The Dallas Cowboys 2023 roster is rounding into shape. The team parted ways with Ezekiel Elliott this summer and traded for Brandin Cooks to bulk up the wide receiver corps. Dallas has also drafted well the last two years, and now it’s time for some of the young hidden gems they added to the roster to step up. Two players who have come in during the last two drafts have a chance to be major contributors next season, so WR Jalen Tolbert and tight end Luke Schoonmaker are the two unheralded players to keep an eye on.

WR Jalen Tolbert

Jalen Tolbert was the Cowboys' third-round pick in 2022, and he struggled mightily in his rookie season. The former South Alabama star ended the campaign with just two catches for 12 yards in 89 snaps over eight games.

The wideout was so unproductive at the beginning of the season that he was a healthy scratch on the Cowboys' roster for the last seven games of the season and in the playoffs.

Going from a superstar at South Alabama to a role player on America’s Team is a huge jump, and Tolbert didn’t handle it well. One of the big problems was that the Cowboys asked him to play multiple WR positions, and he was thinking too much instead of just playing.

“We get in the huddle, and I go from one spot to another spot, and maybe I’m not as comfortable at that one spot or not confident in what’s going to be called in the headset,” Tolbert told the Dallas Morning News. “Obviously, if you’re thinking, you’re not going to play as fast as you want to play.”

This offseason, Tolbert has looked much better, though. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound wideout is getting comfortable playing all over the formation and is getting mentorship from the newly acquired Cooks.

In his last season in college, Tolbert played against teams like Georgia Southern, Southern Mississippi, and Arkansas State. In 2022, his career started against the New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and Detroit Lions.

That jump in competition, combined with the way the Cowboys used him, was too much for a small-school player. Now, after a year in the pros, Cowboys fans will finally get to see the player the tea thought it drafted last year.

Lamb and Cooks will be two of the starting three WRs on the Cowboys’ 2023 roster. That third spot is up for grabs between Michael Gallup and Jalen Tolbert. Watch out for the young WR to grab that spot and help the Cowboys’ offense in the process.

TE Luke Schoonmaker

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One of the biggest losses on the Cowboys' roster this offseason was tight end Dalton Schultz signing with the Houston Texans. That left a major hole on the depth chart at tight end.

Dallas has a few young TEs who were on the team last season who will compete for the starting job. Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot are those players, but neither has a ton of experience. Ferguson, a 2022 fourth-round pick had 19 catches for 194 yards and two touchdowns last season. Hendershot, a 2022 undrafted free agent, put up 11 catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns.

Both young TEs have potential, but neither has shown the clear ability to be a TE1 on the Cowboys’ roster. That’s why the team selected Michigan TE Luke Schoonmaker in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

The 6-foot-5, 251-pound TE comes in as an NFL-ready blocker in year one. As a pass-catcher, he’s solid but not dynamic yet. In a lot of ways, he may remind Cowboys fans of Jason Witten. Schoonmaker isn’t going to beat defenders over the top, but as a reliable catcher who Dak Prescott can count on in big situations, he fits the bill.

With offensive coordinator Kellen Moore moving on and Brian Schottenheimer now in charge along with head coach Mike McCarthy, the offense will likely have a bigger, more run-heavy approach than it did the last several years.

This means multiple tight end sets, where Schoonmaker will play a big part. And with four Big 10 TEs on the roster (Schoonmaker, Michigan; Ferguson, Wisconsin; Hendershoot, Indiana), the Cowboys will have some major beef on the end of the lines who can also be valuable pass-catchers and throw off a defense.

In the end, the Cowboys' 2023 roster will succeed or fail on the back of Dak Prescott. But if the weapons around him play to their ceiling, he will have a much better chance of leading the team to the promised land.

We have a good idea of what CeeDee Lamb, Branding Cooks, and Tony Pollard will do next season. And if Luke Schoonmaker and Jalen Tolbert can rise to the occasion, the Cowboys will be in a great spot to challenge the Giants and Eagles.