Brian Schottenheimer got a simple question at his Monday press conference. Name five Cowboys who have exceeded expectations this summer. He kept going past five.
Nick Leverett, Jaydon Blue, Jonathan Mingo, Zack Kuntz, Joe Milton, Jay Toia, Shavon Revel, Jaishawn Barham and Markquese Bell all got mentioned. That is nine players on a roster that has to shed 37 by Sunday evening.
“We’re still evaluating people, but we’re starting to say, OK, hey, six days from now, whatever it is, we’re going to have to start making the cuts,” Schottenheimer said.
The receiver hint
The most useful thing he said was who he grouped together. Naming both Mingo and undrafted rookie Camden Brown suggests Dallas may not have to pick between them, and A to Z Sports read it as a sign the Cowboys could carry six receivers rather than the expected five.
That group has been the best on the roster all camp, top-heavy and deeper than anyone projected in the spring. Brown caught three passes for 62 yards and two touchdowns against Seattle in the opener. Carrying six would solve one problem and create another, because the spot has to come from somewhere else.
Leverett against his old team
Leverett has worked as the backup center and, on the first unofficial depth chart, the backup left guard. He played well enough Saturday in a 34-13 win that Schottenheimer led with his name.
He did it in Glendale against Arizona, which had him on its practice squad last season before Dallas signed him. He went undrafted out of Rice in 2020 and has 22 career games with 11 starts across four organizations.
The offensive line is where the math gets ugly. Yahoo’s updated projection now has Leverett in and rookie Drew Shelton out. The Dallas Morning News has him getting second-team center reps but notes T.J. Bass can play both guard and center, and admits their own projection may be carrying one lineman too many.
Dallas closes the preseason against the Saints at AT&T Stadium, and Schottenheimer said before camp that the young players would get their work in the first two games and rarely in the third. That gives the bubble one more night.
Nine names on a coach’s list in late August is not a promise. Some of those players will be on the practice squad next week, and at least one will be playing somewhere else.
