Yesterday I shared with you the offensive players I believe will make the Dallas Cowboys 53-man roster in 2018. I used 27 roster spots on the offensive side of the ball and on the specialty players. Today I will allocate the rest of the remaining roster spots to the defensive side of the ball.
As things stand right now, there are a lot of unknowns about several defensive positions and we won’t know the answers until well into training camp and possibly not until the start of the 2018 season. But, we do know who will likely start at several positions, so the only thing left to do is figure out who the depth players will end up being.
Continue to read below to see who I believe makes the Dallas Cowboys 53-man roster on the defensive side of the ball.
Defensive Line (10)
DeMarcus Lawrence, Taco Charlton, Tyrone Crawford, Kony Ealy, Dorrance Armstrong, Charles Tapper, Maliek Collins, Jihad Ward, Brian Price, Randy Gregory
I decided to go heavy on the defensive line in this Dallas Cowboys 53-man roster prediction. Rod Marinelli likes to rotate his DL, so it’s important to have plenty of bodies to do just that. Randy Gregory and David Irving’s suspensions will end up impacting this group, but I went ahead and added Gregory because I think he has a real shot at being reinstated. If reinstated, I think he is a lock to make the roster. Charles Tapper may be the odd man out once Irving returns, but he will get a chance to prove himself.
Linebacker (6)
Sean Lee, Jaylon Smith, Leighton Vander Esch, Damien Wilson, Joe Thomas, Justin March-Lillard
The Dallas Cowboys drafted Leighton Vander Esch to replace Anthony Hitchens and signed Joe Thomas to replace Kyle Wilber. The final LB spot will come down to either Justin March-Lillard or Chris Covington, but March-Lillard has the advantage over the rookie right now. The Cowboys could look to add another veteran or scour the waiver wires, but for now I’ll give March-Lillard the nod. He has supposedly been performing well so far in the offseason.
Cornerback (6)
Byron Jones, Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis, Anthony Brown, Marquez White, Duke Thomas
I decided to go heavy at the CB position for a few reasons. First off, the Cowboys are in their nickel and dime package quite a bit, so they need a lot of defensive backs for depth. Secondly, Byron Jones may be asked to play some safety again if something were to happen to one of the starters. I decided to keep Marquez White and Duke Thomas to round out this group. Thomas had a chance to make the team last season if not for an unfortunate injury. And White, spent the last year on the practice squad, so there’s familiarity there.
Safety (4)
Jeff Heath, Xavier Woods, Kavon Frazier, Tyree Robinson
The safety position has to be the most concerning because it is the thinnest, depth -wise, out of the entire roster. I think the top three are set in stone with Jeff Heath, Xavier Woods, and Kavon Frazier, but who the fourth safety ends up being is completely up in the air. For now, I’m predicting Tyree Robinson claims that fourth spot, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cowboys look outside the organization for a more proven player.
