The Dallas Cowboys emerged victorious from their preseason opener on Saturday night and in the process now sit at 1-0 through the exhibition part of the year for the first time since 2017. Hopefully a sign of things to come.
Results of preseason games are not the most important thing in the world. What matters is how the players play so that the overall roster can be put together in the best way possible. Something we do every week here at Blogging The Boys is a stock report following games, and an argument
exists that these are most critical around the preseason for this very reason.
Let’s begin.
Stock Up: Jaydon Blue
This definitely felt bigger in the moment, but even after some time to marinate on things it feels right.
The Cowboys may not necessarily have a tried and true RB2 on their roster, but it is impossible to ignore that Jaydon Blue has a role on this team. He can offer something specific which means he has specific value.
This is a trend that had been developing as training camp has gone on, but it is a different thing to do it against another team and actual competition. Blue has fortified that he has a role. Now it is just a matter of time as to what it will include exactly.
Stock Up: Jonathan Mingo
Should the Cowboys consider keeping Jonathan Mingo? This is a subject that we all resigned ourselves to long ago – the trade was horrible, and it has done nothing but age poorly. But maybe there is something to salvage still.
Mingo looked like a receiver who can help on Saturday night. He was hardly the receiver to flash, but he at the very least made conversations around the group interesting.
Again, we are pretty far removed from the Cowboys acquiring Mingo so the sense of being pot committed or any sort of sunk cost fallacy feels negligible now. The question should be whether or not Mingo can help, and against the Seahawks he sort of made people think that he can.
Stock Up: Camden Brown
This is it. The clear and undisputed champion of the game.
Camden Brown had been putting things together throughout camp recently, and he really announced himself on Saturday night.
Brown scored twice, the only touchdowns Dallas had, and the second one really was special. We say this all of the time around this time of year, but even if you don’t believe he deserves a spot on the final roster, him playing so well in such a loud fashion means that he is going to be difficult to stash on the practice squad if the team goes that direction.
He feels safe.
Stock Up: James Houston
James Houston is not Jadeveon Clowney, but can Houston serve a similar role as the team’s cleanup guy on defense in the way that Clowney was last year? Saturday night made it seem possible.
Unlike last year when the state of the pass rushers was flipped upside down a week before the season’s beginning, Houston does not have to be asked to be more than what he is. He can be someone who takes advantage of opportunities created by others.
I see a player who checks that box. Do you?
Stock Up: Marist Liufau
The reality of Marist Liufau is that beauty is sort of in the eye of the beholder. The positional switch that the Cowboys have had him make under Christian Parker means we should take everything with a grain of salt, but he has found ways to be around positive action as of late (counting camp, obviously).
Saturday offered more of that. Maybe it doesn’t wind up being enough and perhaps Liufau gets phased out because of roster math that doesn’t work in his favor. Right now though, there is no question that he is making the most of opportunities he is given and playing great overall team defense.
Stock Up: Michael Trigg
There was an early drop from Trigg that looked treacherous, but thankfully he wound up settling in and offered a stable presence in the passing game for the evening’s quarterbacks to work with.
We all know that Jake Ferguson and Brevyn Spann-Ford are the team’s top two tight ends. The issue with Trigg becomes whether or not he can beat out Luke Schoonmaker for that TE3 spot as a fourth is not promised on the roster.
The broadcast, the Cowboys version, sorry if you had the alternate, openly discussed how Schoonmaker playing in the game was a tough thing given his draft pedigree. Trigg hardly had the monstrous catches that we envisioned when the Cowboys signed him as an undrafted free agent, but it feels like he continues to offer more of “I’d rather buy that lottery ticket” than the alternative.
Stock Up: Malik Davis
If the Cowboys do have an RB2 right now it is certainly Malik Davis.
It feels like Davis is the most trustworthy back in a world where a non-Javonte Williams has to have something like 16-18 carries. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the Cowboys have clearly shown an effort to improve that spot on their roster.
Sometimes players just refuse to let that happen, though. Malik Davis has been cut several times over, and he continues to come back and warrant a spot on the team. He is in the middle of that yet again.
Stock Down: Caelen Carson
If you did not see the game Caelen Carson had a rough outing early on. On the Seahawks’ first possession of the game, Carson was called for both pass interference and a facemask. This was the only drive of the game where Seattle scored, and it goes without saying that Carson’s penalties had a big impact in that regard.
Carson also got called for holding soon after, and while he also had a nice PBU, the reality of this sort of thing is that those bad moments live and loom large. They cannot happen. This is an uphill battle at the moment.
Stock Down: Anthony Smith
It seemed throughout the second half like the Cowboys were trying to give Anthony Smith opportunities to capitalize and show out. They didn’t happen, but he wasn’t necessarily a big-time failure or anything.
To be clear, this was the first professional game of Anthony Smith’s life. He was a seventh-round draft pick out of East Carolina just a few months ago and there is a steep lurning curve in the NFL. Sometimes that is the way things go.
At the moment Smith seems like someone who could be a very viable practice squad candidate. There are still two preseason games to go, but nothing jumped out from him in this one.
Stock Down: Traeshon Holden
As noted with Caelen Carson, you absolutely do not want to make mistakes in preseason games. And as discussed throughout this conversation, there is a lot that goes into making a roster.
Draft status matters. Money is a factor. The roster math is critical. For Traeshon Holden, Camden Brown is the talk o’ the town, Jonathan Mingo is getting some love, and Anthony Smith is a draft pick from this year. Holden has to do something to separate himself.
Muffing a punt and giving the opposition a starting field position with five yards to go is not the way to do that. The Cowboys defense stood tall and kept the Seahawks from scoring which was a nice twist of fate, but that is certainly a moment that Holden wants back.
