The Cowboys’ Week 1 mess didn’t do many of their 2027 free agents any favors.
That’s the basic read after a sloppy opener, and it’s why the stock report feels more like damage control than celebration. A few players avoided real harm by not playing at all, while the ones who did get on the field mostly blended into a rough team performance. The only real bright spot belonged to punter Bryan Anger, who kept doing Bryan Anger things.
Cowboys 2027 free agents who held steady
QB Sam Howell (DNP)
RB Emari Demercado
WR Jonathan Mingo
TE Luke Schoonmaker
OT Broderick Jones (DNP)
OL Nick Leverett (DNP)
OLB Von Milller
OLB James Houston
OLB Tyrus Wheat (DNP)
S P.
J. Locke
S Alijah Clark
P Bryan Anger
For several of these players, the best way to avoid a dip was simply not to get on the field. That was the case for Howell and some of the backup offensive linemen, though the hope is still that those guys only see meaningful action in a comfortable win.
Demercado did play, but only for five offensive snaps, since Javonte Williams barely left the field. That’s not much of a surprise considering Demercado arrived only about two weeks ago, and he should see more opportunities as he gets more comfortable with the offense.
Still, Tyler Goodson may now be in the mix for those touches too.
Mingo and Schoonmaker each did about as much as their roles allowed: one catch apiece on one target. At this stage, there isn’t much stock for either player to gain or lose.
The defensive side is trickier to separate because the whole unit struggled. Miller and Houston barely played enough to leave a mark, and nobody really had the kind of individual showing that would offset the team’s issues. That said, the bigger trouble spots belong in the next group.
Anger deserves his own mention. He only punted twice, but he averaged 48.0 yards and didn’t allow a return.
That kind of consistency keeps him among the NFL’s better punters if it continues. It doesn’t really move the needle on his market, since he’s already well respected, but it was a reminder that he’s still doing it at nearly 38 years old.
Cowboys 2027 free agents whose stock slipped
WR George Pickens
G T.J.
Bass
DL Otito Ogbonnia
DL Jonathan Bullard
LB DeMarvion Overshown
LB Dee Winters
S Malik Hooker
This is where the ugly parts of Sunday night show up. Some of Dallas’ biggest free-agent names landed on the wrong side of the ledger, and it’s a big reason the Cowboys looked so out of sync.
Pickens had a quiet night by his standards, finishing with three catches for 28 yards on six targets. The two first-half drops stood out in a bad way and helped knock Dallas off rhythm. There’s no reason to think he won’t bounce back fast, but it wasn’t the kind of performance that strengthens a franchise-WR case.
Bass got the start at left guard in place of the injured Tyler Smith, and the results were rough. The Cowboys had already talked up his ability to handle the job, but the run game never got going and Bass allowed more quarterback pressures than any other lineman. Nobody expected him to fully replace Smith, but he does need to do a better job of keeping the position stable.
The defensive concerns were just as obvious. Ogbonnia and Bullard were brought in to help clean up the run defense, yet the Giants had no real trouble there.
Overshown and Winters, the two starting linebackers, also got pushed around and didn’t make much of an impact. The worries about their size as 3-4 inside linebackers were backed up, and Overshown also came away with yet another injury.
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