Five years ago, almost, I had a theory. I believed, still do, that if not for Micah Parsons and what he did across his rookie season, then Osa Odighizuwa would have received a lot more attention. This is a bit ambitious, but maybe Odighizuwa would have even wound up as a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate. You never know. The Dallas Cowboys brand never hurts in that way.
Incidentally, Odighizuwa was traded away this offseason and we are wishing him all the best (at least individually). Now coincidentally,
the pick that Dallas received from the San Francisco 49ers in the trade may have helped set up his successor for being the “other” defensive rookie on the Cowboys.
Jaishawn Barham is going to be important to watch during camp
Caleb Downs is obviously going to absorb a majority of the headlines and attention in the way that Micah Parsons did, but this means that his version of Osa Odighizuwa is Jaishawn Barham. While Downs is a game-changer and one that we all remain incredibly thrilled about, his selection did not satisfy the biggest need on the Cowboys roster across the offseason. Jaishawn Barham’s did.
Dallas was, and is still, in sore need of help at linebacker. Also coincidentally, the Cowboys struck a second trade with the 49ers this offseason for linebacker help and did so shortly before selecting Barham during the NFL draft. Dallas acquired Dee Winters from their longtime rivals so in many ways the 49ers built the Cowboys current linebacking group.
With all due respect to Winters, and residually DeMarvion Overshown, Barham is going to be the player to watch throughout training camp, and a big reason for that is the versatility of being able to play traditional linebacker and having the ability to be a serious pass rusher. ESPN recently named him as a rookie to watch during training camp at large.
Jaishawn Barham, LB, Dallas Cowboys
An intriguing defensive shift is underway in Dallas, as new coordinator Christian Parker brings a Vic Fangio-inspired system to a roster that has endured a brutal coaching carousel. Dallas has had four defensive coordinators in the past four years: Dan Quinn, Mike Zimmer, Matt Eberflus and now Parker. That car wash, along with some bad injury luck and draft misses (and the trade of Micah Parsons) has left the Cowboys’ defense thin on young and exciting talent.
Barham might change that. He started his career in college as an inside linebacker before kicking to the edge in his final season with Michigan. Dallas plans to move the third-round pick back to stack linebacker, where plenty of snaps are up for grabs in a thin room that features Dee Winters and DeMarvion Overshown. But because Barham has experience rushing the passer, he can fill the Zack Baun/Jihaad Campbell role in Dallas — an integral spot in the Eagles’ defense that Parker helped coach for the past two seasons. How often the Cowboys give Barham snaps in training camp — and where exactly he lines up — will be a sign of how the first-year coordinator intends to call defense in 2026.
We have allowed ourselves, rightfully, to dream about how Christian Parker is going to utilize Caleb Downs specifically. That makes sense given Parker’s background as a defensive backs guru.
But Parker obviously has a history with the Philadelphia Eagles and the way that they utilized, as ESPN notes here, both Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell was of the “we need some of that” variety. Perhaps Barham is that answer and in some ways that is a more important question to answer than anything.
Training camp is just about here and we are finally going to start getting answers to some of these questions. This is one of the more paramount ones, and hopefully the answer is one that we all like.
