Cowboys roster review: Inside linebackers

Because of the happenings at linebacker last season, the Cowboys were forced to throw Shemar James into the deep end of the pool as a rookie. It’s debatable if he managed to tread water as the unit as a whole seemed to be in over their heads. That said, James got valuable playing time in his first season. He played 14 games and started six of them, with 91 total tackles. The advanced analytics wont be kind to James, however. Per PFF, he was graded 84th out of 88 linebackers and 86th out of 88 linebackers in run defense.

Justin Barron

Prior to the draft last season, the Cowboys spent some time keeping a keen eye on the defensive prospects at Syracuse. The initial belief was that Dallas was zeroing in on Fadil Diggs. However, they added two of his teammates as undrafted free agents in Alijah Clark and Justin Barron. Barron has a very diverse athletic background, starting his career at wide receiver and defensive back before playing linebacker. As an undrafted player, the Cowboys gave him a pretty sizable contract with a three-year, $2.92M deal. Last season, he was active for two games but didn’t record a single defensive statistic. Apparently, the team had stashed him, practically giving him essentially a redshirt season, although that clashes with the money he received upon going undrafted. Now with where the Cowboys are at linebacker, Barron has to show much more than he was afforded to as a rookie, and he needs to be substantial.

Final verdict

As you can see, the cupboard is still bare when it comes to numbers at the position, indicating the Cowboys are looking toward the draft to add more bodies. Things took an interesting turn as the Giants now hold the 10th pick after a trade with the Cincinnati Bengals and could be locking in on Sonny Styles, whom the Cowboys hosted on a top 30 visit. Dallas likely will shift gears to day 2 and 3 options at inside linebacker, but could also pivot to the veteran market once the draft is over. A few available names to consider are Matt Milano and Bobby Okereke. Surely by next Sunday, we’ll have a better understanding of where the Cowboys are at inside linebacker.