one player who almost makes too much sense: James Conner of the Arizona Cardinals.
The Dallas Cowboys could trade for James Conner before Week 1
In a recent article by Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus, he wrote about 15 players who could be traded ahead of the 2026 NFL season. That list included Conner after the Cardinals signed Tyler Allegier to a contract in free agency and spent the No. 3 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Jeremiyah Love. Here is what Locker had to say about Conner and why he is likely available on the market:
“Conner played just three games last year before enduring a season-shortening ankle injury. Prior to that, he was elite from 2023-24 when he earned at least an 88.4 PFF rushing grade and totaled 31-plus explosive carries every season.”
Conner has always been one of the NFL’s best pass-blocking running backs, and that is just another reason why he makes sense in Dallas. Even if he’s not the most explosive running back in the league at this point in his career, he can still provide value on passing downs and give Williams a breather.
2 Dallas Cowboys Fan Favorites Unlikely to Return in 2027 – Mark Heaney, Inside The Star
Enjoy these names while you can; 2027 is not promised.
2. DeMarvion Overshown’s Health and Potential Make Extension Unlikely
Info: Unrestricted Free Agent Next Offseason, Unlikely to be Franchised Tagged due to Positional Value & Uncertainty
The other guy, DeMarvion Overshown, is a genuine fan favorite, and it is easy to understand why.
Former Texas Longhorn, electric, high-energy player when healthy, true team leader. That all resonates with the Dallas faithful in a significant way, but it doesn’t change the facts around his situation, especially when it comes to health.
Overshown has had major struggles with staying on the field, and if he comes asking for a big bag in 2027 after more issues this year, Dallas will say no.
On the flip side, his elite potential could result in a huge year that, similarly to Pickens, prices Dallas out from extending him to a long-term deal. The addition of Jaishawn Barham in the draft adds another layer to it, as he should be able to replace Overshown next year.
Cowboys add two new minds to analytics department- David Howman, Blogging The Boys
Which hopefully results in better decision-making.
As for the two that are joining the Cowboys, Nick Fullerton comes to the Cowboys after spending the 2025 season working as a research analyst with the NFL’s Next Gen Stats department. Prior to that, Fullerton held multiple roles with the SMU football team while completing his master’s in data science and applied statistics.
Fullerton was the lead analytics intern for the Mustangs for his two full seasons there, helping out the player personnel team on the scouting side, before spending his final season at SMU also working as a student assistant with the special teams unit. Prior to SMU, Fullerton attended Arizona State, where he earned a degree in data science.
Fullerton was also part of a three-person team that made a submission to the NFL’s 2024 Big Data Bowl, an annual football analytics contest. Fullerton’s submission focused on the Houston Texans, specifically their defense that had just finished second in the league in missed tackles. Fullerton’s piece, which can be read here, studied the root of the issue and made suggestions for player acquisitions to fix the issue.
Vincent Etherton, on the other hand, comes to the Cowboys from Princeton, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science. Etherton spent his time at Princeton in a variety of different applications outside of his regular studies. He was a data reporter for The Daily Princetonian – the school paper – where he rose from a contributing reporter to the paper’s head data editor. Etherton also worked as the team manager for the football program’s data analytics group.
Daily discussion question: How often do you refer to the Cowboys as America’s Team?
