Cowboys open preseason with Seahawks, with first-round rookies Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence set for reps

The Dallas Cowboys begin their preseason schedule on Saturday with a high-visibility matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, the defending Super Bowl champions. For Dallas, the emphasis is not on the result, but on evaluation. Preseason games are where coaches confirm how new personnel reads game situations, handles tempo, and responds to live coverages and run looks after weeks of practice work.

According to Yahoo Sports, the Cowboys will have plenty to watch in this opener, including first-round rookies Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence receiving reps. The presence of two top-drafted players is significant for a preseason game because it generally indicates that the coaching staff wants to see more than just how rookies perform in scripted periods. It also gives Dallas a chance to measure how quickly they process assignments when play breaks in real time.

Downs and Lawrence entering the field in a preseason opener places a spotlight on defensive continuity and front-line communication, two areas teams often emphasize early. Even when starting units are limited, rookies can still impact a defense by showing whether they can recognize formations, adjust responsibilities, and execute fundamentals with fewer misses than what might be expected from a player still transitioning to pro speed and complexity.

For the Seahawks, the opponent context matters as well. Seattle is coming in as the reigning champion, which tends to shape how teams manage preparation: there is usually a desire to keep competitive standards high while still protecting roster health and experimenting with rotation plans. Facing the Cowboys in the first preseason game gives Seattle an early read on its own defensive matchups, including how Dallas chooses to distribute reps among quarterbacks, offensive line combinations, and play packages.

Dallas’ preseason opener is also a roster-building test in a practical sense. The Cowboys will use the game to establish clearer pecking orders beyond the obvious starters, particularly among players competing for roles on defense and special teams. Preseason is frequently where coaches tighten depth-chart decisions by comparing how multiple players handle the same assignment, the same coverage concept, or the same blocking scheme across a single contest.

What to watch next is how long Dallas keeps its featured rookies on the field and whether their reps come in one continuous run or are broken into multiple short stints. That usage pattern often reflects what the staff wants to learn. If Downs and Lawrence show consistency in assignment execution and physical fundamentals early, it can influence how the team calibrates their workload in subsequent preseason games. If there are visible gaps, Dallas will likely address them before the next exhibition, when the coaching priorities usually shift from “getting looks” toward “solving problems.”