Dallas opened its 20th training camp in Oxnard with three practices before taking Sunday off ahead of Monday\u2019s first padded session. Here\u2019s what stood out across practices one (Wednesday, July 29), two (Thursday, July 30), and three (Saturday, August 1).<\/p>\n
Caleb Downs is going to be everywhere. The 11th overall pick didn\u2019t ease into his first NFL camp – he lined up at nickel, in the box, off the edge, and deep in the secondary, sometimes shifting spots within a single play, and came away with a fumble recovery<\/a> off a Rashan Gary strip on his very first day.<\/p>\n DeMarvion Overshown explains his (and the team\u2019s) early impressions of Downs:<\/p>\n Jaishawn Barham is pushing for real defensive snaps far sooner than expected. The third-round rookie has looked comfortable as an off-ball linebacker through the first three practices, flashing well enough to get a Brian Schottenheimer shout out<\/a> for his ability to get off blocks and be in on tackles, and got a lot of work with the starters in the second and third practices.<\/p>\n The Twitterverse is all aflutter:<\/p>\n The offense is spreading the ball around more than expected. It\u2019s not just Lamb and Pickens – Javonte Williams, Jonathan Mingo, and others have all had moments through the first practices, a sign the offense isn\u2019t just a two-man show. In the second practice, Prescott targeted seven different receivers on 13 observed throws<\/a>.<\/p>\n Just as importantly, the red-zone offense already looks sharper with Prescott\u2019s red-zone touchdowns on Saturday going to four different targets. Improving red-zone efficiency was a stated point of emphasis entering camp, and Saturday\u2019s session backed it up. Per Todd Archer<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cDak Prescott had touchdown passes to CeeDee Lamb on the post, two to Ryan Flournoy (dig, slot fade) and a bullet of a throw low to the outside that receiver George Pickens corralled for the score. There was one interception when a Prescott checkdown was tipped by running back Jaydon Blue into the arms of safety Malik Hooker.\u201c<\/p>\n Three Things We Still Need To See<\/p>\n Can Jaydon Blue prove he can be the RB2 rather than simply look like the most explosive back? That distinction matters because the padded practices will reveal things that shorts don\u2019t: pass protection, contact balance, physicality, ball security, etc. Blue has looked good in shorts<\/a>, but real contact starting Monday is the next real test of the RB2 race behind Javonte Williams.<\/p>\n Can Jonathan Mingo pull away from Marquez Valdes-Scantling and the rest of the receiver room? Behind the Lamb-Pickens-Flournoy trio, the fifth (and maybe sixth) receiver spot is still up for grabs, and the next several practices should start sorting out who\u2019s separating from the pack<\/a>. And don\u2019t underestimate the rookie receivers. UDFA rookie wide receiver Camden Brown had the \u201ccatch of the day\u201d during Saturday\u2019s practice, hauling in a back-pylon fade from Sam Howell for a TD. He\u2019s an intriguing size\/athleticism bet at the bottom of a crowded receiver room. Seventh-round rookie Anthony Smith is also making plays.<\/p>\n How the retooled defense responds to Monday\u2019s first padded practice. Three straight practices in helmets-and-shorts have shown promise, but BTB\u2019s own early-camp notes flagged that \u201cwhen the pads come on, things will really heat up<\/a>.\u201d That\u2019s the next real proving ground.<\/p>\n Across three practices, per Calvin Watkins<\/a>, Prescott is lighting it up, going 12-15 on Saturday, 14-17 on Thursday, and 11-15 on Wednesday. While unofficial, that\u2019s 37-47 over three days, a completion rate of 79%. It\u2019s encouraging, but it\u2019s also exactly the kind of number that needs a giant training-camp asterisk. The pads aren\u2019t on, the throws are largely scripted, and nobody is keeping an official stat sheet for a reason. Over the same span, Joe Milton went 14-22 (64%) and Sam Howell 12-21 (57%), which probably says more about the quality of the backup QBs than the quality of the defense.<\/p>\n Still, Prescott\u2019s efficiency, combined with the distribution of the ball and the early red-zone results, is one of the more encouraging offensive signals through three practices – and a challenge for the defense.<\/p>\n Three Things That Haven\u2019t Changed<\/p>\n Lamb and Prescott are still automatic together. The middle of the field remained friendly territory for the two of them through three practices, continuing one of the most reliable connections in football<\/a> rather than revealing anything new.<\/p>\n George Pickens is locked in. With his franchise-tag situation settled, Pickens arrived engaged, not distracted – exactly the version of him the Cowboys were hoping to see after a clean offseason, and not the largely media-driven narrative of \u201cdrama.\u201d<\/p>\n Dallas came into camp about as healthy as a team can be. DaRon Bland and Donovan Ezeiruaku, both coming off offseason surgery, remain on a \u201cmonitored\u201d workload plan rather than any injury list.<\/p>\n Through three practices, safeties Jalen Thompson (hip), P.J. Locke (knee), and Zion Childress (hamstring) are the only players missing time, though none of their injuries have appeared serious enough so far to disrupt the bigger picture. In their place, others step up. Safeties Alijah Clark and Markquese Bell shared the work with the first-team defense, but one down-roster guy stood out.<\/p>\n Communication: DeMarvion Overshown is wearing the defensive green dot, running Christian Parker\u2019s play calls from the middle linebacker spot. Coaches have already tested him with simulated communication breakdowns between Parker and the headset. Schottenheimer said Overshown got the defense lined up correctly regardless.<\/p>\n Schottenheimer said in addition to DeMarvion Overshown, rookie Caleb Downs, Shemar James, and Curtis Robinson (likely a backup green dot\/CJ Goodwin replacement on special teams) are also wearing the green dot. Caleb Downs getting the green dot just reiterates the Overshown quote from above:<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not even looking at [Caleb Downs] as a rookie. We\u2019re looking at him as a guy that\u2019s going to change this defense around.\u201d<\/p>\n Leadership: Schottenheimer named an 11-player leadership council to open camp: QB Dak Prescott, WR CeeDee Lamb, RB Javonte Williams, TE Jake Ferguson, OL Tyler Smith, OL Tyler Booker, DT Quinnen Williams, DT Kenny Clark, OLB Rashan Gary, S Jalen Thompson and P Bryan Anger. It\u2019s a mix of established voices (Prescott, Lamb, Smith, Ferguson) and newcomers Schottenheimer wants to fast-track into the locker room (Clark, Gary, Thompson, Quinnen Williams \u2014 all first- or second-year Cowboys).<\/p>\n But it\u2019s more than just old-versus-new: Schottenheimer appears to be deliberately building a leadership structure around the team\u2019s new physical identity. The roster has been reshaped around the lines, and now the leadership council is disproportionately populated by them.<\/p>\n That emphasis on the lines is exactly what former safety Darren Woodson, three-time Super Bowl winner and a member of the Cowboys\u2019 Ring of Honor, recently highlighted when talking about what made the Cowboys successful in the 90s<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cYou want to win football games, you get them boys up front lined up. They\u2019re big boys, they\u2019ve got some pride in that front seven. That\u2019s when you start to connect.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe were at our best – as Super Bowl champions – not because of the skill guys, but because our offensive line was the best in the league and our defensive line, we had a seven-man rotation, and they didn\u2019t drop, and they had so much pride in what they were doing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd they ran the locker room. Don\u2019t let your DBs and wide receivers run the locker room! Your defensive backs and wide receivers run the locker room? You\u2019ve got a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen your offensive and defensive line are telling everybody \u2018Shut up! Get your ass in line.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s when you\u2019ve got something.\u201c<\/p>\n Physicality: Dallas has been running gassers after every practice to build stamina for the fourth quarter. CeeDee Lamb explains<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, man, we\u2019re trying to build that competitive stamina. Honestly, I feel like last year we kind of veered off a little bit towards the 4th quarter. We weren\u2019t really finishing as strong as we thought we were capable of. So just building that endurance as a team and as whole, overall that will be beneficial in the end.\u201c<\/p>\n