FRISCO, Texas - Football season is getting closer and closer.
The Cowboys are set to depart for training camp in less a month. That's when we'll get the first up-close look at Brian Schottenheimer's first season with this revised roster and coaching staff. When we get to Oxnard, that's when we'll start to get some real answers about this 2025 Cowboys team.
But what are the questions? We've compiled our annual list of pressing questions that need answers heading into the regular season. The staff writers, consisting of Patrik Walker, Tommy Yarrish, Nick Eatman, Mickey Spagnola, Kyle Youmans and Kurt Daniels, weigh in on some of the pressing issues.
Today, we'll continue our series with a question about the Cowboys' nine undrafted free agents, and which one of them could make the biggest impact for the 2025 Cowboys in their rookie season with opportunities to prove themselves coming up in the next few weeks.
19) Which UDFA Can Make Biggest Impact?
Nick: I always love this question because usually, someone is going to be right. The Cowboys have had a lot of success in this area, so there will be a player or two, maybe three, that make this team and contribute. When I was watching the first OTA practice with the rookies, No. 55 Justin Barron stood out the most to me. He looked just as quick and fluid as Shemar James in the drills I saw. Nothing against James, but Barron looks like he belongs as well. Has great size and seems like the kind of player that will immediately contribute on special teams and could be a backup linebacker as well. It's a position of need for one, but Barron looks the part, too. That's one player I see making it as an UDFA player.
Kyle: For the better part of a decade, the Cowboys have found success in the UDFA class. This year seems like the lowest chance at striking yet, based purely on the small number of additions (nine) in the UDFA class. However, there's a few names I keep coming back to, especially Justin Barron.
Barron, a five-year letter winner with Syracuse where he played safety, nickel and finally linebacker to round out his career. He looked the part during his rookie offseason, showing up in the rotation at linebacker throughout minicamp and OTAs. He joins a thin position group but has some veteran leadership around him with Kenneth Murray Jr. and a former UDFA Jack Sanborn. Don't be surprised to see Barron make multiple plays throughout the preseason to work his way into playing time.
Tommy: Give me Alijah Clark, the safety from Syracuse. At 6'1, 188 pounds, he's a versatile piece that can line up at safety or in the slot in the secondary and it's that aspect of his game that I think helps him make the roster. Granted it was in OTAs and the two starting safeties were injured, but Clark was still out there taking reps with the first team defense in the media viewings of practice, which is certainly a good sign. He was also the highest paid UDFA the Cowboys brought in following the NFL Draft, which tells you what the personnel department thought of him. At the very least, he's got experience as a gunner and jammer on special teams and has a chance to carve out a role for himself along that path if things don't work out on the backend of the defense.
Kurt: Well, my choice when this question came up last year didn't even make the practice squad, but we'll give it another go. The Cowboys currently have nine UDFAs from the 2025 rookie class on the roster and at least six of those probably won't make much of an impact simply because of the position they play (wide receiver, tight end and safety). But one area where Dallas has real question marks is at cornerback, which could open the door for someone like Zion Childress, who has experience playing throughout the secondary. In addition, he was considered a strong leader in the college ranks at Kentucky, and scouting reports say he's a solid tackler, a trait that is obviously important since whatever impact he or any of these other UDFAs have will likely come mostly on special teams.
