The Dallas Cowboys had an abysmal Week 6 outing, losing 30-27 to the Carolina Panthers in a game that showed just how far away the Cowboys are from contending. Let’s take a look at how the four members of the rookie class that played did in that loss and see if they at least provided a silver lining on a dark day. 

Donovan Ezeiruaku, DE (2nd Round, No. 44 overall)

For all the struggles that the defense had on Sunday, it’s encouraging to see the second-round rookie perform as well as he did. While his overall grade is inflated by a 94.0 grade on two coverage snaps, his 75.1 pass rushing grade is a season high. 

It would have been nice to see him log his first career sack, but his first career forced fumble is a nice consolation prize, even if it was recovered by the Panthers. As disappointing as the day was, EZ proved to be a shining beacon of hope in the storm.

Jaydon Blue, RB (5th Round, No. 149 overall)

Like the rest of the ground game, Blue struggled to get going as he recorded three carries for no yardage. This followed up a season debut in Week 5 against the New York Jets in which he recorded only seven yards on four carries. 

At least in that Week 5 game, Blue showed some burst on a six-yard run. No such explosiveness was present on Sunday but again, the run game as a whole was ineffective against Carolina. 

With Miles Sanders out, Blue will likely continue to get chances at being the second back behind Javonte Williams. Hopefully we see some progress from him in Week 7 against the Washington Commanders. 

Shemar James, LB (5th Round, 152nd overall)

James played 59 snaps for the second game in a row, earning a career-high grade of 60.2 from PFF while also recording a personal-best ten tackles and missing none. His 84.4 tackling grade comes out to “great” by PFF’s standards. 

James has gotten better as the season goes on, going from 26 snaps and a 49.8 mark in Week 4 to the aforementioned numbers from Week 6. If he can continue this trajectory, Dallas may have found a diamond in the rough. 

Jay Toia, DT (7th Round, 217th overall)

Playing his first snaps since Week 2, Toia was abysmal, earning a 29.2 grade in 17 snaps. He actually recorded a tackle for the first time since the opener, earning a 68.6 grade in that facet. 

And yes, he’s only a seventh-round pick and expectations should be as such. But, he has to at least not be a liability when he’s on the field, something that his 28.6 overall PFF mark for the season shows that he’s struggling to do.