Here are the Cowboys Top 60 players heading into mini-camp

What do you think are the strengths of the Cowboys roster right now?

Mini-camp for the Dallas Cowboys is just a week away. Over the next few months, we are going to learn a lot about the Cowboys roster. There will be new players to evaluate and many position battles to keep us entertained until the regular season begins. It won’t be much longer and many of our questions will have answers.

Of course, getting answers is great, but it’s also fun to pretend to be Carnac the Magnificient (younger fans will have to google that one) and guess which players will have their stock go up, and who will start to slide. Granted, it’s early in the summer and things will change, but let’s take a pre-test before the action gets started and see how close we are. Here are my rankings of the Top 60 players on the Cowboys roster.

THE ELITE

After two straight years being number one on the list, Micah Parsons has been dethroned by pass-catching sensation CeeDee Lamb. Honestly, with these two it’s splitting hairs and we’re not going to fight you if you still have Parsons as the top dog. Lamb has gotten better each year and turned into a model of consistency which is why he gets the nod over Parsons. His 135-catch, 1,749-yard season was even more impressive considering the Cowboys offense had some bumps in the road early on. Lamb went on a tear, producing 100+ yard games in seven of his last 12 regular season games.

It might be surprising to see Tyler Smith ahead of Zack Martin, but the 23-year-old lineman has been everything he was hyped up to be. Some of us fans (raises hand) have come a long way from the pouting that took place when the Cowboys selected him 24th overall, and after earning All-Pro honors in just his second season, he deserves as many flowers as he can hold. Martin is still a good player, but he’s coming off the worst seasons in his career, which to be clear, isn’t hard to do considering most of them have been outstanding. These two guards are close, but they’re trending in opposite directions.

STRONG PLAYERS

Some might be tempted to put DaRon Bland in the elite group after his record-breaking season last year, but there are inconsistencies in his game that are holding him back. He’s only in year three, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get better despite not having eye-popping stats, similar to his fellow corner Trevon Diggs did in his third season.

Speaking of inconsistencies, Terence Steele will be one of the most heavily debated subjects this season as fans are conflicted between the fringe Pro Bowl-level player we saw before his knee injury to the dreadful mess we saw at times last year. With more trust in his body, expect this athletic lineman to look more like the player he was in 2022.

SOLID CONTRIBUTORS

If you have Sam Williams circled as your 2024 breakout player, congrats, we share the same line of thinking. Many of the players on this list are unproven as they are either rookies, linebackers who we’ve never seen play a down yet for the Cowboys, or players taking on a different role this season. These are all guesses, but the higher draft selections receive the greater benefit of the doubt. Markquese Bell is higher than both Donovan Wilson and Damone Clark which may not be the consensus choice, but a gut feeling suggests he could take an even bigger step with the Mike Zimmer coaching change.

This is the group that could make or break the Cowboys this season. There are a lot of young players on this list and the team is counting on a few of these guys to work out. If they do, it’s going to be a good season. If too many of them struggle, expect the front office to be dealt a good share of criticism for their over-dependence on their own guys.

NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT

This group consists of a lot of players who have promise, but have yet to put things together. The range of outcomes of these guys is quite large. Some will show growth and work themselves into larger roles while others will add more disappointment to an already slow start. Despite being undrafted, Brock Hoffman continues to work and should give the Cowboys a respectable Joe Looney-like floor at the center position. And similar to Looney and Tyler Biadasz four years ago, don’t be surprised if the veteran starts at center at least for the first part of the season.

And you may notice that Jalen Brooks is ranked higher than both Jalen Tolbert and KaVontae Turpin, which may not sit right with some fans. Brooks has been with the Cowboys a year less than these other guys, but he’s off to a good start and possesses a utility knife set of skills that is always pleasing to the coach’s eye, a la Noah Brown. He’s not flashy, but he’s effective.

A pet cat of mine a year ago, John Stephens Jr. is another player to watch out for. When he gets healthy, this playmaking tight end could see himself climbing up the depth chart.

BOTTOM ROSTER GUYS

Some of these players have made the team before and will make it again. But as we see every year, some new faces will make it to the big leagues come final roster cuts. UDFA tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford is the flavor of the year space tight end that has jumped the once-loved Peyton Hendershot. Cornerback Josh Butler flashed a little something in camp last season and he’s on our radar, while a couple of scout favorite corners, Nahshon Wright and Eric Scott Jr., aren’t even on the top 60 list.

There are also several down-roster wide receivers who all have a chance to emerge as the last guy to fill out the position group. It’s a dice roll as to which one impresses the most, but the speedster Tyron Billy-Johnson starts mini-camp with an early lead.

It should be noted that these are just player rankings and are not a linear projection of the 53-man roster. Filling out position needs and guys who can play special teams will factor in as well as more leniency for players like Ryan Flournoy, Nathan Thomas, and Justin Rogers who are draft picks that will be given every opportunity to make the team.

Here is the full list of player rankings…

Who should be higher in the rankings? Who should be lower? Let us know in the comments.