The Cowboys’ Tuesday practice gave rookie linebacker Jaishawn Barham a bigger stage, and he looked ready for it.
DeMarvion Overshown showed up on the training camp injury report with soreness in his legs, but there’s no real concern about the issue. ESPN’s Todd Archer noted that the soreness has nothing to do with Overshown’s surgically repaired knee. Still, the limited workload meant more first-team snaps for Barham.
“With linebacker DeMarvion Overshown battling a sore leg (a source said it was nothing to do with his surgically repaired knee), rookie Jaishawn Barham worked with the first-team defense next to Dee Winters,” Archer reported.
That’s a meaningful development because Barham has already been one of the early standouts of camp. Through the first week-plus, he’s consistently flashed with his athleticism, showing up as a pass rusher, in coverage and against the run. He has built real momentum heading into his first season, and the extra reps only strengthen his case.
Overshown remains a locked-in starter. Dee Winters, though, is a different story.
He’s currently in line to be the other inside linebacker starter, but he isn’t guaranteed that spot. Winters is a solid player, but Barham’s upside has already started to separate him from the pack in camp.
Barham has been working into first-team rotations with Winters and has also seen action in sub packages, but Tuesday’s opportunity gave him a longer look with the top group. That matters, even if it’s only a temporary opening.
At minimum, he got an extended chance to show what he can do. And if he keeps stacking those reps, Barham has a real shot to convince the Cowboys he belongs next to Overshown as a starter. That would be the ideal outcome for Dallas given what it has invested in him.
There’s still plenty of camp left, and Barham still has to prove it in live-game action. But the rookie’s fast start, combined with the chance for more first-team work, gives him a legitimate path to challenge Winters for the job.
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