Jobs on the line: 10 players to watch as Cowboys host preseason game tonight vs. Texans

ARLINGTON - There hasn't been much "dress rehearsal'' talk this week inside The Star leading up to tonight's 6 p.m. kickoff here at AT&T Stadium against the visiting Houston Texans. I suspect we'll see some first-teamers, QB Dak Prescott and company on offense only briefly. And we know Sean Lee is planning on getting some snaps so that is a hint as to what Dallas might do however briefly early on defense.

But then comes the real core value of a Preseason Game 3: Jobs are on the line.

Here are 10 guys to watch -- most of them youngsters -- as they battle for roles:

1) Tony Pollard, and he's the easiest eye-catcher here. I've been saying that in a non-Ezekiel Elliott Week 1 world (which I don't think will actually exist), maybe the vet Alfred Morris is the official first-teamer with the fourth-round rookie Pollard supplementing him.

But Pollard has so far been too good to consider holding back in that way.

2) Donovan Wilson's elevation to rotational safety has been a subtle one, maybe because we all got so caught up in how "Dallas didn't draft a safety high.'' But here we are now, and the sixth-round guy Wilson out of Texas A&M may be jumping over Kavon Frazier and Darian Thompson for work.

I asked Jeff Heath, along with Xavier Woods a starter there, about Wilson.

"He's done a good job improving on the mental things, and gets better at it every day,'' Heath told me. "He gets it.''

On Tuesday, Heath missed a day of work. His replacement? Donovan Wilson.

3) You would like second-round draftee Trysten Hill to be on this praise-earning list. Maybe he'll be that after tonight. But right now, that guy is Daniel Wise, the former Kansas standout who went undrafted in April and who the Dallas personnel department considered a steal.

Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli has cited Wise's "suddenness and stoutness'' along the line. Maybe this all leads to Wise making at least the practice squad -- and yes, that counts as a "job,'' too.

4) And speaking of practice-squadders, that is clearly the plan for Taryn Christion. He's a QB by trade. But in practices, he's served wherever coaches need a body -- exactly like Jameill Showers does here. I suppose Dallas needs to figure out: Is there room on the practice squad for two of these guys, guys who aren't exactly "prospects'' but still have value in their own way?

5) Jamize Olawale is making this team as a fullback. But he can also make plays out of the backfield ... and this week in practice, with Dallas short on tight ends, he seems to almost play an H-back role as a blocker. Let's see if he shows off some versatility tonight.

6) Devin Smith has pedigree from college (he was a big-time game-breaker at Ohio State) and pedigree from the NFL Draft (he was the Jets' second-rounder a couple of years ago) and now he's performed well for a week, starting with a sweet TD catch last Saturday against the Rams in Hawaii.

We're talking about depth here, as Dallas' first group is Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and Randall Cobb. I think Tavon Austin is fairly secure right now because none of the other kids have been consistent enough to threaten him. Will Dallas keep five receivers? Six? Another good week for Smith and he won't have to worry about the numbers game.

7) Donovan Olumba may be on the outside looking in at cornerback, where Dallas has terrific depth. But if he goes out, he will go out being noticed. You notice him sticking his head into the action (in last Saturday’s preseason game he nearly had an interception that goes down as a pass deflection, plus five tackles, one a tackle for loss.) You notice his flowing locks. And you notice that at 6-2, he's that "long'' prototype that Will McClay and Kris Richard prefer.

Olumba will get an NFL job, if not here, somewhere. Tonight his showcase continues.

8) And here's the guy who did get an interception in Hawaii, Justin Phillips, the linebacker who through two preseason games is the Cowboys' leading tackler. Like Luke Gifford, he's an undrafted rookie linebacker who has a chance to be the seventh guy in that room. Gifford is hurt right now, which opens the door for Oklahoma State product Phillips.

9) Brett Maher has Cowboys Nation worried. Coach Jason Garrett is at least pretending to be unfazed by his kicker's inconsistency, offering no indication that Dallas plans to bring in competition. Let's see if Maher benefits tonight from RedBall's faith.

10) If the Cowboys had to cut 53 today, third QB Mike White wouldn't make the team. I'm not sure there is much he can do tonight to alter the coaching staff's sinking opinion of him ... But we'll be at the game to watch and to chronicle.