FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys held a workout session for four players from the United Football League on Tuesday, as they look for depth help on the defensive side of the ball in a spring league player pool that has been fortuitous in the past with additions such as KaVontae Turpin in 2022 and Brandon Aubrey in 2023.
On Tuesday, the Cowboys hosted Michigan Panthers linebacker Noah Dawkins, St. Louis Battlehawks linebacker Willie Harvey Jr., DC Defenders cornerback Gareon Conley and DC Defenders cornerback Deandre Baker.
Dawkins, who played three seasons with the Buccaneers and Jets from 2019-2021, tallied 38 tackles for the Panthers in 2023. The 6-foot-1, 235-pound second-level defender played his college ball at The Citadel where he was a first-team All-Southern Conference honoree in 2018.
Harvey Jr. was the UFL league-leader in tackles (78) in 2024 as well as the linebacker leader in tackles for loss (9) and forced fumbles (2). Originally an undrafted signing for the Browns in 2019, Harvey Jr. played two seasons in Cleveland in 2019 and 2021 before being released.
Conley is a former first-round pick from the Oakland Raiders in 2017 where he spent two-and-a-half seasons before being traded to the Houston Texans to finish the 2019 season. He would then spend the final year of his rookie contract on injured reserve before signing with the Defenders in 2023. His two interceptions in 2024 were tied for fifth in the UFL.
Baker, another former first-round selection, began his NFL career with the New York Giants in 2019 where he notched 61 tackles and eight pass deflections as a rookie. An arrest following his rookie season for armed robbery put him on the commissioner's exempt list before the Giants waived him after just one year. Baker would eventually have the charges dropped before landing on the Kansas City Chiefs where he played in 10 games across two seasons before suffering a broken femur.
The Cowboys currently have four open roster spots with a little more than a month before the team heads to Oxnard, Calif. for training camp.
