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Todd Archer, ESPN Staff WriterSep 7, 2024, 06:00 AM ET
- Todd Archer is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Dallas Cowboys. Archer has covered the NFL since 1997 and Dallas since 2003. He joined ESPN in 2010. You can follow him on Twitter at @toddarcher.
FRISCO, Texas — It’s probably just a coincidence, but Tyler Guyton, Cooper Beebe and Caelan Carson are positioned next to each other inside the Dallas Cowboys‘ locker room.
In Sunday’s season opener at the Cleveland Browns (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox), the three rookies will start: Guyton at left tackle, Beebe at center and Carson at cornerback.
Linebacker Marist Liufau is on the other side of the locker room, maybe 50 feet away. Depending on the package the Cowboys open with against the Browns, he would be the fourth rookie starter.
In their history, the Cowboys have never had four rookies start in Week 1, though twice they started three (2002, 2020).
Some coaches might be reticent to start rookies. Not Mike McCarthy, who was in his first year in 2020 when CeeDee Lamb, Trevon Diggs and Terence Steele started the opener.
“Yes, we have young players,” McCarthy said. “It’s going to be their first NFL game, their first for a lot of things. Their first NFL game, their first NFL road game. So all that applies, and we’ve got to make sure we’re ready and have confidence that we will be.”
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Last year’s draft class combined for three starts, all from first-round defensive tackle Mazi Smith. This year’s draft class could surpass that Sunday.
When the Cowboys took Guyton in the first round, he was expected to start almost immediately, considering the departure of eight-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith in free agency. The path to center for Beebe, a third-rounder, was a little more unknown because he had never played the position before.
Liufau’s performance in preseason games, coupled with a hip injury to DeMarvion Overshown (who was already coming back from a torn ACL in his left knee that cost him his rookie year), pushed the third-rounder up the depth chart.
For Carson, a fifth-round pick, being a contributor on special teams and sub packages was the expectation, until All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland needed surgery on his left foot to repair a stress fracture.
“If you make it bigger than what it is, then it’s going to be a big moment for you,” Carson said. “But I don’t try to make it a big moment. Just, it’s going to be any other game. I’ve been playing football all my life, so I feel like nothing changes. Just more people. Television. At the end of the day you’ve been doing this since you’ve been 5 years old.”
But not against the level of competition the rookies are about to see Sunday.
Guyton will match up against Myles Garrett, who was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2023. Garrett is the only player in the NFL with at least 14 sacks in each of the past three seasons.
Guyton’s work in practice against pass rusher Micah Parsons has helped, and he had more time to prepare for Garrett since it is the first game.
Guyton insists he is not nervous.
“I’ve just never been a nervous guy,” he said.
Why not?
“Preparation,” he said.
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Cowboys guard Cooper Beebe’s prospect profile
Check out some of the top college highlights for new Cowboys guard Cooper Beebe.
Beebe will be tasked with making the proper calls against a coordinator, Jim Schwartz, who likes to dial up loads of pressure. He started 48 of 51 games at Kansas State at guard and tackle. The only start he has made at center came in the preseason against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Having Pro Bowl guards in Zack Martin and Tyler Smith, as well as quarterback Dak Prescott, will help him.
“The good thing is [Prescott] is my ultimate corrector,” Beebe said. “If he sees something different than I do, he can always correct me. That’s one of the things that gives some confidence. I can go up there, give a point, and I know I have a check and balance to get us right.”
Liufau’s check and balance is veteran middle linebacker Eric Kendricks, along with defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.
“Especially for me, Coach Zim would just say, ‘Just cut it loose,'” Liufau said. “Let him do the thinking, and when we get to game time, just go out there and have fun.”
Carson had an impressive training camp and recently switched his uniform number from 41 to Deion Sanders’ iconic 21 as a tribute to the Cowboys legend.
“All respect to him, though,” Carson said.
Whatever number he chose, the Browns were likely to look at him because he’s a rookie playing opposite Diggs, the Pro Bowler who is coming back from a torn ACL in his left knee.
At times, Carson will match up against wide receiver Amari Cooper, who should have extra motivation playing against the Cowboys, since they traded him to the Browns for a fifth-round pick in 2022. But the rookie is staying even-keeled.
“He’s a great receiver,” Carson said. “Nothing more. Nothing less.”
