The Dallas Cowboys have a roster that looks legitimately dangerous on paper. That’s the good news. The bad news for about a dozen guys is that the roster is deep enough that some real talent is going to get cut before Week 1.
This is not one of those years where the Cowboys are holding open tryouts for the last spot. They have actual competition at multiple positions, and that means some players with NFL-caliber ability are going to be looking for work. Here are three guys who should be nervous when training camp opens.
Jonathan Mingo’s clock is running
Mingo was a second-round pick by Carolina in 2023. That draft capital used to buy you multiple chances. The NFL does not work that way anymore. Mingo has played three seasons and has exactly zero touchdown catches. Zero. For a guy listed at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, that is a staggering stat.
The Cowboys traded a fourth-round pick to the Panthers for Mingo in 2024, so Jerry Jones has some ego invested here. But the depth chart does not lie. CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens are locked in. Ryan Flournoy, Kavontae Turpin and Marquez Valdes-Scantling are all ahead of him. And then there’s Traeshon Holden.
Holden went undrafted in 2025 and spent last season on the practice squad. According to the Dallas Morning News, Holden looked sharper than Mingo in minicamp and has moved up the rotation. The team has not confirmed anything, but the hierarchy is becoming clear. Holden is pushing for that fifth receiver job, and Mingo is running out of excuses.
Malik Davis is in a fight he might lose
ESPN’s depth chart still lists Davis as the RB2. That sounds secure until you look behind him. Jaydon Blue is coming, and he is coming with the kind of offseason story that coaches love.
Blue spent the entire offseason grinding. He stayed in constant contact with Dak Prescott, position coach Derrick Foster and head coach Brian Schottenheimer. He studied the playbook like it was a final exam. Schottenheimer told reporters last year that Blue is “football brilliant” and said the two had honest conversations about why Blue wasn’t active on game days. Blue took the feedback, kept his head down and worked.
Davis is a solid back. He runs hard, he catches passes. But if Phil Mafah also earns a roster spot, one of these guys is gone. Right now, Blue has the momentum. Davis has the depth chart spot but not the buzz.
Joe Milton might not be the lock everyone assumes
The Cowboys traded for Milton because he has a cannon for an arm and the kind of raw tools that coaches daydream about. But the backup quarterback competition is real, and Sam Howell is not going away quietly.
Schottenheimer has been publicly measured about this. He told Sports Illustrated that both guys are “uber talented” and praised Howell’s 20-plus games of starting experience. The coach called it an open competition. That is not the language you use when you already have your guy.
The concern with Milton is consistency. Can he run an NFL offense for multiple weeks if Prescott goes down? He has the arm to make every throw. But the Cowboys need a backup who can win games, not just wow people in practice. Howell has done that before, even if his numbers were uneven. This is not a settled situation.
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