2. Luke Gifford, Linebacker
His is not a name you hear a lot, but Luke Gifford has been outperforming other linebackers on the Dallas Cowboys with much more recognizable names.
His stats won’t blow anyone away, but Gifford keeps playing consistently well in the preseason. In the Hall of Fame Game against Pittsburgh, he had four tackles. He added three more against Arizona in Preseason Week 1 before picking up four more last week while playing against Houston.
Again, recording 11 tackles in three games isn’t exactly earth-shattering but Gifford continues to make the plays when they’re in front of him. And he doesn’t have the insane price tag (and penchant for taking himself out of the play) that someone such as Jaylon Smith has.
While that may be true, money talks, and since Dallas already committed to paying Jaylon Smith a boatload of cash, he’s a lock to make this team — even though their best three linebackers are Micah Parsons, Leighton Vander Esch, and Keanu Neal.
Because of that, Gifford can finish fifth at best on the depth chart and that might be hard since Jabril Cox has been playing lights out in the preseason. The challenge doesn’t stop there either since Francis Bernard is also on the team and he too has a lot to like about his game.
Gifford does have one thing on his side — he’s excellent on special teams. That could be his way to the 53-man roster but he still has one more game to truly lock in his spot.