Marist Liufau is pushing for more snaps with the Cowboys, creating questions about who could lose playing time

Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer set the table since last week: Linebacker Marist Liufau is trending for more playing time. In Week 1, the second-year defender played only six defensive snaps, a development that puzzled fans and media members alike following Liufau's strong preseason and training camp.

“Certainly when we watch film, Marist is earning those rights to play more,” Schottenheimer said one day after the Cowboys lost the season opener to the Philadelphia Eagles.

This weekend, the Cowboys defense will take the field against another divisional rival—the New York Giants—and we'll see if Schottenheimer's message is confirmed.

Not only is Liufau earning the right through good individual play but his teammates are leaving the door open for him to swoop in and steal a job. The question is whose snaps is Liufau eating into if he does get more playing time?

Who would Liufau replace if promoted on the depth chart?

Based on play alone, Kenneth Murray and Jack Sanborn look like the top candidates to be replaced. They were two of the three worst-graded Cowboys defenders by PFF last week and the film shows more than one costly mistake. That includes Murray not hitting the right hole to stop Saquon Barkley in what resulted in a 10-yard touchdown run and Sanborn missing an early tackle that would have complicated the Eagles' opening drive.

Liufau, however, is unlikely to push Sanborn off of his middle linebacker role on base defense. Sanborn has Matt Eberflus' trust to run his scheme and Liufau's athleticism makes him a better fit for a weak/strong linebacker role where he can run more freely, anyway.

In other words, if Liufau is going to bench someone, Murray and Clark are the ones to watch.

Between those two, it's difficult to know who is the likeliest to have to share snaps with Liufau. When the Cowboys ran nickel package last week, mostly it was Murray and Sanborn at linebacker, suggesting Dallas sees Murray as a better LB than Clark. But I would argue the film suggested Murray was the worse of the three linebackers in Week 1.

We'll see what Matt Eberflus—who is known for his linebacker development skills—thinks. Week 2 versus the Giants should provide answers. As long as Liufau plays more, fans should be excited.

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