The Dallas Cowboys received rave reviews for their top two picks in the 2026 draft, and now one of the lower picks has popped up in a list of rookies to watch at training camp.
For the Cowboys, training camp begins in a week in Oxnard, California and could they still be in the market for another linebacker? And are they completely settled on who wears the green dot that goes to the defensive leader?
Those are issues as Dallas enters the home stretch of the offseason.
Dallas Cowboys rookie Jaishawn Barham
Caleb Downs has been in the news since being drafted for all the right reasons, and the other first-round pick, Malachi Lawrence, has gotten good reviews as well. Dallas has other players in their 2026 draft class and now one of them is getting a little notice.
ESPN’s Ben Solak has a training camp preview out and one category is five rookies to watch. He comes up with linebacker Jaishawn Barham, who the Cowboys took in the third round out of Michigan.
Solak writes: “An intriguing defensive shift is underway in Dallas, as new coordinator Christian Parker brings a Vic Fangio-inspired system to a roster that has endured a brutal coaching carousel. Dallas has had four defensive coordinators in the past four years: Dan Quinn, Mike Zimmer, Matt Eberflus and now Parker. That car wash, along with some bad injury luck and draft misses (and the trade of Micah Parsons) has left the Cowboys’ defense thin on young and exciting talent.
“Barham might change that. He started his career in college as an inside linebacker before kicking to the edge in his final season with Michigan. Dallas plans to move the third-round pick back to stack linebacker, where plenty of snaps are up for grabs in a thin room that features Dee Winters and DeMarvion Overshown. But because Barham has experience rushing the passer, he can fill the Zack Baun/Jihaad Campbell role in Dallas − an integral spot in the Eagles’ defense that Parker helped coach for the past two seasons. How often the Cowboys give Barham snaps in training camp − and where exactly he lines up − will be a sign of how the first-year coordinator intends to call defense in 2026.”
Green dot Demarvion Overshown
Increasingly over the last four years, the player who wears the “green dot” on his helmet, the symbol that indicates the player has an earpiece in his helmet that allows him to communicate with coaches, has become a big deal. That player takes on a role as a defensive leader and it’s almost always a linebacker.
As an example of how out of sorts Dallas was in 2025, it rotated the duties among several players as the defense reached historic depths. This year, linebacker Demarvion Overshown is the consensus choice to take over full-time and that was the topic of a daily question on DallasCowboys.com thrown to the team of Nick Eatman, Tommy Yarrish and Patrik Walker.
While Yarrish and Walker settled on Overshown, Eatman went a different direction with Caleb Downs.
Eatman writes: “Think about this, maybe (Dee) Winters and Overshown split some reps. Maybe they’re both not out there 100 percent of the time. I know this − the War Room didn’t erupt with joy and Cowboys Nation didn’t get as excited as it’s been in a while because they think Caleb Downs is going to be a rotational player. No, he’s on the field and probably every snap. And if he’s truly as smart as his new teammates already say he is, then he might make the most sense.”
Yarrish has the more conventional take: “If the season started today, I think it would be DeMarvion Overshown. Given what they have on the roster right now, I think he just makes the most sense and can handle the responsibilities that come with what that position entails. Sure, he has the right mental makeup for the position, but his physical traits and ability to fire quickly towards ball carriers when healthy is what separates him for me.
“Now, the ‘when healthy’ part of that last sentence is important. Overshown is on the heels of two major knee injuries in back to back years, but has the advantage of coming into this offseason healthy.”
Cowboys looking at free agent Bobby Wagner
Dallas keeps popping up as a potential landing spot for free agent linebackers, particularly future Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner, who played with the Washington Commanders last year when he was 35.
Kristopher Knox from Bleacher Report has a look at the top 10 free agents and where they could land. He picked Dallas and the Jacksonville Jaguars as potential spots.
He writes: “Is Wagner the same perennial Pro Bowler he was for most of his career? Perhaps not, but the reigning Walter Payton Man of the Year is still an exemplary leader and an above-average starter. At this stage in his career, Wagner would make the most sense for a team seeking both talent and experience on its defense and with enough overall talent to make a strong push for the postseason.”
Also of note, Knox has the two Super Bowl teams, the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, as top landing spots for edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney and two teams not expected to contend for the Super Bowl, the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Jets, as landing spots for cornerback Trevon Diggs.
Dallas Cowboys training camp
The Dallas Cowboys previously announced their training camp in Oxnard, California, would have its first practice on July 29 and it’s last one on Aug. 18 before heading to their second preseason game at Arizona and then returning to their home in Frisco.
Now they’ve come out with a full schedule of practices that are open to fans. Before that, they fly in on July 27 and have a kick-off press conference on the 28th. Practices are at River Ridge Playing Fields and are free.
These times are local (Pacific) for anyone who wants to go.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached, bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Which Dallas Cowboys rookie is a player to watch at training camp?
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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By Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times | USA TODAY Network
