Every week, we gather the latest news about the Dallas Cowboys and seek our writer’s perspective on each headline. Welcome back to the roundtable. This week we have Jess Haynie, David Howman, Tom Ryle, and Brian Martin.
Rookie edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku has been earning props this week. What are your expectations and projections for him this season?
Second-round pick Donovan Ezeiruaku is being tipped to make the 2025 NFL All-Rookie Team and some analysts say he could be a dark horse to watch for in the defensive rookie MVP race. At +2500, Ezeiruaku ranks 10th in the odds ranking for defensive rookie of the year, with Abdul Carter the firm favorite, but the Cowboys new edge rusher is turning heads.
Renowned for his explosive pass-rushing skills at Boston College, he’s battling to line up alongside Micah Parsons as a starter. CBS, Yahoo Sports and Sports Illustrated are just a few of the names that have mentioned Ezeiruaku last week and his elite skills.
Jess: It’s hard to say exactly where he’ll end up given the mix of edge-rushing talent. Dante Fowler was re-signed at $5 million in guaranteed money, so the team expects him to play. Marshawn Kneeland is also getting hyped up this offseason and should be on the field a lot as a primary run defender. And if Sam Williams still has the same skills after last year’s knee injury, he will compete for snaps. At the very least, Ezeiruaku will be in the rotation with a focus on pass-rushing opportunities. It will probably be similar to Fowler’s role in Dallas from 2022-2023, or maybe Dorance Armstrong’s if he outshines his peers quickly.
Brian: There should be quite a competition to see who replaces DeMarcus Lawrence opposite Micah Parsons in 2025. Donovan Ezeiruaku will be competing with Marshawn Kneeland, Dante Fowler, Sam Williams, and maybe even Payton Turner. Because of that, it’s nearly impossible to predict what kind of role Ezeiruaku will play as a rookie with the Cowboys. If he plays a prominent role I could see him having a 6-8 sack season.
Tom: I think that there is enough talent ahead of Ezeiruaku that he will not see much action through the first half of the season. I do think he will get some significant playing time because the unavoidable attrition of the NFL season, and he will finish with three or four sacks down the stretch. That’s not to say he is in anyway a miss. The team just won’t need to bring him along in a hurry.
Howman: I agree with Tom here, I don’t see Ezeiruaku getting a ton of snaps early on. Simply put, there’s too much talent ahead of him right now. Ezeiruaku had a lot of traits in college that historically translate very well to the NFL, so I could see him blowing up around the halfway point of the year and taking time away from someone else. I think six sacks is probably the ceiling of realistic expectations though.
Cowboys sign cornerback Robert Rochell and defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey. What do you make of this free agency signing before training camp?
Dallas signed veteran cornerback Robert Rochell to fill out secondary depth. Rochell joins amid transitions in the cornerback group and will hope to carve out a defensive role under DC Matt Eberflus. They also signed defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey from the UFL Birmingham Stallions.
Rochell previously played for the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams. In four seasons Rochell has managed to bag one interception with three fumble recoveries. Meanwhile, Winfrey spent the first two seasons of his career with the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets before signing with the Stallions last season. His best season came during his rookies year where he registered one sack and 22 total tackles for Cleveland.
The Cowboys then released defensive tackle Justin Rogers and cornerback Luq Barcoo to make way for the new free agent signings making this a one-for-one swap at both respective positions.
Jess: Winfrey is interesting; a fourth-round pick just three years ago by Cleveland. Legal troubles hurt his NFL career in his second season in 2023, but he had a strong showing in the UFL this past spring and is still just 24. He seems like a fit for what Matt Eberflus wants in DTs, so he might be able to push Solomon Thomas for snaps. It’s bad news for rookie Tommy Akingbesote, who was already going to be in a fight for a down-roster spot. As for Rochell, the Cowboys are his sixth team after just four seasons. Sounds like a camp body at best.
Brian: I look at both of these signings as a looksee to find out if either Perrion Winfrey or Robert Rochell can improve the depth at DT or CB, both positions with questionable depth right now. Of the two, Winfrey probably has the best shot at earning a roster spot. I wouldn’t be surprised though if both end up being nothing more than camp bodies. And, these two may have to compete with players the Cowboys could add after roster cuts or off the waiver wire. If either make the final 53-roster I’d be surprised, but not completely shocked.
Tom: I am like Brian, I don’t see either as being that likely to make the roster. What the signings say to me is that the team is well aware of the lack of depth at the positions and is looking for some straws to grasp. I could see both Winfrey and Rochell getting bumped from the roster so the team can add players after the cuts start happening. Winfrey could be a practice squad candidate if he is eligible.
Howman: One or both of them might be able to claim a final roster spot, but it would come down to other players not staking their claim in my mind. The Cowboys aren’t overflowing with proven options at either position right now, but they do have lots of bodies there, which makes it harder for these late additions to stand out.
Will Jake Ferguson make a bounce-back from last season’s lacklustre performance?
Jake Ferguson’s 2024 season was a frustrating step back for the Cowboys’ promising tight end. After his breakout 2023 campaign where he caught five touchdowns, he struggled with injuries in 2024. He suffered a knee sprain in Week 1 and a concussion midseason which saw him miss multiple weeks, and never found rhythm with backup quarterback Cooper Rush. He finished with just 59 receptions for 494 yards and zero touchdowns, including only two games that exceeded 50 receiving yards.
The good news is with Brian Schottenheimer’s system and plenty of time to recover, Ferguson should be looking at an improved season this year. If he stays healthy and fully embraces the new playbook, there’s real hope he can return to his 2023 form, or even exceed it. The Cowboys, too, need that spark. A big bounce‑back from Ferguson in 2025 could be key to reigniting their offense.
Jess: I have a lot of confidence in Ferguson this year. From the beginning, he’s passed the eye test as a more dynamic, explosive player at TE than anyone Dallas has had since prime Jason Witten. His 2023 season was no fluke, and that was with Brandin Cooks as a shaky WR2. Remember, Travis Kelce was calling him one of the top young TEs in the game after that year. Now you have George Pickens, meaning defenses will have less ability to account for Ferguson than at any point in his career. I think he goes off in 2025, which will make next year’s free agency interesting.
Brian: I have absolute 100% confidence Jake Ferguson will bounce back in 2025. Not only is he entering a contract year when a lot of players seem to somehow be at their best, but his job should become much easier with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens receiving most of the attention in the passing game. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he ends up having the best season of his career and finishing as a Top 10 tight end this year.
Tom: Let me be a contrarian here. I actually hope Ferguson will have a quiet year because CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens absolutely go off, with Jalen Tolbert soaking up most of the rest of the receptions. If Ferguson is used mostly as a third down and end zone option, that would bode well for the state of the offense. Let Dak Prescott rack up the numbers throwing to his wideouts and prosper.
Howman: Ferguson is hard to project for me. His rookie year offered glimpses but no real sample size; his second season looked like a budding star; then, last year was a major regression. I get that he dealt with injuries, but Ferguson’s struggles last year went beyond that. With his rookie contract set to expire after this season, Ferguson badly needs to bounce back, but will he? I have no idea.
