The Dallas Cowboys are asking a recently benched rookie to save the day agaisnt the San Francisco 49ers in Week 10
The Dallas Cowboys handed him the green dot in Week 1 and played him three defensive snaps in Week 9. Now they need the rookie somewhere he hasn’t lined up in Dallas.
The Dallas Cowboys are asking a rookie to rescue them one week after benching him even further than he was already benched.
I’m talking about third-round rookie linebacker Jaishawn Barham. The Cowboys drafted him with the 92nd overall pick in April, and he opened the season as one of their defensive starters. In Week 1, he lined up as a starting off-ball linebacker next to DeMarvion Overshown, wearing the green dot. He played at least 60% of the defensive snaps in five consecutive games.
Then things shifted.
From green dot to three snaps
When Dallas visited the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 7, the coaching staff wanted a change. Shemar James took over as the green dot linebacker, and Barham’s snap count took a direct hit. He went from playing 80% of the snaps in Week 6 to 32% (21 snaps) against the Eagles.
The decline kept going. Barham played 16 snaps against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 8, and most recently against the Indianapolis Colts, he was down to three defensive snaps.
Barham has gone from starter to rotational player to close to nonexistent at inside linebacker for the Cowboys’ defense.
Cowboys turn to Barham as EDGE injuries pile up
Fast forward to Week 10. The Cowboys are gearing up to face the 7-1 San Francisco 49ers, and they’re looking to Barham to help pull them out of a terrible situation.
Barham is about to play outside linebacker. According to Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker via Nick Harris (Fort Worth Star-Telegram), the rookie will get increased work at the position this week because that group is battling injuries. Multiple reporters also indicated Barham worked with the outside linebackers during the media viewing portion of Wednesday’s practice.
Look at the snap counts and you’ll see how much Dallas is losing. Rashan Gary leads the Cowboys’ edge rushers with a 66% snap share. Donovan Ezeiruaku is right behind him at 65%, followed by first-round rookie Malachi Lawrence at 37%.
Lawrence is on Injured Reserve. Ezeiruaku suffered an injury that knocked him out of the Colts game, and he missed Wednesday’s practice.
So Dallas is down its No. 2 and No. 3 edge rushers.
Here’s the thing about Barham: this isn’t foreign territory for him. He played EDGE for the Michigan Wolverines in his final college season. When the Cowboys drafted him, it was somewhat of a surprise to hear they viewed him as an inside linebacker first. Now, out of need (and after his demotion at inside linebacker), Dallas wants him getting after the quarterback.
What the draft evaluation said about Barham as an edge rusher
Since we’re about to see Barham in a new capacity, it’s worth revisiting his draft evaluation from when most of us expected him to play on the edge.
Our own NFL Draft expert Kyle Crabbs liked Barham a lot as an edge rusher. He viewed him as a sleeper who could hit it big, and he evaluated him mostly in that role.
Barham scouting report as EDGE:
Michigan Wolverines EDGE/linebacker Jaishawn Barham was one of the most fun prospects I watched this winter. A transfer from Maryland, Barham transitioned from off-ball linebacker to playing more on the edge and showcased a great deal of promise.
His experience as an off-ball linebacker and plugging gaps with aggressiveness and heavy pads has lent itself well to him attacking blocks along the edge of a point of attack. Barham possesses enough flexibility and explosiveness to rush with speed off the edge, and he should be able to continue to develop past rush counters, if allowed to rush from the edge full-time.
If Barham can successfully develop his hands to create consistent separation from blockers on the edges, he could very easily become a quality starter at the NFL level. He has enough juice, and he has the right attitude to make it work. This is one of my sleepers to hit it big. – Kyle Crabbs
Who fills the snaps against San Francisco?
The biggest question heading into Week 10 is what the Cowboys do with the snaps left vacant by Lawrence, and by Ezeiruaku if he can’t go.
Does Barham get thrown to the wolves with a large snap count? Or does he slot in as a backup behind other backups like James Houston and Von Miller?
Dallas does have some depth to sort through. The Cowboys have usually made either Houston or Tyrus Wheat a healthy scratch at outside linebacker. They also got Marist Liufau back, and he made his season debut in Week 9. And on the practice squad, Isaiah Land could be a call-up candidate.
The Cowboys will have to make those decisions later this week, and how they divide the work against San Francisco will tell us a lot about how much they trust Barham in his new role.
