Rookie defenders dominate, but a top pick's return reveals mixed results. Discover which first-year players shone and which are still finding their footing.
The Dallas Cowboys received career days from a handful of their rookies during their Week 7 44-22 win over the Washington Commanders. Let’s dive deeper into the numbers from an exciting day for the 2025 draft class.
Tyler Booker, OG (No. 12 overall)
The good news: Booker returned from a high ankle sprain that cost him three games, a very quick return from such an injury. The better news: he posted the best pass blocking grade of his career at 72.1 while giving up only two pressures and no sacks.
The bad news: he was credited with a 50.0 run blocking grade, the worst of his career, as well as a penalty that was accepted. Overall, it’s the same story from Booker of oscillating flashes of brilliance and youthful mistakes.
The Cowboys will have to ask themselves how much longer they can let him learn in a competitive season after TJ Bass filled in so well during his absence.
Donovan Ezeiruaku, DE (No. 44 overall)
After posting the best pass rushing grade of his young career in Week 6 against the Carolina Panthers with a 75.1 grade, EZ finally got on the board in Week 7 with his first career sack to go along with three pressures and two hurries. While his pass rushing grade this week was actually lower at 71.4, getting home to the quarterback is a fantastic milestone.
For as exciting as that first sack is, he did post his lowest tackling grade of the year at 26.6. This is largely due to the two missed tackles he was credited with.
It’s interesting to note that whenever either his pass rushing or tackling grade rises above 70, the other falls to 60 or lower. If he can put it together and have a complete game, Dallas might have a high level player on their hands.
Jaydon Blue, RB (No. 149 overall)
After struggling to the tune of seven yards on seven carries over the first two games of his career with the Cowboys, Blue finally showed signs of life on Sunday with 29 yards on seven carries, as well as recording his first career reception for five yards.
While that performance likely doesn’t quell the calls for Dallas to add another running back at the deadline, it does lessen the urgency to do so while also giving the Cowboys some validation in their abilities to evaluate the position as they comb through through trade options.
Shemar James, LB (No. 152 overall)
By recording his first career sack on the way to his best pass rushing (81.7) and overall defensive (63.8) grades of his career, James continued an upward trajectory that has seen his overall grade increase each week after the 49.8 mark he posted in his Week 4 debut.
It’ll be interesting to see if James can maintain not just his current trajectory, but a floor that is higher than three of Kenneth Murray’s seven performances this year. If he can, then it would seem that Dallas has their ILB of the future and perhaps their new starter at the position.
Alijah Clark, SAF (Undrafted)
Clark made his defensive NFL debut when he checked in for five snaps on Sunday. While it’s hard to discern much from a small sample size, he did record two tackles while posting an 80.6 tackling grade. Regardless of performance, we wanted to shout out Clark for an important professional and personal milestone.