The Dallas Cowboys have had five practices through the first week of training camp and there have been some really interesting story lines to follow thus far. Several players and position groups have already made an impression early on.
As training camp continues, we’ll need to keep an eye on who shows consistency the rest of the preseason. When the preseason games come, they’ll give us a bit more of an indication of what this team looks like.
Already some players have stood out for their positive and negative performances in week one.
Whose Stock Is Up
WR Deonte Thompson
Deonte Thompson seemed to be a guy who could get caught up in the numbers game at the wide receiver position. With Cole Beasley, Allen Hurns, Michael Gallup, Terrance Williams, and Tavon Austin already locked in on the WR depth chart, and Noah Brown being a team favorite, it appeared Thompson would have to force the team to keep him on the roster.
Through the first week of training camp, he’s certainly doing that.
Now, he’ll still have to hold off 2017 UDFA free agent Lance Lenoir as well to get a spot on the roster, but he’s already made a very strong impression through the first week of practice.
WR Lance Lenoir
Speaking of Lance Lenoir, it seems like every single practice, he’s finding a way to get open and has even found himself getting some first team reps early in training camp.
Dak has been working with a multitude of wide receivers through the first week of practice as the team looks to figure out the best combination of players moving forward. Lance Lenoir is certainly making a case for himself.
Lenoir will compete with Deonte Thompson and Noah Brown for the last spot or two on the WR depth chart. It’s looking more and more likely that the team will be forced to keep six wide receivers when the team enters week one of the regular season. With the play of Thompson and Lenoir, they might be forced to keep seven.
The Wide Receiver Group
Speaking of the wide receivers. From all reports I’ve read from training camp, they’ve been doing a great job at getting open and making plays. Whether it’s Cole Beasley, who’s been lining up on the outside or Tavon Austin, who’s been used as a deep threat, the Dallas Cowboys have some weapons.
They still won’t be looked at in a similar light to the Pittsburgh Steelers or New York Giants’ wide receiver groups, but this is a group with a lot of ability and confidence that they can make plays and help the Dallas Cowboys win games.
The thing you really like seeing is the way the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff has been moving the wide receivers around in the formation and rotating them in with the first team. They may be a difficult group to get a handle on for your fantasy football team, but the growing confidence from observers in this group is going to lead to wins for your real football team.
If Tavon Austin can be a consistent deep threat for Dallas, this offense will be unstoppable.
That has been the missing element to the offense for years – someone who can stretch the field vertically with their speed.
With Cole Beasley’s quickness, Allen Hurns’ toughness over the middle, and Austin’s speed, they have the makings of a very dynamic group of receivers that could help Dak Prescott as well as the running game.
CB Byron Jones
Byron Jones is making the transition to boundary corner this offseason after playing safety for the last two seasons. It certainly looks like he’s found a home on the outside.
He’s a really good fit for Defensive Backs Coach and Passing Game Coordinator Kris Richard’s pass defense scheme with his length, strength, and athletic ability.
He’ll be tough to beat on the outside because he has a great ability to recover if a receiver is able to get behind him. His length and athletic ability will allow him to make more plays on the football while having to worry about only one receiver, or a smaller portion of the field when in zone coverage.
From my count, Dak Prescott has only thrown two interceptions in practice — one on a play where the defensive line was offsides — and Byron Jones made one of them.
Byron can run with a lot of receivers and showed above that he can box out well and go up to get the football. Team’s are going to have a very difficult time going over the top of Byron Jones with the deep ball or with fades in the red zone.
QB Dak Prescott
Much has been made of the importance of Dak Prescott rebounding this season after a down second half of 2017. I’ve talked a lot about why we shouldn’t worry about it, but now that the team is practicing and doing real football things, we can see why.
Dak Prescott, though he may not have a wide receiver group that is respected by the league or the media, is doing what Dak Prescott does the best; spreading the ball around.
If you look at these camp videos from each day of practice, you’ll notice that he’s making plays with his arm by targeting a myriad of receivers. Remember that pretty much every receiver with a shot to make the team has gotten some first team reps in practice so far. That’s at least seven different receivers to this point.
The Tuesday practice was a down day for the offense, but that happens in training camp, especially when an offense is trying to install their playbook.
It isn’t always about winning reps, but about getting in the work they want to get in.
This throw from Dak Prescott to Allen Hurns should have you tremendously excited for what is to come for Dak and the offense this season. He throws an absolute dime to Hurns who was coming across the formation from the slot and gets behind Jaylon Smith and in front of Chidobe Awuzie for the big play.
DT Jihad Ward
The player with the most to gain this training camp has to be Defensive Tackle Jihad Ward. With Maliek Collins recovering from foot surgery and David Irving absent from camp for personal reasons, Ward has a legit shot to earn a starting job as the 3-tech defensive tackle week one.
Ward had already been impressing throughout the offseason training activities, and over the weekend I asked Bryan Broaddus of DallasCowboys.com who had been the best interior defensive lineman during the first padded practice, and his answer was again Jihad Ward:
Jihad Ward has a lot of ability, just hasn’t had good luck on the injury side of things.
If he can stay on the field, he should be able to create some havoc in the middle. Getting to work against the Cowboys interior offensive line every day should only improve his game during training camp.
CB Chidobe Awuzie
The second round pick from the 2017 NFL Draft, Chidobe Awuzie, has also been playing really well this training camp. Already in as a starter opposite Byron Jones at cornerback, Awuzie has caught the eye of observers of the team both near and far.
Charles Robinson, from Yahoo Sports, has been a big fan of Awuzie dating back to last year’s training camp, but had an updated view of Awuzie after his stop through Dallas Cowboys’ training camp:
If the play of Awuzie and Jones continues throughout training camp and into the regular season, the Dallas Cowboys will have a pretty awesome tandem of corners on the outside.
LB Jaylon Smith
As far as I can tell from practice reports and tweets, Jaylon Smith has been on the field for pretty much every single first-team rep in training camp so far.
Seems like he is healthy enough and the team is going all-in on Jaylon as their starting MIKE linebacker for 2018. If that’s the case, then get ready to see the defense take a huge step forward in 2018.
Jaylon will be a tremendous run stopper for the Dallas Cowboys and an excellent piece to use when blitzing.
He’s made progress everyday since Jaylon initially hurt himself and this looks to be the season where the 2016 gamble really pays off.
Kris Richard, DB Coach/Passing Game Coordinator
Kris Richard’s hire has excited those in Cowboys Nation all offseason. Seeing what he did as the defensive coordinator of the “Legion of Boom” in Seattle has many of us really excited for what he could do with this young secondary.
His energy and passion on the field have been infectious to players and observers alike. If there was a position coach that, as a fan, you’d be willing to run through a wall for, Richard is that guy.
It’s been speculated that Richard is the next defensive coordinator for the Cowboys and there are many fans already calling for him to be the head coach in 2019. While, I’m not willing to go that far, because it means that Dallas disappointed again in 2018, I’m really excited to see what this defense will be in 2018 because of Richard’s presence.
When was the last time that we were truly pumped about a position coach as a fan base?
Whose Stock Is Down
It’s early in training camp and so it’s hard to get a handle on where players may stand. It’s also difficult to assess from training camp reports. So, this is more a limited list of players than those who have made positive impressions.
CB Anthony Brown
Despite being the starting nickel corner throughout OTAs and minicamp, Anthony Brown has had a rough start to training camp.
Despite getting the interception in Tuesday’s practice, the general feeling is that Brown has had a really rough go of it.
Even on plays where his guy didn’t catch the ball, you can see Brown getting beat by his man.
In the video, Deonte Thompson may have been the targeted receiver, but watch what Cole Beasley does to Brown when he comes out of his break.
Despite having the size that Richard prefers his cornerbacks to have, it seems like only a matter of time until Jourdan Lewis is the nickel corner on the team.
As I said before, it’s still early in training camp and a lot can change when they start playing the preseason, but at the moment, Brown is trending down.
WR Cedric Wilson
Coming out of a productive two years at Boise State, Cedric Wilson, the Dallas Cowboys’ sixth round pick this year, was getting a lot of hype this offseason and in training camp.
Unfortunately that hype train has been derailed after it was reported that Wilson suffered a labrum tear and is expected to be out indefinitely.
Prior to the injury, it was looking next to impossible for Wilson to be able to break camp on the 53-man roster with the experience that was in front of him on the depth chart. It might be a redshirt season for Wilson, who will now look to 2019 to make an impact for the team.
WR Noah Brown
Noah Brown has been limited in training camp so far, but looks to be close to a return. That isn’t a slight against him, injuries happen and you don’t want to rush players back. The problem is that he’s fallen behind players like Lance Lenoir and Deonte Thompson.
Being available and getting reps, especially with the first team offense, is important and Brown’s lack of availability could ultimately hurt him down the stretch.
The Dallas Cowboys like Noah Brown and the intangibles that he brings to the offense, but if Lenoir and Thompson continue with the training camp they’ve had thus far, it could force the Dallas Cowboys to make a tough decision on Brown.
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Certainly there is a long way to go until the Dallas Cowboys make final cuts and begin preparing for week one vs the Carolina Panthers, but the start of training camp has seen some players impress while others have fallen behind. There’s still a lot of time to turn it around during training camp and preseason, but when you’re fighting for a roster spot or a starting spot, you don’t want to fall behind early and have to play catch up.
