Dallas Cowboys stock report: Preseason Week 1

The Dallas Cowboys have now kicked off their preseason schedule. They lost 24-21 to the San Francisco 49ers Thursday night. The Cowboys led until the final seconds of the game. Of course, wins and losses aren’t important in preseason. The Cowboys were successful in the main two things that you want to accomplish in preseason and that is, 1) You want your starters to look good and 2) Stay healthy, which no major injuries came out of Thursday’s game.

Here is your preseason week 1 stock report…

STOCK UP

Joe Thomas

Throughout the preseason the Cowboys have talked about how much talent there is at the linebacker position. Part of that talent group is Joe Thomas, who they acquired this offseason. The Cowboys made it a priority this offseason to make sure, if Sean Lee went down, the defense could hold its own and not completely fall apart as they’ve done in previous years without Lee. Thomas had quite the preseason debut coming up with an interception off a tipped pass from Kavon Frazier.

Tavon Austin

When the acquisition of Tavon Austin went down there were a lot of narratives of what role he would have here in Dallas. While Austin has showed flashes of brilliance, he has never been able to be consistent. He fell out of favor under Coach Sean McVay in Los Angeles. So far, with the Cowboys he has shown to be more capable as a receiver than originally thought. He pulled down 2 catches for 25 yards in his preseason debut.

Dorance Armstrong

Dorance Armstrong was taken in the fourth round by the Cowboys in the 2018 NFL draft. Armstrong showed the ability to rush the passer Thursday night as well as the hustle Rod Marinelli demands from his defense. The NFL is a league that you are always looking for the next pass rusher and hopefully the Cowboys found one in Dorance Armstrong.

STOCK DOWN

Anthony Brown

One of the surprises from Thursday night is the poor performance from Anthony Brown. The buzz out of Cowboys camp was that Brown had put his rough 2017 season behind him and was ready to move forward. He’s had a really great camp to this point. With him in a battle with second year cornerback Jourdan Lewis, Thursday wasn’t a good start for Brown.

Chaz Green

Chaz Greens game in Atlanta last season is why the Cowboys made it a huge priority to bring in offensive line depth this offseaon. As we all know, Green had one of the worst games an offensive lineman has ever had, allowing Adrian Clayborn to collect five of his six sacks that game on his watch. With that depth being added, Green is a long shot to make the 2018 roster and Thursday night didn’t help his case.

Donovan Olumba

Donovan Olumba is another player in the secondary who has really impressed in Oxnard. On what ended up being the game winning drive for the 49ers, Olumba gave up a 4th and 2 to Victor Bolden Jr. where he didn’t quite get his head turned around in time. Later on the drive, he was also called for pass interference.