Cornerback Caelen Carson has been hyped up since the Cowboys drafted him in the fifth round last April. With starter DaRon Bland about to miss the early part of the season with a foot injury, Dallas needs that hype to be validated as the rookie is about to take on a key defensive role. Thankfully, we’ve seen late-round CBs step up before in their first seasons.
After strong showings in the offseason practices and training camp, Carson had risen to the fourth spot on the CB depth chart behind Bland, Trevon Diggs, and Jourdan Lewis. It wasn’t much of an upset; veterans like Israel Mukuamu and Nahshon Wright had yet to emerge and the rest of the contenders weren’t much more experienced than Carson.