Previously we broke down both team’s offense and defense for the upcoming game between the Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers. Now we dive back into the position battleground, this time looking at how some of each team’s rookie class stack up against each other. (Grades for each player are the overall offensive or defensive grade handed out by PFF.com)
Tyler Guyton
First Round Guyton didn’t play last week with an ankle sprain. He may actually play in this week’s game as he has practiced in full this week, but some comments coming from the organization hint that the chance of him playing this week is remote. Keep a close eye on the inactive list on game day. Grade: 49.2
Marshawn Kneeland
Second Round Kneeland was back on the field last week in a limited role. He played 23 snaps and made two tackles. Look for him to continue a rotational role at the moment. Grade: 55.1
Cooper Beebe
Third Round Beebe missed the second half last week and was having a good game up until then. He has already been ruled out this week as he tries to clear concussion protocol.
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Grade: 64.4
Marist Liufau
Third Round Watching Liufau develop these past few weeks is exciting. Using his speed and burst to come in and create extra pressure on passing downs is fun to watch, and leading the team last week in sacks is a positive stepping stone to him creating a unique role for himself among the Dallas linebackers. He has a tough ask this week though as the Panthers offensive line have allowed the fourth-fewest sacks. Grade: 46.5
Caelen Carson
Fifth Round Moved to Injured Reserve Grade: 39.7
Ryan Flournoy
Sixth Round Flournoy showcased his straight line speed last week as a gunner on special teams. He was great at getting downfield quickly and shutting down return options. Expect much the same from him for now. Grade: 59.4
Brevyn Spann-Ford
UDFA Ford saw his snap count go down last week with the return of Jake Ferguson. He’s proven to be a good run blocker and as the TE3 that will really be his key role on offense. Other than that his other role on special teams will keep him busy. Grade: 56.7
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Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images
Carolina Panthers
Xavier Legette
First Round It’s been a tough start for the standout South Carolina receiver. He’s only managed 39 receptions for 432 yards this year, but he’s hampered by a generally poor roster. Having Bryce Young back at quarterback raised his stock a little, but he’s yet to score a touchdown now in five weeks. Grade: 59.5
Jonathon Brooks
Second Round Moved to Injured Reserve Grade: 51.5
Trevin Wallace
Third Round The young Kentucky linebacker was pushed into a starting role this year due to injury. Now he will miss this week’s game due to a shoulder injury and that creates a huge headache for the Panthers coaching staff as the linebacker position is already thin. Grade: 56.0
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Ja’Tavion Sanders
Fourth Round This Longhorns tight end was never a huge blocker in college but he’s a fast and reliable receiver. This year he has 302 receiving yards and one touchdown, which isn’t bad considering the offense he has to work with. The most receptions he has in a game this season came against Washington where he had six catches. Grade: 55.0
Chau Smith-Wade
Fifth Round Another player that moved into a starting role due to injury. You’ll find Wade defending the slot primarily on the Panthers defense. He allows a 70% completion rate and is third on defense in penalties. Facing Lamb in the slot will be interesting to watch, especially given the fact that this Panthers defense has given the second-most receiving touchdowns this year. Grade: 53.4
The Memphis Grizzlies are hoping to bounce back as they take Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks.
To learn more about Flagg and the Mavs, we spoke with Dallas Mavericks On SI contributor Austin Veazey.
He’s been… fine? Jason Kidd tried rolling him out at point guard to start the season, which was leading to poor results for the entire offense, but specifically Flagg. He just isn’t a point guard. He may have good playmaking instincts, but he’s best as a secondary playmaker. It’s no surprise that he then turned in arguably his best performance on Wednesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans, because Kidd didn’t start him at point guard.
The question isn’t how much they miss Kyrie Irving, it’s how much do they miss Luka Doncic. And it’s a lot. Even Kyrie Irving has been at his best in his career when he has a better playmaker on the roster, and he can do what he does best: score. Even if Irving were here, there’s no guarantee this would even be a league-average offense, because the offense has no spacing as it’s designed right now.
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I kind of doubt it, unless they were to move Irving as well. Doncic and Irving worked so well together because Doncic was a bigger body and could guard other teams’ power forwards. A backcourt of Morant and Irving probably wouldn’t work well, but that wouldn’t stop Nico Harrison from trying something crazy.
Maybe not being the worst offense in the NBA? Just an idea. But how they go about doing that is beyond me. This team just lacks the natural playmakers and shooters to survive in this era of the NBA.
The vibes around both of these teams are horrendous right now. Between the Ja Morant suspension, Anthony Davis’ calf strain, and the Mavs losing to teams such as the Pelicans and Wizards, I think most Mavs fans want a close loss with Cooper Flagg developing so it gets one step closer to firing Nico Harrison.
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Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland tragically died at age 24 from an apparent suicide on Wednesday, two days after scoring his first NFL touchdown, prompting mourning across the league and raising awareness about mental health crises among athletes.
In the hands of Chris Wolston, even the most ordinary object — a chair, lamp or credenza — becomes something more whimsical, playful and quirky.
The artist has built a stellar reputation in the design world for his anthropomorphic rattan chairs (complete with bums and feet). Yet the array of pieces on display in his first solo museum show at Dallas Contemporary reveals there’s much more to his oeuvre.
Displayed across four catwalks, reminiscent of a fashion show or drag ball, are sculpted chairs in terra-cotta adorned with metal insects, a bronze coffee table cast from leaves found in the artist’s garden and chairs inspired by the gestural limbs of supermodels. Handwoven carpets from Morocco on the walls are interspersed with video works highlighting Wolston’s process filmed by his husband, the filmmaker David Sierra. Together, they recall a fantasy world of objects both functional and sculptural.
“I always find that through humor, there’s an interesting entry point for people — it breaks down a barrier,” says artist Chris Wolston. “And I was always drawn to furniture as a medium because it’s accessible, it’s egalitarian.”
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Dallas Contemporary
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Wolston has been walking the tightrope between craft and art with a humorous twist since he made his first terra-cotta chairs in 2014. Drawn to the relationship between materiality and everyday life, he naturally embraced furniture as his medium.
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“I started working with the (contemporary design gallery) The Future Perfect, and then we started doing these body chairs for a chair show,” he says. “I always find that through humor, there’s an interesting entry point for people — it breaks down a barrier. And I was always drawn to furniture as a medium because it’s accessible, it’s egalitarian.”
Having initially studied glassmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design, Wolston earned a Fulbright to study pre-Columbian ceramics in Colombia, prompting him to settle his studio in the city of Medellín. He found his entry point into raw ingredients by working with natural terra-cotta clay found in the mountains surrounding the city, and has since cycled through bronze, rattan, anodized aluminum and shearling.
Curated by Glenn Adamson, former director of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, Profile in Ecstasy highlights a decade-plus of work that led Wolston to discover the throughlines behind his various collections, whether they be nods to fashion and nature, Spanish modernism or subtle surrealism.
“These themes that exist in an artist’s practice emerge when a new collection emerges,” Wolston says. “It’s interesting to see how collections made at different times with totally different materials and thought processes at play resonate with one another.”
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Chris Wolston: Profile in Ecstasy is on view at Dallas Contemporary from Nov. 7 through Feb. 1, 2026.
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