The Dallas Cowboys 53-man roster they’ll take into a week one Thursday night opener at the Philadelphia Eagles is pretty much set after the shocking Micah Parsons trade. The Cowboys will be underdogs against the Eagles, and because of this will need all of the big playmaking ability they can get on the field.
When the Cowboys do take the field in Philadelphia, the story will be on the stars they truly need to compete with the defending Super Bowl champs. Many of these players will be suiting up for
the first time this season after sitting out the entire preseason, but few have gone under-the-radar like linebackers Kenneth Murray and Jack Sanborn.
Murray and Sanborn are both going into their first season with the Cowboys, and were acquired on the same day in March. Sanborn was a free agent deal to join forces with DC Matt Eberflus, who he played for with the Chicago Bears previously. The Cowboys traded a seventh-round pick away to the Tennessee Titans to acquire Murray, a former first-rounder. When these moves were made, it showed the Cowboys were serious about listening to their new coaches (or, at very least an experienced one with a previous stint in Dallas in Eberflus) and putting their neck out in ways they hadn’t before to acquire the players these coaches would need in a new scheme. The entire outlook at linebacker was changed in an instant, but then the preseason told a different story.
Second-year player Marist Liufau came out of the gates with a statement game against the Rams to start the preseason, and looked every bit like the ascending player he was throughout his rookie season. Liufau’s nose for the football and relentless effort make him a fit in every scheme, and the Cowboys realized this quickly with plays on both defense and special teams. Liufau’s playing time dipped in the second exhibition against the Ravens, making way for rookie Shemar James to see the field more, as well as veteran Damone Clark. James was the Cowboys leader in snaps the following week at home against the Falcons, and had an interception. Darius Harris and Buddy Johnson were also a heavy part of the rotation, but both are now on the practice squad.
The Cowboys made a lot of strides defensively in just three preseason games under Eberflus, and now it will be up to the players they haven’t seen this preseason to continue this growth at an even higher rate. The area they looked the best in against the Falcons was dropping into coverage between the second and third levels to take throwing lanes away, and getting help from the pass rush with sacks from James Houston and Perrion Winfrey was certainly welcome. With Murray sitting out the entire preseason and Sanborn warming up with juts 21 snaps (19 defense, 2 special teams) against the Ravens, the Cowboys must feel like both players are ready to help them right away.
Sanborn and Murray made it through Oxnard training camp, the preseason, and ongoing practices at The Star without much buzz. Sanborn is an adept coverage player with the ability to also shed blocks along the line of scrimmage and play the run. Murray is more of a gap-shooting linebacker when playing downhill, but can show off great lateral range in coverage to make plays on the ball as well.
With Liufau also rightfully earning a spot at linebacker, and Clark being a savvy veteran that always finds a way to get in on the action, the Cowboys have a strong depth chart to start the season at linebacker, yet concerns about both their interior run defense and pass defense as a whole remains high. The Cowboys also expect DeMarvion Overshown to factor into the defense in a big way from the linebacker position later in the year, but for now their first-year acquisitions will have to be even more prepared to play a lion’s share of snaps. Shemar James is still a rookie best kept in a rotational role early on in his career.
Today’s NFL offenses are all about dictating matchups and exploiting any defensive weaknesses, a few of which the Cowboys will go into the season with until proven otherwise. Playing against Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, and the Eagles offensive line as a first test for their thin defensive tackle depth and inexperience at cornerback is a true sink or swim moment early in the season. Having some un-scouted looks that include the host of pass rushers the Cowboys didn’t utilize much or at all this preseason, as well as Murray and Sanborn changing up the look completely at linebacker, is a card Matt Eberflus must have up his sleeve next Thursday night. The same will go for the Cowboys offense being called by Brian Schottenheimer, and they too will be relying on first-year players brought in via free agency and trade like Javontae Williams and George Pickens.
It feels like a while ago we as Cowboys fans were collectively praising the team for using all avenues of player acquisition to really improve this roster for the 2025 season. In Cowboys fashion, they’ve found ways to take the attention away from these football matters, but right now, the football between the lines is all that does matter. The Cowboys did well to bring in not just any new players, but veterans that understand how to prepare for the long season. The early returns on at least some of these players need to be positive for Dallas to not be stuck in the familiar place of relying on recent draft picks that aren’t ready for starting roles just yet. Starting with two linebackers that can be signal-callers and jack-of-all-trade type players in Murray and Sanborn is a great place to look with a primetime divisional game on tap.
