Dallas Cowboys season opening 53-man roster prediction

Defensive Line (11)

EDGEs and OLBs: DeMarcus Lawrence, Randy Gregory, Tarell Basham, Dorance Armstrong, Chauncey Gholston, Bradlee Anae

IDL: Brent Urban, Neville Gallimore, Osa Odighizuwa, Carlos Watkins, Quinton Bohanna

Eleven players for the defensive line is a large number, but it’s hard to look at the current state of the Dallas Cowboys defensive line and say no to any of the names above

DeMarcus Lawrence is the team’s best defensive player and Randy Gregory has proven to be the second-best. Basham signed with the team so he could imitate DL coach Aden Durde at a high level. Chauncey Gholston is currently on the PUP list but his draft pick status would suggest the team has no plans of cutting him anytime soon.

This leaves Dorance Armstrong and Bradlee Anae to fill in as the other EDGE players. Armstrong has had a really strong preseason finally turning the corner on an otherwise underwhelming career to this point. The athleticism was there for Armstrong, it’s possible he just needed the time to put things together; he just recently turned 24 years old.

Bradlee Anae was the last person I chose to make the 53 man roster. In fact, the spot was between him and a defensive back I’ll later address. Anae has had a good last two games and was causing problems for the offensive line during the beginning stages of training camp. The most technically sound pass rusher of the 2020 NFL draft finally proved his worth this training camp and fans would surely like to see him rewarded for his growth as a player.

The only change to the interior defensive line was switching out Trysten Hill for Carlos Watkins. Hill is still on the PUP list and Carlos Watkins has been relevant enough within the rotation to earn a roster spot. It would seem as if the second-round pick from the 2019 draft might not have a home for much longer.

It was always going to be an uphill battle for him to make the team, but his inability to participate with the team during training camp allowed for others to make a name for themselves. The worst-case scenario just happened for the former Golden Knight.

Also with Neville Gallimore out with the shoulder injury, having guys that can play right now for the team is of the greatest importance. Hill isn’t doing that…