Cowboys training camp battle at safety will be fierce – Mario Herrera Jr., Inside the Star
Safety first. The Cowboys competition in the deep defensive backfield is one of the hottest position battles on the roster.
Donovan Wilson
When Dan Quinn arrived for the 2021 season, Wilson instantly became a better player. Quinn’s defensive scheme featuring three safeties on the field played to all of Wilson’s strengths. He is a player who likes to play near the line of scrimmage. He’s excellent at run support, and is adept at pass rushing, evidenced by his 8.5 career sacks.
Wilson is not so great in coverage, though. How his traits fit into Mike Zimmer’s scheme is yet to be seen. He should be a lock for this roster, but even if he isn’t, I wouldn’t expect him to be released. The Cowboys will keep him on the roster or attempt to trade him, since releasing him would result in a dead cap hit over $10 million.
Malik Hooker
Malik Hooker might actually be the safest bet to make the roster because of his skills in coverage. Dallas doesn’t really have anyone else that has proven to be on his level as a single-high safety. Hooker, a former 1st round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2017, has something that none of the other safeties have: blue chip draft status. The rest of the safeties on the roster weren’t drafted in the top five rounds, and most were undrafted.
The Ohio State product has had a solid three years in Dallas after arriving with Quinn in 2021. Hooker hasn’t been spectacular, but he has been the best free safety to start for Dallas in several years. In his three seasons, he has recorded 156 tackles, eight passes defensed, two fumble recoveries, and five interceptions. I fully expect him to make the roster and remain the starting free safety.
3 things we learned from Cowboys camp Saturday: WRs look strong, injury updates and more – Staff, DMN
Lots of highlight-worthy moments from the wide receivers at Saturday’s practice.
(…) a few wide receivers have enjoyed strong camp outings this summer. While [Jalen] Tolbert and Jalen Brooks have stepped their game up in Oxnard, another receiver has proven to be a name to watch as camp rolls on.
Looking to stick on the Cowboys’ roster, Tyron Billy-Johnson is embracing newfound stability in Dallas.
“He’s having a great camp, he really is,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said.
“Yeah, I mean the guy loves the game, first and foremost, and he loves his teammates,” quarterback Dak Prescott said. “You talk about a guy that has energy, natural energy, natural excitement, joy, and it jumps out and it’s contagious. It can start with a guy like that.”
Who has caught the eye of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones through the first two weeks of camp? – Clarence Hill, Star-Telegram
Some early standouts.
[…] one name has consistently come out of the mouths of the team decision makers when asked who has stood out through the first two weeks of camp: former Texas linebacker DeMarvion Overshown.
Overshown has been as advertised so far in camp with his size, athleticism, ability to fill the hole and run to the football.
“[DeMarvion] Overshown is gonna get you excited. Excited for him, excited for us,” Jones said. McCarthy also mentioned Overshown as a player that has stood out. Other players who have stood for McCarthy include tight end Noah Fant, who is being cross trained at fullback, receivers Jalen Tolbert and Jalen Brooks, cornerbacks Daron Bland and Jourdan Lewis, as well as fullback Hunter Luepke, who is being cross trained at tight end.
Jones also mentioned receiver KaVontae Turpin and Luepke. “Really like the work that our fullback [Hunter Luepke] is doing. He’s very instrumental, and of course he’s going to be a big part of this offense and he’s earning it,” Jones said.
Latest updates from NFL training camp: Micah Parsons has most active practice yet – Todd Archer, ESPN
Parsons had quite a day.
Micah Parsons’ elbow soreness did not seem to be an issue Saturday. The linebacker did not do one-on-one pass rush drills but was a menace in team drills, working mostly on the line of scrimmage.
It was his most active practice of training camp and was similar to last year, when he wrecked a number of practices for the offense. He had at least three would-be sacks, including one where he was unblocked because of the look the defense gave the offensive line. He was in quarterback Dak Prescott’s face a lot.
Liufau ‘playing faster’, starting to shine in camp – Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com
Could the linebacker unit turn from a weakness to a strength?
A key to the Dallas Cowboys potentially ending their longstanding Super Bowl drought will be the quality of their linebacker play, and that’s one reason Marist Liufau got the nod as the team’s third-round picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, and he’s quickly beginning to show them why they made the right call.
As it goes for any rookie in the NFL, but especially those who play a position as cerebral as linebacker, Liufau will run into his share of hiccups and growing pains, but it’s also true that he’s off to a solid start in his first-ever Cowboys’ training camp and, in the team’s fourth-padded practice, he delivered his best day thus far.
Liufau’s elite football IQ is one of his main attractions and it’s what caused Zimmer and head coach Mike McCarthy to pound the table, so to speak, to get him on the roster during the draft and, seeing as it’s helped get him this far, it will likely also help in propelling him much further.
“It gets a little bit easier [when pads come on] because you get your reps in, you learn the playbook more and things start to slow down,” he said. “And the more I study, I begin to think faster. … I feel like I’m getting more comfortable and I’m playing faster — also building confidence.”
Cowboys New, old Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer talks softer but the edge remains – Clarence Hill, Star Telegram
Zimmer likes what he see in Dallas, Cowboys fans may like what they’ll see from Zimmer in return.
“I got the same bite,” Zimmer said. “I hadn’t had to use it much. But I probably got the same bite. But now. I’m trying to be very specific about what we want and make sure they understand exactly what we want.”
“I’ve been impressed with this group, I really have. I heard all this stuff when I came here, this and that, but I just go by what I see and what I see has been good.”
Zimmer’s scheme is targeted to help the Cowboys be better against the run. But it starts with being disciplined, fundamentally sound, and doing your job. No more freelancing. And that goes for the best players, including All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons.
Zimmer has new wrinkles for Parsons and will line him [up] all over the field. He will do more disguising on defense and his blitz packages are already freaky. But the foundation remains. Discipline, fundamentals, and accountability.
“Just putting guys in a lot of different positions. And not just letting us fly around and vision break,” safety Donovan Wilson said when asked about what Zimmer brings to the defense. “It’s been a lot of like disguises and stuff. But yea Zim brings the extra juice to the whole defense and keeps guys accountable.”
It’s the only way he knows how.
Brock Hoffman making the most out of big opportunity – Nick Harris, DallasCowboys.com
The Cowboys may have hit on yet another undrafted free agent.
The offseason work that Hoffman has put in has been evident. He’s more technical. He’s stronger and better put together physically. Most importantly, he’s more communicative and more confident – two qualities that are required to man down the middle of a talented Cowboys offensive line.
“Brock’s the man,” quarterback Dak Prescott said. “It’s in his intensity. It’s in his focus, and then that allows the communication to be easier. He’s a guy that gets up there, knows his job responsibility, knows the calls and then from there, he’s gonna jump on them. And if I want to change something, he makes sure it’s echoed and communicated to the rest of the guys but there’s just no hesitation in it.”
Going into year two of Mike McCarthy’s offensive system, Hoffman’s background as a son of a college coach and the knowledge of the game that it comes with has paid off. For him, it’s about perfecting it in order to be as prepared as possible for his Pro Bowl quarterback.
“I feel like in terms of my mental speed, I feel like I’ve really grown playbook-wise,” Hoffman said. “In terms of the game, it has slowed down and in terms of being able to see safety rotations, different defensive looks, our defense has given us a different variety of looks and the center has to be ready for that for the quarterback.”
Looking at a potential trade destination for Dallas Cowboys QB Trey Lance – RJ Ochoa, Blogging the Boys
Ochoa talks to Michael Peterson from Bolts From The Blue, the Chargers SB Nation site.
BTB: On a scale of 1-10 how worried are you about Justin Herbert’s health for the start of the season?
On a scale of 1-10, I’m probably at a 5. I’m not that worried overall but any injury on this team makes me hold my breath due to all the times the team said it wasn’t a serious injury only for a player to miss half the year because the issue won’t go away.
BTB: Who are the other quarterbacks on the depth chart?
The backup quarterbacks are Easton Stick (four starts in 2023), 2023 seventh-round pick Max Duggan, and 2024 UDFA Casey Bauman. Stick played “fine” to end last season but he’s far from an efficient passer. He’s much better as a gamer who can utilize his legs to extend drives. Duggan led TCU to the 2023 CFP title game but got walloped by Georgia. He had a rough pre-draft process which led to him being a dart throw by the Chargers despite being a Heisman runner-up. He has a matching skillset to Stick in that he’s not the best passer but he can improvise and extend plays with his athleticism. Lastly, Bauman is a tall 6’7 passer who went from FCS Montana State to Division II Augustana. Injuries limited his career to a degree but he’s yet another dual-threat player. Just a camp arm, though.
BTB: Hypothetically would you (as in you, not the team) have interest in Trey Lance as a potential option for let’s say something like the first month of the season while Herbert got fully healthy if things came down to that?
I would not have any interest in making a trade for Lance as the team can make do with Stick in the meantime. If this was more of a “make-or-break” season, I’d entertain the idea more but this is year essentially a re-tooling where the Chargers should be very happy if they manage to finish with a record above .500. If they’re a 9-8 team and miss the playoffs with Herbert, going 6-11 and earning a better draft pick because Stick dropped a few games doesn’t sound too bad.
