DALLAS — Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones called it “real dicey” Friday to count on rookies the way the Cowboys are counting on theirs, two days before the season opener against the New York Giants. Jones made the comments on the K&C Masterpiece on 105.3 The Fan.
Dallas used four of its first five picks in April on defense. Safety Caleb Downs went 11th overall out of Ohio State, edge rusher Malachi Lawrence 23rd overall out of UCF, and linebacker Jaishawn Barham 92nd overall out of Michigan.
The younger the team, the fewer the injuries, Jones said earlier in the interview, and the schemes are built for adjustments made on the field rather than from the sideline.
“Well, I like it’s younger, dare I say, which does have and does impact availability,” Jones said. “The younger the team is, frankly, the less the injuries. And so that’s a big plus. And the schemes, I think, are applicable to communicating the impromptu aspect of adjusting as the play is just beginning or right before it begins, adjusting out there.”
Physically, Jones said, young players usually have the advantage over veterans.
“I think it’s first of all it says a lot about them,” Jones explained. “It’s dicey. It’s real dicey, guys. When you’re counting on the new challenges that players have to come into the NFL and play the game, and from the get-go, it’s always been said it’s about the mental. The mental, it’s not so much about the physical. Those young guys usually are up there pretty far or, dare I say, have advantage physically over a veteran player.”
“But the mental aspect of it. And that thing does take time,” Jones continued. “That’s why you see players, the most talented ones, get better as they play two or three years in the NFL. We’re going to have to overcome, and I say that positively, we’re going to have to overcome our inexperience.”
Caleb Downs And Malachi Lawrence In The Dallas Cowboys’ First Round
Dallas traded up from No. 12 to No. 11 with Miami to take Downs, then traded No. 20 to Philadelphia for No. 23 and two fourth-round picks before taking Lawrence.
Downs signed a four-year, $28.95 million contract on May 1, the day rookie minicamp started, the AP reported. He won the Jim Thorpe Award and the Lott Trophy in 2025 and was Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. He was a unanimous All-American in 2024 and 2025.
Lawrence signed a four-year, $20.2 million deal in May. He had 7 sacks and 11 tackles for loss last season at UCF and finished 10th on the program’s career sacks list with 20. He ran a 4.52-second 40-yard dash at the combine with a 40-inch vertical jump.
The Cowboys hold fifth-year options on both contracts and must decide during the 2029 offseason.
Jaishawn Barham And The Dallas Cowboys Linebacker Room
Barham played two seasons at Maryland and two at Michigan. Dallas carries four linebackers on its initial 53-man roster.
Dee Winters arrived from the San Francisco 49ers on April 24 for a fifth-round pick, 152nd overall. He started all 17 games for San Francisco last season with 101 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, and a pick-six.
DeMarvion Overshown has 19 career games and 5 sacks. Shemar James had 91 tackles in 14 games as a rookie last season. Marist Liufau is on injured reserve with a designation to return.
Kickoff at MetLife Stadium is 7:20 p.m. CT Sunday on NBC.
