Jaishawn Barham handled his first game wearing the green dot and walked away with a B+ from one Cowboys writer after forcing a fumble that became the night’s biggest defensive moment. Dallas asked the rookie linebacker to carry the middle of the defense, and he answered with cleaner communication and a play that changed the tone of the game.
That matters now because the Cowboys are trusting an unproven rookie to run calls in the middle, a job that demands faster processing and steadier alignment than most first-timers are given. Mike said the defense did not look utterly overwhelmed with Barham communicating calls and getting players lined up, while Dyllan Rivers said the unit looked much tighter with him wearing the green dot.
The best evidence came on the field. Mike gave Barham a B+ for the assignment, Tom Ryle said a B sounded about right, and Sean Martin pointed to the takeaway Barham created as tangible tape the defense can build on. Rivers added that Barham kept working through blocks and seemed to be around the ball almost constantly, which is exactly what Dallas needed from a linebacker being dropped into a central role.
There was still friction in the evaluation. Jorge Guajardo said Dallas was asking a ton out of the rookie and that the defense still gave up some plays, especially when it came to containing Jayden Daniels. That keeps the picture from becoming too neat: Barham looked improved in the role, but the defense around him was not spotless.
The matchup also sat alongside Brandon Aubrey’s perfect kicking day, including a 60-yard field goal, which gave Dallas extra margin while the defense settled in. For now, though, the bigger question is whether Barham keeps the green dot next time or whether this was simply the first test of a bigger responsibility that the Cowboys are still deciding how far to trust.
