Where do things stand with the Dallas Cowboys new additions this year? Now that we\u2019re at the halfway point of training camp and with the first preseason game about to get underway against the Seattle Seahawks, we thought this would be a great time to share which new players are currently shining and others who still have something to prove. So far, early returns are better than expected.<\/p>\n
The jury is still out on safeties Jalen Thompson (hip) and P.J. Locke (knee) after missing time with injuries, but thankfully both are currently working their way back into the lineup. Both are expected to be key contributors on the back end of Dallas\u2019 secondary and should start proving themselves now that they\u2019re healthy. Outside of them, the Cowboys vet additions have mostly performed better than expected, some even shining.<\/p>\n
Ogbonnia has been one of the more impressive free agent additions for the Cowboys. If he\u2019s not blowing up plays, he\u2019s batting down passes at the line of scrimmage. He\u2019s an underrated signing that could pay huge dividends this year as an upgrade along the interior of Dallas\u2019 defensive line.<\/p>\n
Howell has had his moments throughout training camp, but hasn\u2019t proven to be a clear upgrade over last year\u2019s backup, Joe Milton. Both are competing to be the QB2 this season, but right now it\u2019s Milton running with the second team. That could change for Howell with a strong showing in preseason.<\/p>\n
An argument could be made Durant has been the defensive star of training camp for the Cowboys. He\u2019s been an absolute menace in coverage and if he isn\u2019t breaking up passes, he\u2019s coming away with the INT. He\u2019s probably Dallas\u2019 best outside addition and a steal on a one-year, $4 million contract.<\/p>\n
Kendrick has yet to break out form the crowd at training camp. He\u2019s been playing primarily out of the slot, but has shown he can play outside as well. That kind of position flex could end up earning him a roster spot. He\u2019s definitely someone to keep an eye on from here on out.<\/p>\n
Gary is quietly having impressive training camp. Not only has he been praised for his leadership ability, getting named to the Cowboys Leadership Council, but he\u2019s been showing up in practice as well, especially as run defender. Playing inside and out, he\u2019s an upgrade for Dallas\u2019 DL.<\/p>\n
Winters may not be receiving the same kind of attention as DeMarvion Overshown or Jaishawn Barham, but he\u2019s been showing up in practices both the run defender and in pass coverage. He\u2019s currently the Cowboys most experienced LB and could wear the green dot at times this year.<\/p>\n
Early returns on the Dallas Cowboys rookie additions have been better than expected. Nearly half of them have have flashed from time to time. Consistency will be key for all of them, but so far it looks as if several of them could play key roles this year, even starting roles.<\/p>\n
Downs is the real deal and has been better than advertised, and that\u2019s saying something. No matter how much the Cowboys throw at him, he\u2019s absorbed and performed above expectations. He might already be their best defensive player and could be the best rookie in the league this year.<\/p>\n
Lawrence has been praised for the steady progress he\u2019s made throughout training camp by the Cowboys coaching staff. He splashed his first-round talent from time to time in practice, but is still considered a work in progress making the jump from a small school to the NFL.<\/p>\n
Barham is unfortunately dealing with a groin injury that isn\u2019t considered to be serious, but prior to that was blowing things up in practice. Whether it was in run defense or in pass coverage he\u2019s exceeding everyone\u2019s expectations, so much so he\u2019s pushing for a starting job.<\/p>\n
Moore is currently dealing with a groin injury, but prior to that had a solid training camp for a rookie. He looks like a future project for the team with potential. Playing in some preseason games would be ideal to judge his game day composure.<\/p>\n
Overton\u2019s name wasn\u2019t hardly mentioned early on in training camp, but he\u2019s been coming on as of late as someone to keep an eye on. If he can continue to string some good practices together and show up in preseason, he could earn a role for himself this year.<\/p>\n
While he\u2019s having a pretty quiet training camp, Smith\u2019s deep threat ability and special teams value makes him someone to keep an eye on in preseason. He\u2019s currently in contention for Dallas\u2019 fifth and probably final WR roster spot, along with several others.<\/p>\n
Even though he joined the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent, Trigg has been one of their most impressive rookies so far. With Jake Ferguson and Brevyn Spann-Ford roster spots secured, he could push Luke Schoonmaker off the roster and win the TE3 job.<\/p>\n
Brown is another undrafted player having a strong showing so far in training camp with the Cowboys, even working with the second-team offense recently. He\u2019s made several impressive athletic TD catches, putting himself in the WR mix for a roster spot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Where do things stand with the Dallas Cowboys new additions this year? Now that we\u2019re at the halfway…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403488,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,124660,124661,104,103],"class_list":["post-403487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-cowboys-preseason","tag-dallas-cowboys-training-camp","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403487","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=403487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}