Blue-chip series: The players who need to have standout seasons in 2025

There are certain players who really need to step up for the Cowboys this season.

If you missed parts one and two, here is a reminder on what constitutes a “blue-chip talent.” The bare minimum should be an All-Pro level talent. Pro Bowls have become more subjective to the point where the bar to get in has been lowered.

All-Pro nominations are harder to come by, considering there is usually one player picked for each position outside of wide receiver, the defensive line, and the secondary. Outside of being considered a first or second team All-Pro, a blue-chip player needs to be someone a team builds around and is a cornerstone player for the franchise. They should also be in the conversation to be the best at their position. Those attributes must be a package deal; you should not have one without the other.

For the final part of this series, we will look at which players the Cowboys could really use an out-of-nowhere season in which they throw their name into Pro Bowl or All-Pro consideration. These names are for players with low expectations, but an elevation in play could make the difference in Dallas winning nine games or making a deep run in the playoffs.

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Players who NEED to, at minimum, be close to blue-chip players in 2025:

Mazi Smith: Now would be as good a time as any for things to click for the former first-round pick. It feels like Mazi Smith is entering what could be a make-or-break season with Dallas. Touted as one of college football’s freakiest athletes, Smith has only occasionally flashed the talent he showed with the Michigan Wolverines.

Conversely, when things look bad, they look really bad. At one point last season (Oct 23, 2024), Smith did not record a single pressure on any of his 80 pass rushes to that point last season, per NFL Pro. He was the only defensive tackle with zero pressures on at least 50 pass rushes.

Those are the numbers that you do not want to see on a stat sheet for a first-round talent. Maybe the Cowboys missed their evaluation of the player, and he won’t live up to expectations. However, Smith has one of the best defensive line coaches in the NFL, Aaron Whitecotten, who found ways to get the best out of his defensive tackles with the New York Jets. His situation is the best it has been since coming to Dallas, and with the team needing more from their interior, the Cowboys could use a big season from Smith.

Kenneth Murray & Kaiir Elam: Dallas’ theme of free agency this offseason: if a player with a first-round pick next to their name on Pro Football Reference was on the open market, they were going to go after them.

Kenneth Murray and Kaiir Elam came to Dallas from trades, so they will be given every opportunity to play meaningful snaps from day one. The Cowboys do not usually let players they gave up draft assets for sit on the bench (Jonathan Mingo now seems to be an exception).

Both players won’t have a choice because they will need to play out of necessity, given the injuries to DeMarvion Overshown, Shavon Revel, and Trevon Diggs. The defense has struggled to stop the run for the last few years, so having a “Zach Baun” type renaissance season for Murray would be welcomed. The talent has been there, but maybe the situation was never the right fit.

The same goes for Elam. The Buffalo Bills and their former first-round pick parted ways this offseason, hoping a new start would benefit both parties. Elam made an impression during OTAs and minicamp, being labeled by some as the standout of the early offseason activities.

The Cowboys acquired Elam in a trade from Buffalo after he was not able to solidify himself with the Bills. The Cowboys had him highly rated when he came into the NFL. He started just 12 games in three seasons with two picks, but he flashed on numerous occasions in the OTAs and minicamp. He had multiple interceptions and dropped two more. He also showed the ability to run with receivers.

If Elam can carry that momentum into training camp when the pads come on, the front office might breathe a sigh of relief, not having to worry about their entire cornerback group. He’s also in the final year of his rookie deal, and players with something to play for financially tend to have breakout seasons. Hopefully for the sake of Dallas’ defense, they caught two Pro Bowl seasons in a bottle between Murray and Elam.

Terence Steele & Tyler Guyton: It seems fitting to bookend this series with two players who are the bookends of the offensive line. All of the moves made this offseason to acquire George Pickens and draft Tyler Booker won’t work if Terence Steele and Tyler Guyton can’t take their play to the next level this year.

Guyton has done all of the right things so far this offseason. He’s been under Tyron Smith’s mentorship, looking to become the next great left tackle for the Cowboys. Guyton also talked about changing his diet and how that’s helped him a lot as he transitions into year two.

When Dallas selected Guyton in the first round, the plan didn’t seem to be for him to start day one. Instead, he was supposed to take time to get settled in a position he was still learning. Injuries forced Dallas to play him in Week 1, and like most rookies, there were positives and negatives. With a year of valuable starting experience under his belt, the Cowboys offense could benefit from all the pieces coming together for Guyton.

Steele, on the other hand, is entering his fifth season with Dallas and is now the elder statesman of the offensive line room, with Zack Martin leaving this offseason. The former undrafted free agent has defied all the assumptions about him to this point, sticking with the team this long. Dallas has a history of finding and developing talent from the undrafted free agency pool.

In 2022, Steele looked like he was turning the corner and developing into a dominant run-blocking right tackle. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL against the Houston Texans, halting his development. Entering 2025, Steele should be set up for the best season of his career strictly off the coaching around him.

Earlier this offseason, Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones talked about how having Klayton Adams and Conor Riley in the building should benefit Steele. It will be the third offensive line coach during Steele’s five seasons, so hopefully, having some stability and a younger approach coming from the college game will make a big difference.

In PFF’s latest ranking of offensive lines around the NFL, the Cowboys sit at 23rd. It’s hard to argue with the unknown surrounding Guyton, Steele, and even Beebe. However, if both tackles can do the unexpected and become Pro Bowl-level players this season, the ranking will surely change by the end of the year.