Much of the attention heading into last night’s game between the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams centered on how the offense would perform with Joe Milton playing under center for the majority of the contest and whether the defensive line could hold up against Los Angeles. The results were mixed. While Milton made improvements during the later stages of the game, he struggled with accuracy, often throwing behind his receivers. The Cowboys allowed the Rams to get chunk plays on the ground, which led to them racing out to a 14-0 lead. That said, even in a loss, there are some things the Cowboys can take away as positives, especially when evaluating the bottom of their roster. A few undrafted free agents made the most of their opportunity and were the undrafted stars of the night.
Traeshon Holden has put together some strong training camp performances and has made it a habit of making big plays down the field on a routine basis. We saw some of that carry over to the game against Los Angeles. Holden had the biggest offensive play of the night for the Cowboys, connecting with Joe Milton on a 36-yard gain down the right sideline. Although Milton did struggle to get on the same page with some of the receivers, Holden has been one of the more consistent targets for Milton.
Following his performance, head coach Brian Schottenheimer said that Holden is going to move up the depth chart, and with good reason. Holden is a fiery competitor with an expressive demeanor and someone whose confidence grows with every big play he makes. As for how high up the depth chart Holden is moving up, we’ll see. For now, he appears to have an inside track to making a spot on the roster, and it could be his place to lose for the remainder of camp.
Although the defense didn’t have a productive night as a whole, Zion Childress managed to make plays and stand out from the crowd. Childress led the team with five solo tackles and made an excellent play to snuff the ball carrier on an end around to pick up a tackle for a loss. He disrupts passing lanes well and can play multiple different spots on the field. What’s important is that he is a willing tackler who can help in run support, but is versatile enough to play either slot cornerback or safety.
Currently, the Cowboys’ secondary is riddled with injuries, and another player went down as Robert Rochelle left the game with a hamstring injury. That leaves an open opportunity for Childress to see more playing time, and Dallas could give him a chance as the boundary cornerback with the team so thin at the position. His chances of making the roster may not be as strong as Holden’s, but he could lock his way onto the practice squad with repeat performances such as the one he had last night.
Malik Davis has had an interesting odyssey in the NFL since going undrafted in 2022. Davis has been a member of the Cowboys ever since, yet often bouncing back and forth between the active roster, free agency, and the practice squad. Now entering his fourth NFL season, Davis has less than 40 carry attempts under his belt, so he is very hungry to prove himself.
This offseason, Davis was waived by the team in the spring and re-signed to the roster just two days ago because of so many injuries at running back for the team. Yet, Davis was the team’s best offensive player against Los Angeles. He had fresh legs, he ran through contact, and demonstrated excellent vision once he got to the second level of the defense. He ran for 63 yards on only seven carries. His longest run was 16 yards, which speaks to how efficient he was on each of his touches.
As per usual for Davis, he has a big hill to climb in hopes of finding a spot on the roster. He very well could be destined for the practice squad again. However, his presence could make things very uncomfortable for Phil Mafah and Deuce Vaughn as we get closer to the roster cutdown.
