Barham is filling in for the injured DeMarvion Overshown, but the rookie is playing so well that D-Mo might be relegated to a backup.
One of the worst things about the Dallas Cowboys' 34-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Rio on Sunday in NFL Week 3 was that the strong performances by some players were forgotten.
And one player who announced himself was linebacker Jaishawn Barham.
The rookie, who was also calling the plays via the green dot, went toe-to-toe with Derrick Henry and the Ravens' vaunted rushing attack and more than held his own.
In fact, he was one of Dallas' best players on the night.
His seven tackles and two TFLs were the main part of the story, as the rookie blew up running plays against Henry...twice.
A fourth-and-one as the Ravens were at Dallas' one-yard line, No. 55 stepped up and blew up the play, taking Henry down to give the ball back to his offense.
Then on the very next Ravens series, Barham, who was coming off the edge on a third-and-one, takes on the block from the fullback, powers through him, and sets his sights on Henry and makes it a four-yard loss.
He is making the case to be Dallas' starting inside linebacker ... even when Overshown returns to full health.
"I think he's doing everything in his power to fight to keep that spot," head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. "We're very pleased with not only how he's doing, but how he's growing. Part of playing young players is that they're going to make mistakes, and they're going to grow from those mistakes.
"I see less mistakes from Jaishawn in this game than I saw from him in the Giants game. And so I think that's good, and he's making a pretty strong case to not leave the field."
One of the bright spots for the Dallas defense in Rio was Barham, and had the Cowboys won, I get the feeling more would have been made of his game.
Even J.J. Watt said on the broadcast, "This guy's a force, has Dallas found something special?"
Now, it is only three games, but we are seeing Barham make plays consistently, all the while, wearing the green dot and being the quarterback of the defense.
So yes, right now, you can make a compelling case that the starting insider linebacker spot belongs to Jaishawn's until further notice.
Even if Agent 0 is healthy.
