The Dallas Cowboys have quietly found a roster-building advantage by turning spring football into their own farm system. While most teams splash around in free agency, the Cowboys tread lightly, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t stalking the waters, letting the current lead them to an unsuspecting, undervalued talent. In recent years, those waters have included the United Football League, as they have been rather fortuitous in some impressive All-Pro finds.
This season they’ve once again mined the UFL
looking for a player who can help make the team better. Before we get into that, let’s run down what they’ve done in recent years to get a stronger understanding of how they used this avenue to score some gems.
2022 – KaVontae Turpin
Turpin played for the New Jersey Generals, taking down the league MVP honors in the spring of 2022 after leading the league in receiving yards. He joined the NFL and made an immediate impact, earning Pro Bowl honors as a returner, something the Cowboys never had before in their 60+ year history. While he contributes some as a receiver, his bread and butter is his return ability, earning Pro Bowls in three of his four years in the league, including All-Pro selections in each of the last two seasons.
2023 – Brandon Aubrey
Before knocking down long field goals in Dallas, Aubrey was a back-to-back champion for the Birmingham Stallions. And before that, he was a professional soccer player and software engineer. Fortunately, his career path led him to the Cowboys, where he immediately started launching himself into the record books. He broke the record for most consecutive field goals made to start a career, and he also holds the record for most field goals made of 60 yards or more, with a grand total of six! Aubrey has been an All-Pro in all three seasons he’s been in the league and just signed a four-year, $28 million extension. He’s awesome.
2024 – Willie Harvey Jr.
After going undrafted and hanging on the practice squad with the Cleveland Browns for a few years, Harvey Jr. got a reboot when he joined the St. Louis Battlehawks. In his second season with the team, he was a first-team All-UFL player, leading the league in tackles in 2024. He was also breaking up passes and forcing fumbles as the crème de la crème of off-ball linebackers that spring. Unfortunately, those achievements didn’t translate at the next level, and the Cowboys’ streak of landing stud UFL’ers came to an end as Harvey Jr. was released during final roster cuts, never playing a down for the team.
2025 – Perrion Winfrey
Like Harvey Jr., Winfrey’s pro journey also started with the Browns as he was their fourth-round pick in 2022. He had off-field problems, was released, and then briefly was on the New York Jets practice squad before finding himself out of the league entirely. The Birmingham Stallions gave him new life in 2025, where he put together a strong season, coming up with a huge sack in the USFL championship game. He put up a nice training camp last year, and it looked like once again the Cowboys were on to something as Winfrey was the only UFL player from the 2025 season to make an NFL roster. Sadly, a back injury put him on injured reserve before the season started, and when he finally returned, he only played in one regular-season game. With the team making huge upgrades along the interior defensive line, Winfrey became expendable and was released back in March.
2026 – Jashaun Corbin
That brings us to now. On Friday, the team signed running back Jashaun Corbin to replace the recently cut Dominic Richardson. Undrafted in 2022, Corbin spent time on the practice squads for the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers. He played six games for the Giants in 2023, but suffered a season-ending injury in training camp the following year, and just like that, he was out of the league. He then became a well-traveled UFL’er, playing for the San Antonio Brahmas in 2025, where he led the league in rushing. Last year, he played for the Orlando Storm, finishing third in rushing. He showed some all-purpose appeal, adding value both as a receiver and kick returner. He now finds himself in a dogfight for one of the last running back spots on the team in what is already a crowded backfield. The team hopes his one-cut acceleration, good vision, receiving skills, and special teams value could spice up the competition.
The Cowboys have a strong track record when it comes to spring scouting, but their luck has faded a bit after coming out hot. Taking a flyer on a player who is most likely to be a final roster cut is no risk, but it has provided some huge rewards when they stick. So, the question is, will Corbin be lightning in a lightning-in-a-bottle strike, or will he soon be a player of no consequence? We’ll find out in the coming weeks.
