When it comes to pressure heading into the upcoming Dallas Cowboys training camp, there certainly is enough to go around. There will be a battle at left tackle on the offensive side, and some of the team’s running backs will be jockeying for position behind Javonte Williams. There will a backup quarterback battle, battles at safety and cornerback, and the sorting out of the linebacker depth chart. But there will be one highly drafted player who is, basically, fighting for his NFL career–newly minted edge rusher Marist Liufau.
A third-round pick in 2024, Liufau has had a hard time finding a comfort zone in the Cowboys’ defense, and the team is giving him a last chance to earn a spot by bumping him from linebacker to pass-rusher. But while the Cowboys lack top-line talent at that position, they’re also deep enough that Liufau might just have too many players to leap over in training camp.
That’s the projection from Dallas Morning News beat writer Joseph Hoyt, who put out a first look at the Cowboys’ projected 53-man roster–and predicts that Liufau will be on the outside looking in.
Cowboys Have No Room for Marist Liufau?
In Hoyt’s projected Cowboys roster, the depth chart at edge rusher looks like this: Rashan Gary, Donovan Ezeiruaku, Malachi Lawrence, James Houston, Sam Williams. He lists notable cuts as, “Marist Liufau, Tyrus Wheat, Isaiah Land.’
But there’s no doubt that Liufau is the big name here. The Cowboys could try to trade him, but it’s unlikely they’d get anything more than a late third-day pick for him.
Writes Hoyt: “The significant one here is obviously Liufau. He’s heading into his third season after the Cowboys selected him in the third round out of Notre Dame. He hasn’t seen the field a ton during his career thus far. This year, the Cowboys said he would be moving to outside linebacker. He looked bigger in training camp and the Cowboys have insisted he could have a larger role this season. It’ll be on him to earn that in training camp.”
Cowboys Took a Draft Risk
It’s not exactly a surprise that Liufau has found himself in this position. When he was drafted by the Cowboys, he was seen as a stretch in the third round, a player who was too much a hybrid to find a consistent role in the NFL.
In fact, the NFL.com scouting report on him read: “Liufau offers third-down value as a spot dropper with good field awareness and might have enough man-cover talent to line up over big slot targets from time to time. He appears to lack the instincts to be a consistent tackle-maker as a pro but does have the qualities to potentially compete as a nickel linebacker with special teams value as a Day 3 pick.”
Marist Liufau Looking Forward to Position Change
But there’s hope that edge rusher is where he should have been all along, and the Cowboys will give him another chance to earn a spot there. Liufau addressed the change back at spring practices.
“I’m excited, [it’s] just another opportunity to get on the field,” Liufau told reporters. “At the end of the day, it’s not something I can’t do. I’m excited to really showcase what I can do. I will be fine.”
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