Defense
Defensive Line (11)
DeMarcus Lawrence, Gerald McCoy, Dontari Poe, Tyrone Crawford, Randy Gregory, Bradlee Anae, Trysten Hill, Neville Gallimore, Antwaun Woods, Dorance Armstrong, Ron’Dell Carter
Aldon Smith starts on suspended list; he will be reinstated, but Commissioner suspends him to start year.
There will be some competition for both end and tackle spots. We’re going to assume Gregory gets an immediate reinstatement, but Smith’s arrest in 2018 puts him in another category, which means he’ll have to sit out a few games. Last year’s second-round selection Hill will have to prove something to stick and undrafted FA Carter already has some buzz about him. Carter sticks over the fringe edge guys from last season. Joe Jackson and Jalen Jelks.
The hope is another edge rusher is brought in, Everson Griffen or Clay Matthews would be good fits and take a spot away.
Linebacker (6)
Jaylon Smith, Leighton Vander Esch, Sean Lee, Joe Thomas, Luke Gifford, Francis Bernard
The top four guys seem set and Gifford will stick around for a second straight season. Undrafted FA Bernard out of Utah has a great shot at beating out Justin March for the final LB spot.
Cornerback (8)
Anthony Brown, Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis, Maurice Canady, Daryl Worley, Trevon Diggs, Reggie Robinson, C.J. Goodwin
This is another group that’s going to see some healthy competition when and if training camp comes around. Also, one of these CBs seems destined for a switch to safety, so we’ll probably add one to safety and subtract from here.
Worley will beat out Saivion Smith for the final spot and Goodwin stays for his superb special teams play.
Safety (3)
HaHa Clinton-Dix, Xavier Woods, Donovan Wilson, Darian Thompson
The starting pair of Clinton-Dix and Woods is solid, and Wilson will beat out Darian Thompson for the final spot. They’ll add a guy from the CB group to keep four.
Special Teams (3)
L.P. Ladouceur, Greg Zuerlein, Chris Jones
Ladouceur remains one of the best in the business and Zuerlein will win the kicking competition. Hopefully the Cowboys are still looking into punters, but Jones remains the incumbent.
You can chat with or follow Ben on twitter @BenGrimaldi
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