3 dueling Cowboys roster projections highlight contested roster spots

Over the last seven months, the Cowboys have been slowly building their depth chart for the 2026 season. Draft versions of that depth chart informed the Cowboys’ actions in free agency, helped drive decisions during the draft, and were used to drive further roster additions since the draft.

More recently, that interim depth chart has been updated with notes and observations from rookie minicamp, OTAs, and mandatory minicamp, and will continue to be refined over the course of training camp until the ‘final’ 53-man roster is revealed ahead of the season opener.

We’re going to do a similar exercise today and take a look at what the Cowboys’ final 53-man roster could look like based on what (little) we’ve seen so far prior to training camp and preseason games. To do that, we’re going to look at three separate projections. One from Jon Machota of *The Athletic *who jumped the gun with his projection in mid May, one from Joe Hoyt from of the Dallas Morning News from this week, and a third one from Todd Archer of ESPN, also published this week. These three projections should give us a good idea of where public sentiment currently stands regarding the 2026 Cowboys roster.

I’ve combined all three projections in the table below. The table highlights (in yellow) the spots that do not yet appear to be locked down.

body .sbnu-legacy-content-table td, body .sbnu-legacy-content-table th, body .sbnu-legacy-content-table { border: 1px solid #000 !important; border-collapse: collapse !important; } body .sbnu-legacy-content-table td, body .sbnu-legacy-content-table th { padding: 0px 6px !important; } Hoyt
DMN****Archer
ESPN****Machota
Athletic****QuarterbacksDak PrescottDak PrescottDak PrescottSam HowellSam Howell Joe Milton Joe MiltonRunning BacksJavonte WilliamsJavonte WilliamsJavonte WilliamsHunter LuepkeHunter LuepkeHunter LuepkeJaydon BlueJaydon BlueJaydon BluePhil MafahPhil Mafah Malik Davis Wide ReceiversCeeDee LambCeeDee LambCeeDee LambGeorge PickensGeorge PickensGeorge PickensRyan FlournoyRyan FlournoyRyan FlournoyKaVontae TurpinKaVontae TurpinKaVontae TurpinTraeshon HoldenAnthony SmithJonathan Mingo Marquez Valdes-Scantling Tight EndsJake FergusonJake FergusonJake FergusonBrevyn Spann-FordBrevyn Spann-FordBrevyn Spann-FordLuke SchoonmakerLuke SchoonmakerLuke Schoonmaker Michael TriggOffensive LineTyler GuytonTyler GuytonTyler GuytonTyler SmithTyler SmithTyler SmithCooper BeebeCooper BeebeCooper BeebeTyler BookerTyler BookerTyler BookerTerence SteeleTerence SteeleTerence SteeleTJ BassTJ BassTJ BassNate ThomasNate ThomasNate ThomasDrew SheltonDrew SheltonDrew SheltonTrevor KeeganTrevor KeeganTrevor Keegan Ajani CorneliusNo real surprises on offense, the question marks are pretty much about depth.

Do the Cowboys keep one or two backup quarterbacks? Sam Howell has the experience, Joe Milton has the athletic upside. The preseason games could well sort out this roster battle.
Who exactly is competing for the backup RB spots? Jaydon Blue makes all three projections, but it may come down to him, Phil Mafah, or Malik Davis.
The top four wide receivers seem to be set, anything beyond that is pure guesswork right now.
Three or four tight ends? Michael Trigg got some early hype, can he deliver in camp?

Maybe there are more contested spots on defense?

3 dueling Cowboys roster projections highlight contested roster spots

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