Jaishawn Barham may have already shown enough this preseason to make the rest of the exhibition slate feel unnecessary, but the Dallas Cowboys kept him in the mix anyway.
After a standout debut against the Arizona Cardinals in preseason Week 2, Barham was back on the field to open Saturday night’s preseason Week 3 game against the New Orleans Saints. He also had the green dot again, just as he did against Arizona.
"Jaishawn Barham gets the green dot and the start tonight for the Cowboys defense. Shemar James next to him," Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News wrote.
That usage matters. Preseason Week 3 usually goes to players battling for roster spots or backup jobs, which would normally make Barham’s role look like a routine evaluation.
But that doesn’t really fit his situation. He’s already locked into a roster spot and a backup role, so the more likely explanation is that Dallas wants another look at him to see whether he’s ready for something bigger by Week 1.
Barham’s Week 2 performance against the Cardinals made that possibility easy to imagine. He finished with five tackles, including one for loss, along with three run stops, and he posted the highest Pro Football Focus overall grade among Cowboys defenders at 90.1.
The green dot is the other clue here. For a rookie, that kind of responsibility points to trust, and the Cowboys seem to be giving Barham a growing share of it. That doesn’t guarantee a starting job right away, but it does suggest Dallas is treating him like more than just a depth piece.
Even if he opens the year outside the starting lineup, Barham’s chances of seeing the field should stay strong. Defensive coordinator Christian Parker is not going to be able to keep him off the field for long, and his edge-rushing ability gives him another path to snaps.
At this point, the way Barham has looked all offseason makes the next step feel inevitable. If he isn’t starting immediately, it seems to be a matter of when, not if.
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