4. Garrett Gilbert, QB
As mentioned, Prescott isn’t playing on Friday and may not play in the preseason as he’s undergoing a second MRI for his shoulder injury. That has some portion of the Cowboys fanbase concerned about the quarterback already returning from his severe ankle injury (though I’m not included in that group). And if there is a chance that Prescott could miss regular season time, that puts a lot of pressure on Garrett Gilbert to perform.
Last season with Andy Dalton and Ben DiNucci taking over for Dak was absolutely disastrous and the latter hasn’t done anything to instill faith in him thus far. Gilbert, on the other hand, looked pretty good in the Hall of Fame Game and has a clear hold on the QB2 spot. With the Prescott injury hanging over the team, we should see a lot of Gilbert and hope that he can be a steadying backup option.
3. Nahshon Wright, CB
Nahshon Wright has been one of the biggest standouts of OTAs and training camp as the maligned third-round rookie (in terms of where he was selected) has outperformed expectations at every turn. And in the Hall of Fame Game, he may have allowed a big reception to Chase Claypool — albeit on an obvious push-off — but he overall continued to raise his stock.
Because Wright came out of Oregon State lacking a bit of polish and simply needing to prove he had the quickness and agility to perform in the NFL, his work in establishing himself as a legitimate presence isn’t done. Wright isn’t battling for a starting job, at least as far as we know at this point, but the Cowboys need a ton of depth at cornerback and the rookie could be a perfect piece to help with that if he stays on this trajectory.