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By Jon Machota Jul 29, 2020
Technically, training camp started this week for the Cowboys. Although there is no work taking place on the field, players are reporting and participating in coronavirus testing at The Star in Frisco. The hope is that the pads can eventually be put on in a few weeks.
To get you ready for when they do, here are the 10 biggest Cowboys storylines entering training camp.
1.) Limited work. How will the Cowboys look after not having a normal offseason? Usually teams with new head coaches get extra time on the practice field in the offseason. However, because of COVID-19, no NFL team was able to hold a typical rookie minicamp, minicamp or organized team activities. By this time, the Cowboys would usually be well into their padded training camp practices in Oxnard, Calif. But this year, training camp is being held at the team’s headquarters in Frisco, Texas, and they won’t hit the field in pads for at least a few more weeks as players have to pass three coronavirus tests before they are allowed to enter the facility. Once the practices start, how much will they have to be altered in an attempt to keep players healthy? No preseason games means more practice time before their first game, Sept. 13 at the Los Angeles Rams. Could the altered schedule and no preseason lead to more soft-tissue injuries once the season starts? How much can an offensive and defensive system change under a new coaching staff via virtual meetings and limited time on the field?
2.) Dak Prescott. For the second consecutive year, Prescott will be playing without a contract for the following season. The Cowboys quarterback was in the final year of his rookie deal last year. He’s playing under the one-year franchise tag this year. How will that impact his play? It didn’t seem to be a problem last year. Although Dallas only won eight games, Prescott threw for career-highs of 4,902 yards and 30 touchdowns. His passer rating of 99.7 was second-highest only to his rookie season (104.9). Playing for a new head coach could provide some challenges, but Prescott should be comfortable with offensive coordinator Kellen Moore returning, as well as almost his entire offensive line, star running back Ezekiel Elliott and top two wide receivers Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup. Oh, and the Cowboys added CeeDee Lamb, arguably the top wide receiver in this year’s draft class. The tools are there for Prescott to potentially have a career year in his fifth season.
3.) How much different will the offense look? Not having any actual offseason practices to start installing the new offense means it could look very similar to last season. Why keep Moore on staff if there was no plan to build off what the offense accomplished last season? Dallas was tops in the NFL in total offense at 431.5 yards per game. The Cowboys finished second in passing yards (296.9 yards per game), fifth in rushing (134.6 yards per game) and sixth in scoring (27.1 points per game). Expect to see a lot of three-receiver sets with Cooper, Gallup and Lamb while the team also finds ways to mix Blake Jarwin, Tony Pollard and Elliott into the passing game. Any quarterback would be thrilled to have that many weapons. The running game will still be a significant factor, but it’s difficult to believe McCarthy will be quite as committed to establishing it early in games as Jason Garrett had been.
4.) What should be the expectations for CeeDee Lamb? Rookie wide receivers aren’t exactly known for making an immediate impact, but there are plenty of exceptions. Two years ago, Calvin Ridley caught 64 passes for 821 yards and 10 touchdowns in Atlanta while playing alongside Julio Jones, Mohamed Sanu and Austin Hooper. Ridley was the 26th overall pick in that year’s draft. Lamb, the 17th overall pick in April, might not reach double-digit touchdowns, but he has the rare athletic ability and upside to step in and make a similar impact. Randall Cobb, the player Lamb will be replacing most in Dallas’ lineup, was targeted 83 times last season. He caught 55 passes for 828 yards and three touchdowns. If Lamb proves he can handle his opportunities at all three wide receiver spots, 800-plus yards and six to eight touchdowns are possible. Also, look for Moore to use Lamb in the jet sweep role that we’ve seen Tavon Austin and Lucky Whitehead in over the last five years.
Photo: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
5.) Who will be the starting five on the offensive line? Tyron Smith, Zack Martin and La’el Collins are already locked in at left tackle, right guard and right tackle, respectively. The other two spots will likely be filled by two of these four: Connor Williams, Connor McGovern, Joe Looney and Tyler Biadasz. Williams versus McGovern is expected to be the battle at left guard. Looney versus Biadasz at center. Given the unique offseason, it’s hard to believe the rookie, Biadasz, is going to overtake the veteran, Looney, who started every game at center in 2018. Williams has the advantage over McGovern because he has started at left guard the previous two seasons. However, if not for a pectoral injury last year, McGovern might have won that starting job. Williams has the advantage, but this will be one of the closest position battles to monitor over the next month.
6.) How does Aldon Smith look? Training camp will be the first opportunity to see the veteran pass rusher after not playing the last four years. Considering that the Cowboys didn’t make any significant investments at edge rusher after losing Robert Quinn in free agency, Smith will likely get every opportunity to line up opposite of DeMarcus Lawrence and hunt opposing quarterbacks. While talking with reporters in late May, Smith said he weighed 285 pounds and was feeling fast. We should soon get to see just how fast he is.
7.) What is the plan at defensive tackle? There’s been some recent news regarding Dallas’ DT situation. Antwaun Woods officially signed his exclusive rights tender, keeping him with the Cowboys for another season. Tyrone Crawford and Dontari Poe have both been placed on the active/physically unable to perform list. Crawford is working his way back from hip surgery. Poe is working back from quadriceps surgery. Both are expected to contribute this season. Six-time Pro Bowler Gerald McCoy is expected to be one of the starters. Others in the mix include last year’s second-round pick, Trysten Hill, and this year’s third-round pick, Neville Gallimore. With the defense transitioning to a more multiple front, the tackles are expected to be used differently under Mike Nolan than they were with Rod Marinelli. One of the top goals this offseason was to get bigger at the position. They’ve accomplished that goal. Now they need to get back to 2018 and 2016, when Dallas’ defense was top-five in the league at stopping the run.
8.) Who will be the starting corners? The best bet entering camp is the veterans: Chidobe Awuzie, Anthony Brown and Jourdan Lewis. But what about the rookies? Where does second-round pick Trevon Diggs fit in? What about fourth-rounder Reggie Robinson II? Diggs has the size and ball skills to potentially replace the loss of Byron Jones, but will he have enough time to prepare for a Week 1 starting role? Diggs and Robinson appear to be the future at the position. How long will it take for them to see at least some playing time?
9.) Will more players opt out? As part of the agreement between the NFL and NFL Players Association reached late last week to begin playing during the coronavirus pandemic, players have been given the choice to opt out of the 2020 season. The NFL and NFLPA are working to finalize a deadline for players to give written notice of their decision; the deadline is expected to be within the next six weeks. So far the Cowboys have seen two players opt out: cornerback Maurice Canady and wide receiver Stephen Guidry.
10.) Jerry Jones’ thoughts. One of the most outspoken people in all of sports hasn’t talked publicly since after the NFL Draft in April. Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe have both stated since then that they’d like to hear the team owner and GM publicly show support for the Black community and the fight against racial injustice. Jones has been clear that he wants all Cowboys players and coaches to stand for the national anthem. But has Jones’ stance changed after recent events, like the death of George Floyd in May, which sparked protests across the country?
“His silence definitely means a lot because in any other situation [he] will have something to say about most things,” Poe told Bleacher Report earlier this month. “I was once a proponent of doing stuff behind closed doors, and doing what I need to do not out in the forefront. … So hopefully he is doing that, but who knows what he is doing. … Personally, I would hope that he comes out and says, ‘OK, I am willing to help, I am willing to fight, and I am willing to be with y’all.'”
