There is a lot more talking going on about Dallas Cowboys rookie third-round pick Jaishawn Barham lately than there is talking coming from Barham himself. There are two reasons for this. The first is because, in his short time since he was plucked from Michigan by the Cowboys in the NFL draft, Barham has established that he does not like speaking to the media much. He is professional and kind, but talking about himself is not his bag and thus, he says little. The second is because it is hard not to notice how quickly he has become the best linebacker on the team, and arguably the best Cowboys defender of 2026 in the team’s small sample size.
Barham has already drawn attention for his hard hits and instincts, the kind of fearsome linebacker the Cowboys have not had in years. After a good preseason, Barham had ups and downs in his debut against the Giants in Week 1, but was excellent in Weeks 2 and 3. From his perspective, though, the feeling is: What else did you expect?
Jaishawn Barham: ‘Help This Team’
Speaking to Cowboys media at The Star on Wednesday, Barham was asked whether he’s been surprised by what he’s done to this point.
Barham was a little taken aback by the question, as in, what else am I supposed to be doing?
As he said: “That’s what I came here to do. Play football, find a role on this team, and help this team. Now that I’m doing that, I feel like I gotta keep doing that and helping this team.”
Asked about he and fellow star Caleb Downs not playing like rookies to date, Barham added: “”I feel like I don’t really look at myself just like, ‘Oh, he’s a rookie, so he’s doing this.’ I think Caleb might feel the same way. But we just come in here to play football, just what we’ve been doing forever.”
Cowboys Could Change Starting Group
Barham’s play at linebacker could, if he can keep it up, be a solution to a long-running Cowboys problem. The linebacker spot, from the likes of Kenneth Murray and Logan Wilson to Eric Kendricks, has been an issue in recent years, but Barham has been poised to change that dynamic.
There has been debate about whether the Cowboys should keep Barham as the starter at the Mike linebacker–wearer of the green dot–even when veteran DeMarvion Overhsown comes back from a hamstring injury. But Barham has vastly outplayed both Overshown and veteran Dee Winters, and based on production, he should be the starter.
As coach Brian Schottenheimer said: “I think he’s doing everything in his power to fight to keep that spot. We’re very pleased with not only how he’s doing, but how he’s grown. Part of playing young players is that they’re going to make mistakes, and they’re going to grow from those mistakes. I see less mistakes from Jaishawn in this game than I saw from him in the Giants game. And so I think that’s good, and he’s making a pretty strong case to not leave the field.”
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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