Every summer, all around the NFL, there are surprises when it comes to who eventually makes the 53-man roster. The biggest of those surprises seem to always take the form of undrafted free agents who make their way onto NFL teams.
The Dallas Cowboys might have a surprise on the way at one of their marquee positions with UDFA rookie wide receiver Traeshon Holden.
“Almost every year there’s a lesser-known Cowboys wide receiver at camp who becomes a fan favorite,” The Athletic’s Jon Machota wrote on August 4. “Holden is that player this year. And frankly, he has stood out more than any other in that category in recent memory. Almost every practice, he has a noteworthy moment where he stands out. The Cowboys have (CeeDee) Lamb, (George) Pickens, Jalen Tolbert, KaVontae Turpin and Jonathan Mingo. Those are probably the five who will be active on game days. But Holden is putting himself in position to be No. 6, if Dallas chooses to carry that many. He’s near the top of the list of players to watch in the preseason.”
If Holden does make the roster, it won’t cost the Cowboys much because he’s on a 3-year, $2.96 million contract which only included $6,000 in guaranteed money.
Holden Using Draft Snub as Motivation
Holden not hearing his name called over 7 rounds of the 2025 NFL draft could be the motivating factor to him making the Cowboys roster.
“I was hurt,” Holden told DallasCowboys.com’s Tommy Yarish. “That 24-hour rule, I was hurting. But now, I’m here, and I’m ready to make it happen. I’ll do what I can to show everybody that I belong … (I want) to prove everybody wrong. Everybody. I’m coming for heads. That’s it.”
Holden spent the first 3 seasons of his college career playing at Alabama, where he won a College Football Playoff national championship a a freshman in 2020 and played in the CFP National Championship Game in 2022, where the Crimson Tide lost to Georgia.
He transferred to Oregon for his final 2 seasons, where he had a career high 462 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns in just 8 games in 2024.
Big Time Results Without Many Touches
At both Alabama and Oregon the story on Holden, 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, was he always made the most out of the few opportunities that came his way.
“Touchdown-maker who averaged a TD grab for every 7.1 catches,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote about Holden in his pre-draft evaluation. ” … The tape doesn’t stand out, but his physicality and willingness as a run blocker is a differentiator that could help his cause.”
When we factor in Holden’s 40-yard dash time of 4.57 seconds — more than fast enough for NFL draft boards — it’s a messy off field issue that likely kept him from being picked.
Holden was dismissed from Oregon’s team by head coach Dan Lanning in February 2023 — one month after he arrived in Eugene — after being arrested on allegations of felony unlawful use of a weapon, coercion and misdemeanor menacing.
Lanning put Holden back on the team 2 weeks later when the chargers were dropped after video evidence cleared Holden of any wrongdoing.
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