Dallas Cowboys: 5 Potential surprise cuts from 53-man roster

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 12: Noah Brown #85 of the Dallas Cowboys catches the short pass and gets tackled by Troy Hill #32, Nickell Robey-Coleman #23, and Blake Countess #24 of the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 12, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 12: Noah Brown #85 of the Dallas Cowboys catches the short pass and gets tackled by Troy Hill #32, Nickell Robey-Coleman #23, and Blake Countess #24 of the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 12, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

5. Noah Brown, WR

Since the Cowboys landed Noah Brown out of Ohio State as a seventh-round pick in 2017, the former Buckeye has continued to make the Dallas roster. While he’s not been a big-time contributor in the passing game, his ability to block well in the running game, contributions on special teams and upside as a physical pass-catcher have kept him around.

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One thing that has held Brown back from developing into a full-blown contributor on the Cowboys offense, though, has been his health. That is again the case as the wide receiver, should he make the final 53-man roster, would begin the season on the PUP list. At a certain point, the old cliche of the best ability being availability becomes too true to ignore, and that may be the case now with Brown.

While Brown has been dealing with injuries, former Jets second-round pick Devin Smith and Cowboys 2018 sixth-round pick Cedrick Wilson have stepped up and proven themselves throughout the preseason and training camp. While Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, Randall Cobb and Tavon Austin are locks for the roster, Smith and Wilson have likely secured their spots as well.

On top of that, 2019 undrafted free agent signing Jon’Vea Johnson has done enough to warrant a look with the practice squad, flashing despite issues with drops and development clearly still needed. When you factor all of that in with Brown’s injury history and current struggles, it’s likely that he’s going to be on the wrong side of the cut line.