DALLAS — Dallas Cowboys beat writer Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News kept six receivers on his fourth 53-man roster projection of the summer, putting undrafted rookie Camden Brown on the team alongside CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Ryan Flournoy, KaVontae Turpin, and Jonathan Mingo. He expects Anthony Smith to be cut.
Watkins wrote that Dallas may go with five receivers instead, that Brown holds a slight edge over Mingo for the last spot, and that Smith is headed for the practice squad. Marquez Valdes-Scantling sticks only for special teams, Watkins wrote, adding that seven receivers is hard to see on this roster.
Camden Brown And Jonathan Mingo Against Arizona
Brown has caught 5 passes for 139 yards and 2 touchdowns in two preseason games, and he led the Cowboys in receiving yards in both.
On third-and-3 from the Dallas 29 with 12:01 left in the second quarter Saturday, Joe Milton III rolled left away from pressure and found Brown for a 70-yard gain to the Arizona 1. Milton scored on a keeper on the next snap.
Mingo caught 2 passes for 62 yards and a touchdown in the 34-13 win at the Arizona Cardinals, and his 53-yard score was the first of his career. Eight Dallas receivers played, and Brown and Mingo accounted for 139 of the 244 passing yards.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said after the game that the roster math at the position is about to start.
How The Receiver Room Was Built
Dallas signed Brown after the 2026 draft as one of 11 undrafted free agents, on a three-year contract worth $3 million. He spent three seasons at Auburn and caught 26 passes for 289 yards there before transferring to Georgia Southern for his final year. Dak Prescott singled him out on the final day of camp in Oxnard.
The Carolina Panthers drafted Mingo 39th overall in 2023 out of Ole Miss. Dallas traded a 2025 fourth-round pick for him in November 2024 and got back a 2025 seventh-round pick in the deal. He caught 1 pass for 25 yards in six games last season and did not take a snap until Week 12, and he has 61 receptions for 610 yards in his career.
Pickens is playing the 2026 season on the franchise tag at $27.3 million. He caught 93 passes for 1,429 yards in his first season with Dallas.
Flournoy caught 40 passes for 475 yards and 4 touchdowns in 13 games last season. Dallas drafted him 216th overall in 2024 out of Southeast Missouri State.
Valdes-Scantling signed a one-year deal in April that carries a $1.26 million cap charge. He caught 10 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers last season and has 219 receptions for 3,686 yards and 21 touchdowns in eight seasons. He has not returned a kick or a punt since 2018.
Smith was the last of the Cowboys’ seven picks in the 2026 draft, taken in the seventh round out of East Carolina. He wears No. 83 and started at receiver against the Cardinals.
Dallas waived receiver Traeshon Holden on Aug. 17 to make room for Von Miller.
Roster Deadline And The Preseason Finale
Dallas must cut from 91 to 53 by 5 p.m. CT on Sunday, Aug. 30, and submit waiver claims by noon CT the next day.
The Cowboys play their final preseason game against the New Orleans Saints at AT&T Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m. CT.
