The Dallas Cowboys 2025 NFL season kicks off on Thursday Night Football against their better division rival, the Philadelphia Eagles. It’s somewhat surprising after training camp and preseason that we still don’t know all that much about this year’s team or what they could be capable of.
First-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer chose to sit the majority of his starters in preseason and also kept the game plan very vanilla. Because of that, we’ve been left in the dark and still don’t really know
what to expect when things get underway Thursday night. The only thing we really do know is there is no shortage of things to watch.
Today, we thought would share with you a few players on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball we are the most intrigued about watching. Each one of the players listed below are expected to play prominent roles this season. If they can get off to a good start against the Eagles, it would go a long ways in lessening any concerns for what will hopefully be a successful season.
OFFENSE
RB Javonte Williams
Other than what we’ve heard coming out of offseason practices, Williams is still somewhat of an unknown entering the season opener against the Eagles after sitting out the entirety of preseason. We really don’t know what to expect from him other than what he’s been able to accomplish in the past, which isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of him handling the RB1 job. How he performs in Week 1 could ease a lot of concerns about Dallas’ running game this year or confirm them. That’s why he someone to watch closely this week.
WR George Pickens
George Pickens has been one of the stars of training camp pretty much from Day 1 when he stepped on the field. His addition to the Cowboys offense is expected to take it to an entirely to the level. His ability to challenge opposing defenses vertically will help take pressure off of CeeDee Lamb and also should help open up the running game as well. It’s going to be really interesting to see how the Eagles young secondary try to contain him and how much that can hopefully benefit the rest of the Cowboys offense in both running and passing game.
RG Tyler Booker
Replacing a player who’s been a mainstay along the Cowboys offensive line for the past decade isn’t going to be easy, but that’s exactly what Tyler Booker is trying to do at RG by taking over for future Hall of Famer Zack Martin. This year’s first-round pick is still somewhat of a now known after playing very little in the preseason and will have his hands full in the season opener against a pretty talented Philadelphia defensive front. All eyes will be on him and the head-to-head battle with Eagles DT Jalen Carter. We can almost guarantee things will get heated.
DEFENSE
DT Kenny Clark
Newly arriving in Dallas as part as the Micah Parsons trade to the Green Bay Packers, Kenny Clark is already expected to be an integral part of the Cowboys interior defensive line. Although he hasn’t been with the Cowboys long, he’s already listed as the starter ahead of Mazi Smith at the one-technique. He’s expected to be a significant upgrade as run defender and he’s proven in the past he has some juice as a pass rusher as well. It’s going to be really interesting to see how quickly he can get up to speed after just joining the organization.
DE Sam Williams
With Micah Parsons heading to Green Bay, Sam Williams is the player who is expected to start in his place against the Eagles in the season opener. Williams was relatively successful in his first two seasons the league averaging four QB sacks a year in a reserve role, but sadly was sidelined with a season-ending injury all of last year. He will have his hands full this week against the quality Eagles offensive line. If No. 54 can get the better of the trench play, he could be destined for a huge season.
CB Kaiir Elam
Kaiir Elam, a former first-round draft pick by the Buffalo Bills, arrived in Dallas via trade and has done nothing but turn heads ever since. Inconsistency plagued him during his days in Buffalo, but it looks like a change of scenery could have been exactly what he needed. He is expected to play an important role in Dallas’ secondary this season and will be asked to help contain Philadelphia’s talented WR duo (A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith) in the season opener. With the injuries in depth concerns at the position, the Cowboys really need him to step up.
