Even if he doesn’t win the job, Holden’s presence could force real pressure on the Dallas Cowboys bottom-half receivers.

Our first question with Traeshon Holden isn’t about talent — it’s about the math.

Are the Dallas Cowboys carrying five or six wide receivers?

They’ve gone with five in the past, and that was with less uncertainty than what this current room brings into 2025. Yes, a veteran addition is still expected – that much-ballyhooed “explosive No. 2” – but let’s press pause on that.

Assume for a second that Dallas only carries five WRs on the initial 53.

After Lamb, Tolbert, Mingo, and KaVontae Turpin, there’s one spot left. And six names are currently in the mix for it:

• Ryan Flournoy (UFA 2028)

• Jalen Brooks (UFA 2027)

• Jalen Moreno-Cropper (ERFA 2026)

• Parris Campbell (FA, short-term prove-it deal)

• Josh Kelly (R)

• Traeshon Holden (R) … with a sponsor in the building.

And this part matters:
Holden has a sponsor in the room. Someone in that building believes in him. The Cowboys new receiver coach, Junior Adams was his Co-Offensive Coordinator last year at Oregon. Adams said he’d do everything he could to get Traeshon to Dallas, and he held true to his word, getting the UDFA signed up in Dallas.

Holden is 6-2 and physical. He plays (and talks) angry. And in his interview during rookie minicamp, he didn’t hold back:

“I’m coming for guys’ heads.”

He’s got something to prove — and a style that doesn’t hide it.

He might not win the job outright. But make no mistake: he’s going to make the rest of the room earn it. When a guy with that mentality starts flying around in camp, it forces everyone else to match the urgency.

The Cowboys are engineering real competition at the bottom of this receiver room.

And whether Holden sticks or not, his presence might be the pressure point that elevates someone else to earn it.

This one’s gonna be fun to track