Dallas Cowboys Training Camp Will be Headlined by Wide Receiver Battles

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We’re nearing the start of the 2026 Dallas Cowboys training camp, and a key headline that will dominate the summer will be the wide receiver room battles.

The team has two superstars in CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, and I see 2025 riser Ryan Flournoy thoroughly holding on to the WR3 spot. After that, things get a bit murky and competitive throughout the depth chart.

It will mainly be a fight between the young guys and the vets; here, I’ll focus on the main characters in that story.


The Veterans: Familiar Face Stands Out Among New Additions

Leading the veterans on the depth chart are KaVontae Turpin, the Cowboys’ long-time kick returner, who struggled a bit in 2026, Marquez Valdez-Scantling, who is almost certainly at the end of his solid NFL career, and Jonathan Mingo.

The last guy on that list, Mingo, is far from a favorite amongst the fanbase; that midseason trade has never worked out, and I doubt he wins a role on the roster this time around.

“MVS” generated a lot of buzz because of his name recognition, but those who are plugged in know he’s tailed off significantly in recent years. He’s nothing more than a camp body to me – the 53-man roster is unlikely to be in his future.

Turpin would be a surprise cut, but after his disappointing 2026 and his high cap number, it wouldn’t shock me at all to see him be let go if this training camp doesn’t go his way.


The Young Guys: Undrafted Potential Shouldn’t Be Underrated

On the young guys side, there are some seriously exciting names that fans have latched on to in the past month. Yes, it may be a long shot for all of them, but the same was said about Flournoy after he became a fan favorite a few years ago.

Anthony Smith, one of Dallas’s late-round picks this past draft, is one of them. He’s a project, there is no doubt about it, but his deep-threat ability may shine bright in camp.

There’s also returnee Traeshon Holden, who generated a ton of buzz last summer with some spectacular plays. It may have just not been his time then, but it could be now after a year of progression and chemistry-building with Dak Prescott.

The last guy to note is essentially this year’s Holden, with SMU undrafted free agent Jordan Hudson. He’s a guy who really should have been drafted, and could see early success this summer.

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Mark Heaney is an NFL scout and sports journalist who has covered college football and the NFL since 2018. He has professionally evaluated over 1,000 NFL Draft prospects. At InsideTheStar.com, Mark has published 319 articles on ITS reaching over 1.1 million readers. His work has also appeared on FanSided, Whole Nine Sports, and Downtown Sports Network. Mark studied at UNC Charlotte and served as a media intern for the Charlotte 49ers football program.

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