There were no contract talks or lengthy discussions on the field between Pickens and Jones last week. The Cowboys owner and general manager did not attend.<\/p>\n
The 3 biggest takeaways from Cowboys’ minicamp<\/p>\n
Jon Machota<\/p>\n
As things stand, Dallas could be heading to training camp with less drama than usual.<\/p>\n
Franchise quarterback Dak Prescott is a fan of that possibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously we\u2019re used to it,\u201d Prescott said. \u201cSo, it wouldn\u2019t be absurd to have it. But it is good that we won\u2019t have that this year. George is going to be there. I wish he would get the long-term contract, but I\u2019m sure that\u2019s all being talked about and discussed behind closed doors. And it (doesn\u2019t) necessarily (have) to happen immediately. Hopefully these are the last of those questions and we can get him on some long-term (contract) whenever it\u2019s right.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just think the focus is in the right place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here are some of my observations from two weeks of OTAs and a week of minicamp.<\/p>\n
More on Pickens<\/p>\n
He did not take part in team drills or 7-on-7, but Pickens was a full participant in individual work. He looked to be in good shape and moving like the player who had his best season a year ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s great,\u201d Prescott said. \u201cYou feel his energy. You feel his presence. It\u2019s in the locker room. Obviously, it\u2019s out there on the football field. Everything felt good. He looks great. I know he\u2019s going to be ready for (training) camp. The excitement, you can feel it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prescott plans on getting teammates together during the break before training camp, as he\u2019s done in previous offseasons. The work allows for Prescott to work on the field with the team\u2019s top pass catchers while also building team camaraderie. Pickens is expected to attend.<\/p>\n
Prescott said he thinks it will be beneficial, but added: \u201cWe can go throw a lot of touchdowns right now. That guy\u2019s ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
Where can Prescott and Pickens improve from last season?<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery ball that I throw him gets completed,\u201d Prescott said. \u201cThat\u2019s my standard. That\u2019s his standard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb Downs<\/p>\n
Nothing about the first-round pick makes him seem like a rookie. The majority of his defensive reps were taken as the first-team nickel defensive back. He\u2019ll be able to help at several spots, but nickel looks to be where he\u2019ll see the majority of his work. Downs also took reps at punt returner and personal protector on special teams. His work ethic, attention to detail, desire to learn and professionalism make him seem like a veteran already.<\/p>\n
Malachi Lawrence<\/p>\n
He doesn\u2019t receive the attention Downs does, but Dallas\u2019 other first-round pick saw a lot of first-team work, rushing off both the right and left side.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been most pleasantly surprised by the instincts when he drops in coverage,\u201d Schottenheimer said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t drop him much at UCF, for the right reasons. But I like the way he\u2019s tackled this offseason. I think he\u2019s another guy that the talent is real. I don\u2019t remember him making a lot of mistakes, and that\u2019s a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Dallas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-05-01T223931Z_1900158453_MT1USATODAY28856000_RTRMADP_3_NFL-DALLAS-COWBOYS-ROOKIE-MINICAMP-scale.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\n The Cowboys drafted Malachi Lawrence with the 23rd pick in the first round earlier this year and he made an impression on Brian Schottenheimer at minicamp practices. (Chris Jones \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
Bigger leadership role<\/p>\n
Quinnen Williams is one of the NFL\u2019s top interior defensive linemen. His play speaks for itself. But he\u2019s taking on a bigger leadership role entering this season. That has included him having his locker moved to the middle of the room next to Prescott. Surprisingly, Williams has yet to make the playoffs during his NFL career.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what you want to do it for,\u201d Prescott said. \u201cThat\u2019s what I told him. I said, \u2018I\u2019ll get you to the playoffs, and we need you to help us win it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Dak\u2019s knee soreness<\/p>\n
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer announced before the first minicamp practice that Prescott would be limited because of the minor soreness. But during practice, things looked pretty similar to any other practice. Prescott took fewer reps in team drills, but nothing noticeable if Schottenheimer had not made it known. Prescott insisted that he\u2019s fine. It was more about just managing his workload as he enters his 11th season.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot an issue at all,\u201d Schottenheimer said. \u201cWhen I talked to Dak about it, I said, \u2018Hey, as you get older, buddy, we\u2019re going to have to take a play or two off.\u2019 But he\u2019s just such a competitor. He\u2019s like, \u2018Nah. I\u2019m good. I want to go.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cDak\u2019s ready and he\u2019s always going to ask for more and it\u2019s my job as the head coach to work with the training staff. And if we do think we need to pull back on stuff, it won\u2019t be a fun conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Left tackle<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a competition between Tyler Guyton and Nate Thomas, but Guyton is the clear favorite. He was the one running with the first-team through minicamp practices. As long as he can stay healthy, Guyton should hold down that spot in his third season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are two guys that both can play and both are huge to this team,\u201d Prescott said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s battling out now to be the starter, those are both guys we\u2019re going to need. Both guys are going to have to play at some point or another. They\u2019re pushing. They\u2019re doing a hell of a job. I love both of those guys and the way they approach the game, just watching Tyler get better, watching Nate get better. They\u2019re going to push each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Dallas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-06-16T225049Z_2011367782_MT1USATODAY29210584_RTRMADP_3_NFL-DALLAS-COWBOYS-MINICAMP-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Jaydon Blue played in just five games last season as a rookie with 38 rushing attempts and a single reception. Will he take on a bigger role in Year 2? (Chris Jones \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
Backup running back<\/p>\n
Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah were splitting the first-team work as starter Javonte Williams wasn\u2019t a full participant. Blue is the player who would best complement Williams with his pass-catching ability, but he has to prove he\u2019s ready for a second-year jump after an underwhelming rookie season. This is a spot that could also still be addressed in the coming months. The only thing locked in right now is that Williams is the lead guy.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than anything, we just wanted to give the two young guys (Blue and Mafah) a lot of work,\u201d Schottenheimer said of Williams not practicing. \u201cWe knew it was the last full-speed practice (on Wednesday). Javonte\u2019s in a great spot, looks great. It was more about the young guys and reps in the last full practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ryan Flournoy<\/p>\n
It\u2019s somewhat easy to forget the No. 3 wide receiver when the top two are Pickens and CeeDee Lamb. But Flournoy continues to look like a player who has not reached his ceiling. He should see a lot of advantageous matchups this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe looks great,\u201d Schottenheimer said. \u201cHe\u2019s moving great. His routes, I think, have gotten better. Here\u2019s a guy from a small school that\u2019s come in and really adapted to the way we teach route breaks and releases and speed terms and power cuts and things like that. I really think the sky\u2019s the limit for him, and he\u2019s definitely a guy we see finding ways to get him the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cobie Durant<\/p>\n
The veteran stood out most among the Cowboys\u2019 corners during OTAs and minicamp. He made a highlight diving interception of Prescott in OTAs, but there were also times when Lamb got the best of him. The coaching staff has been pleased with what it has seen. Durant is expected to have a significant role with his ability to play multiple cornerback spots. How that position group shakes out will likely depend on the health of DaRon Bland (foot) and Shavon Revel (knee). Both said last week that they are completely recovered and ready for training camp.<\/p>\n
Confidence level<\/p>\n
Schottenheimer shared why he\u2019s \u201cvery confident\u201d as the team prepares to part ways until training camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love our roster,\u201d he said. \u201cI love the changes that we\u2019ve made on defense. \u2026 My confidence is rooted in the people that we have. Not just the type of player or coach they are, the talent level, but the way they are as human beings, and the way they treat one another, the way they work, the way they understand that we do have one goal, and that one goal is the highest of the high. But that\u2019s what we\u2019re pursuing. So with that, I feel very, very confident and believe that we\u2019re going to find a way to be in that game, and win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parting message<\/p>\n
This is the part of the NFL offseason when teams worry about players getting into trouble. In regard to that, Schottenheimer shared that he has two team rules. One is to be on time. The other is an ideal fit for the next five weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe second one is to always protect the team,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that\u2019s an easy way of saying, make good decisions, be smart, think before you go out, think before you travel. Before you pack your bag and head to the airport, just know what you\u2019re putting in your bag. I think that\u2019s all real. We have real conversations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just making good decisions. Protect the team. We\u2019re going to need everybody. To go where we\u2019re going this year, and to chase the championship that we want to chase and win so badly, we\u2019re going to need everybody. So, they have to think about their teammates, their brothers, before they think about themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FRISCO, Texas \u2014 The most memorable moment from last year\u2019s Dallas Cowboys minicamp was the 30 minutes or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":723149,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[1816,399,398,396,397,99],"class_list":["post-723148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-football","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-ncaafootball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=723148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/723149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=723148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=723148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=723148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}