6 stock up and 3 stock down for the Cowboys after preseason win vs Raiders: Deuce Vaughn makes a statement
The Dallas Cowboys beat the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday's night preseason showdown but this is your weekly reminder that scoreboards don't matter that much this time of the year. What really matters is player evaluation and after taking a closer look at the game, we've got some good takeaways from the team's victory. Below are six […]
The Dallas Cowboys beat the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday's night preseason showdown but this is your weekly reminder that scoreboards don't matter that much this time of the year.
What really matters is player evaluation and after taking a closer look at the game, we've got some good takeaways from the team's victory.
Below are six Cowboys whose stocks are up and three who saw their stock take a hit.
Stock up: QB Trey Lance
The Cowboys' backup QB battle intensified on Saturday night as Trey Lance "took a step" forward, in the words of head coach Mike McCarthy.
Lance looked much more comfortable, displaying better play from the pocket and better anticipation, which was lacking in the preseason opener. Overall, Trey's two-touchdown performance was enough to reignite the QB2 conversation as he looks like he's got a shot to beat out Cooper Rush for the job.
Stock up: RB Deuce Vaughn
Well, well, well. Deuce really hit us with the "y'all must've forgot" performance on Saturday as he racked up 34 rushing yards in only five attempts for a whopping 6.8 yards per carry. He also had some nice moments in pass protection when lined up as a receiver at the line of scrimmage out of empty formations.
Specifically, Vaughn reminded fans and coaches of the obvious: He is a playmaker. Vaughn hit the spin move, juked defenders, and hit holes with speed as he piled up dirty yards in many of these plays. The young back's style shines more on gameday than it does on practice, as many plays that look like they will be tackles end up being another rep on Deuce's highlight reel.
He doesn't have a spot guaranteed but Vaughn is back in the 53-man roster conversation.
Stock down: DE Viliami Fehoko Jr.
It's starting to look like it might not happen for Fehoko Jr. For the second consecutive preseason game, the second-year defensive end received plenty of opportunity to show off his game. Once again he had the second-most pass rushing snaps on the team and once again he came away with zero pressures.
Mike Zimmer told the media last week that Fehoko Jr. was bound for fewer interior defensive line snaps but unfortunately the production off the edge didn't really arrive on Saturday night.
Stock up: CB Kemon Hall
Talk about an underdog: I wrote on Sunday about Hall's name being absent from the Cowboys' very own website roster. But Hall is making sure he isn't overlooked by the coaches in the same way. He played another physical game with sticky coverage, this time coming away with a Pick-6.
With only four cornerbacks on the team looking like locks, Hall has a legit chance to make the team.
Stock down: WR Jalen Cropper
Cropper was looking like he was going to run away with the WR6 role but his performance over the weekend paired with Ryan Flournoy's solid game muddies the picture.
Cropper had one rough drop as a receiver and fumbled as a returner, which is significant considering his ability as a returner is one of the biggest reasons why he'd make the 53-man roster. He needs to fight for this spot.
Stock up: S Juanyeh Thomas
How about Juanyeh Thomas doing his thing? Just like Markquese Bell, Thomas is one of those guys who looks like he's worthy of being a starter in the NFL but happens to be buried on a loaded position room.
Thomas had a great play in coverage as the single-high safety in which he flies to the receiver to break up the pass and later swatted the ball away from a scrambling Gardner Minshew.
Stock down: CB Andrew Booth Jr.
This one will be controversial due to Booth's quality tackling on Saturday. He made some nice plays near the sidelines in this aspect, but there's a reason why he was tackling so much in the first place: He allowed nine catches in 12 targets. One of those catches was a 30+ yard bomb where he got burnt deep and there would've been another explosive play allowed by him had the Raiders receiver not dropped the football.
Stock up: OL Cooper Beebe, Tyler Guyton
Two for one here: These two rookies have been insanely good and there's no question they should be starting when Week 1 comes around.
They didn't show signs of struggle against starting-caliber players and that includes star pass rusher Maxx Crosby, and starting defensive tackles Christian Wilkins and John Jenkins. Not only that but Guyton and Beebe continue to show how "nasty" they can be in the trenches, sending defenders to the ground consistently.
