{"id":320374,"date":"2026-06-03T04:37:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T04:37:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/320374\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T04:37:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T04:37:23","slug":"dallas-cowboys-otas-wishlist-3-things-i-hope-we-hear-before-voluntary-practices-are-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/320374\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas Cowboys OTAs Wishlist: 3 things I hope we hear before voluntary practices are over"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dallas Cowboys\u2019 OTAs are already underway but most of the work has been getting down behind the scenes. Here\u2019s what I hope we hear before mandatory minicamp.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Dallas
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDallas Cowboys running back Jaydon Blue (23) celebrates after scoring the first touchdown of the game, Sunday, January 4, 2026, in East Rutherford.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Dallas Cowboys OTAs are underway since Monday,<\/a> but most of the work has occurred behind the scenes. Here are three things I hope we hear before practices are over ahead of mandatory minicamp on June 16.<\/p>\n

1. Jaydon Blue rises into RB2 role<\/p>\n

For second-year running back Jaydon Blue, this year\u2019s workouts mean more. The talented player was a healthy scratch most of the year as Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer continuously cited \u201cconsistency\u201d as his biggest problem. <\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s Todd archer reported \u201cmaturity and trust issues\u201d were part of the problem. Did Blue learn a lesson? If he\u2019s not in the mix for RB2 snaps early on, it could say a lot. Otherwise, if he rises into the competition for the spot behind starter Javonte Williams, maybe we can chalk it up to a rough rookie year. <\/p>\n

If things go well for Blue, the Cowboys run game could have a dangerous 1-2 punch. <\/p>\n

2. Tyler Smith takes no reps at left tackle<\/p>\n

The Cowboys have yet to shut the door<\/a> on the possibility of Tyler Smith playing left tackle. It clearly isn\u2019t Plan A. Smith is an All-Pro guard and Dallas wants Tyler Guyton to take the next step. <\/p>\n

But do they prepare for the worst? I believe Smith is much better off at guard regardless of the situation. I wish they put to bed the possibility of moving him to tackle by simply not even getting him reps outside. <\/p>\n

3. Caleb Downs is moving all around the defense<\/p>\n

Upon drafting Downs, head coach Brian Schottenheimer revealed the initial plan was to play the rookie defensive back at nickel while he unlocked the rest of the defense. But Downs has blown away everyone with his football IQ. <\/p>\n

If he\u2019s moving around on OTAs, who is to say he will stick to one role in Week 1? I\u2019d love to hear about Downs moving all around, one of the best aspects of his skillset. Adapting to the NFL is already a hard task. But Downs may just pick up the defense immediately. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Sep\t\t<\/p>\n

Dallas Cowboys News<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDid the Cowboys get robbed? Why the Micah Parsons and Myles Garrett trade comparisons don\u2019t make sense\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

With Myles Garrett\u2019s blockbuster trade hitting the news cycle, the NFL world is naturally comparing it to the Micah Parsons trade from last year. But here\u2019s why the conversation lacks important context. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dallas Cowboys\u2019 OTAs are already underway but most of the work has been getting down behind the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":320375,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[34582,102,104,103,20430,15209],"class_list":["post-320374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-caleb-downs","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-jaydon-blue","tag-tyler-smith"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=320374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/320375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=320374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=320374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=320374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}