Dallas Cowboys Final 53-man Roster Prediction 2020 (End of Camp)

The Last of the Dallas Cowboys Defense

Linebackers (6)

Starters: Jaylon Smith, Leighton Vander Esch, Sean Lee

Depth: Joe Thomas, Francis Bernard, Justin March

Let’s be clear right away, Sean Lee is no sure thing. He’s been out virtually all of camp. He has a long injury history and is on his last leg. The team adores him as a leader and that’s the only reason he’s here. Yes, he’s a good player when he’s healthy and playing limited snaps, but that’s not always possible and he’s a bit of a progress stopper to a guy like Francis Bernard.

Speaking of Bernard, the kid looks like a future starter in this league and the Dallas Cowboys would be wise to groom him sooner rather than later. Joe Thomas is a versatile WILL and MIKE who specializes in coverage. He’s one of the most underrated players on the roster and could probably start on most of the teams in the division.

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Justin March doesn’t offer a ton on defense but he’s highly athletic and special teams ace. He’s on the bubble but my gut is telling me he’s on the right side of that bubble and likely to stick around for one more year. Luke Gifford misses the cut here. The play-maker from last season is a luxury the Cowboys can’t afford and with other young players like Bernard surpassing him, he becomes expendable. He’s eligible for the practice squad so that’s the clear hope.

Debrief

The Dallas Cowboys go a little nontraditional in their roster this year in order to keep the best possible players. They will be thin in some areas, but with the game day expanded rosters they should be able to move up extra WRs, TEs, FBs each Sunday.

It really comes down to who they think they can sneak onto their practice squad and who they can’t. With no preseason teams are going to be more inclined to keep their own rather than rolling the dice on someone they haven’t seen.