Our next player profile in this series is the first one from the defense: linebacker Shemar James. He’s not as high on the depth chart as he was a few weeks ago, but James still figures to be on the 2026 roster in at least some kind of role, and the potential for significant playing time is still there for the second-year prospect.
Background
Years in NFL: 1
Acquired by: Drafted (2025 fifth round)
The Cowboys made James one of their two fifth-round picks in last year’s draft, the other being RB Jaydon Blue. At the time, James was seen a little more than a down-roster development player with strong special teams value. After all, Dallas has traded for veteran Kenneth Murray, signed Jack Sanborn for his experience in Matt Eberflus’ system, and had Marist Liufau as an intriguing second-year guy. They also anticipated DeMarvion Overshown’s return from injury during the regular season, and even still had Damone Clark as an experienced backup option.
Well, we know how that all went. Sanborn was a bust as the starting MLB and eventually got hurt. Murray moved to that role and was woefully miscast. Liufau, like most of our defenders, seemed to forget how to play in Eberflus’ scheme. Clark was just as lost and got cut midseason. And Overshown did return after 10 weeks, but between the team’s other defensive issues and being judicious in how they worked him back in, he didn’t get to do much.
If chaos is a ladder, James climbed it to six starts and more defensive snaps than any other LB but Murray. It wasn’t pretty at times: the rawness that made him a fifth-round pick showed up plenty of times, and he graded out as one of the league’s worst linebackers overall. But, to be fair, some of those grades came as a result of all the bad play around him.
It wasn’t all bad, though. The athletic traits that got James drafted were also on display, especially as a blitzer, and allowed him to still flash play-making potential. It was enough to keep him on the roster this offseason and still have plenty of optimistic supporters as we go into camp.