- The Dallas Cowboys broke out the pads for the first time in training camp on Monday and the hitting commenced from the beginning. It’s not going to old school football where players will tackle to the ground. But Brian Schottenheimer wants them to thud up and wrap up. “I want to see physical play,” Schottenheimer said. “I want to see pad level. I think we want to get our pads down. We want to be able to strike. There’s things that you teach in terms of we’re a leverage tackling team, so the way you work and get your leverage. The difference is from going from a tag off thing. We’re actually going to wrap. We call it wrap and release. So you get down low, you strike, you wrap your arms, and then you release because if you don’t have the ball carrier running, you can’t get the conditioning and training, the pursuit angles and things like that. But yeah, the guys working together, the big thing we say is, “Hey, stay off the ground, protect your teammates, but play with great pad level and urgency.”
- The biggest hit of the first came from linebacker DeMarvion Overshown who blasted fullback Hunter Leupke as he was lead blocking for running back Jaydon Blue. Any concerns about Overshown’s speed and physicality were alleviated with one massive hit.
- Schottenheimer made it clear he does not plan to play the starters in the preseason. A final has not yet been made on his prize rookies like first-round pick Caleb Downs.
- Downs showed on the first day in pads his ability to read and diagnose. He snaked through line to thud up running back Jaydon Blue for a tackle for a loss.
- While George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb at the stars at receiver, Ryan Flournoy is shining at third receiver and he is hard to overlook. Flournoy had a tough contested touchdown catch on Monday. After catching 40 passes for 475 yards and four touchdowns in the second season in 2025, he is entering 2026 with new confidence and and new feeling. “Super different, I’m in a different spot…” Flournoy said. “My confidence is up. I know what to expect, I know what to do. Definitely just having fun, just going out there and playing comfortable.” He believes he can join Lamb and Pickens as 1,000-yard receivers in 2026. “I wanted 1,000 yards last year,” Flournoy said. “But definitely, honestly, 1,000 yards for everybody on the offense. I feel like me, [George Pickens], CeeDee [Lamb], even [Jake Ferguson] can do it.”
- The battle at cornerback is starting to heat up between Cobie Durant and Shavon Revel. Durant has stood out since the first day of camp. And he has worked largely with the first team opposite DaRon Bland. Durant had another strong day on Monday with a pass deflection and an interception of Dak Prescott in the red zone. Durant read the play nicely and sunk off his man to jump in front of a surprised CeeDee Lamb for the pick. But Revel finally showed up and had his best day of camp on Monday with at least three pass deflections and showed tight coverage on Lamb and Pickens. Revel said he finally has his confidence back after struggling last season as a rookie while recovering from a torn ACL he suffered as senior in college at East Carolina. “My health is 10 times better,” Revel said. “And my confidence is always there, man. It’s always that heart and that grit to go out there and perform for your team. It’s no excuse. Once you get on that field, there’s no excuse like, ‘Oh, my knee, or this and that.’ “You’re on that field, so attack each play with intent to get better. That’s just how I look at it.”
- Revel said going against Pickens and Lamb, while taking some bumps and bruises, will only make him better. “It’s a reason those boys are top-five — for real,” Revel said. “You could tell from last week, watching the last week’s [film], and how I started this week. It’s made me better, going against those boys and competing against them every day — even our backups. “They just sharpen my skills each and every day, and I’ll go back and watch film, see what I need to do, see what they see, how they move, and fix it in practice. But, those boys, man, y’all know, y’all see, that’s just who they [are].”
