Five biggest position battles for the Dallas Cowboys ahead of training camp
The Dallas Cowboys are less than a week away from kicking off their first training camp under head coach Brian Schottenheimer, as the team will arrive in Oxnard, Calif. on Sunday, July 20 before taking the field for the first of 16 practices in Southern California on Tuesday, July 22.
While new faces will be featured on both sides of the ball, there will also be a lot of attention on returning talent following a 7-10 campaign in 2024 that underwhelmed expectations in Dallas. As a result, a handful of position battles are shaping up ahead of the team’s arrival in the Golden State.
Here are the five biggest battles to watch going into camp.
Running Back
A lackluster performance from the running back position group for most of the 2024 season forced the Cowboys to rebuild that room going into 2025. But even though there are four new names in the mix, there isn’t a ton of clarity on how the depth chart will shake out.
Free agent additions Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders join rookie fifth-round pick Jaydon Blue as contenders for the starting job, while the losers of that battle will work into a mix joined by Deuce Vaughn and rookie sixth-round pick Phil Mafah for the backup role.
With so much up in the air at the position, it will be crucial for the eventual starter to stack good days in Oxnard from the very beginning, even if it’s a tough position to truly separate outside of a game environment. With that, preseason games could be de facto tryouts.
Cornerback
With the health of Trevon Diggs and rookie third-round pick Shavon Revel Jr. up in the air, a handful of cornerbacks will be playing for meaningful playing time early in the season.
DaRon Bland is probably the only safe starter going into camp at either nickel or on the boundary, even though new addition Kaiir Elam does find himself in the driver’s seat to start on the outside after a strong minicamp and OTA performance. Who the third starter is along with that duo could end up being the big question as camp progresses, as Israel Mukuamu, Caelen Carson, Kemon Hall and Juanyeh Thomas could all find themselves in the mix.
If Revel makes his way back from his torn ACL that he suffered last October before camp concludes, he will have a decent shot at landing a week one start as well.
But as long as Diggs remains out, multiple spots are up for grabs in the secondary.
Tight End
Jake Ferguson’s position atop the depth chart is not in jeopardy going into training camp, but who backs him up is very much a question mark.
Luke Schoonmaker couldn’t provide consistency in each of his first two seasons, and now Brevyn Spann-Ford is fastly approaching Schoomaker’s spot on the depth chart. After a strong offseason program, Spann-Ford is in prime position to overtake the 2023 second-round pick.
The rest of the room remains a mystery as well, as John Stephens Jr. works his way back from two consecutive ACL tears, Princeton Fant looks to carve another special teams role on the 53-man roster and the undrafted duo of Tyler Neville and Rivaldo Fairweather look to make their mark.
Defensive End
Easily the most talent-rich position group on the roster, the defensive end position will have the luxury of figuring out which star pass rusher is best to throw out with the starting 11 next to Micah Parsons.
The Cowboys signed Dante Fowler Jr. to an expensive one-year deal, Sam Williams returns from an ACL tear he suffered at camp in 2024 looking to prove his worth in a contract year and rookie second-round pick Donovan Ezeiruaku enters with sky-high expectations.
In the depth unit, who emerges as the lead rotational edge rusher will also have more players vying for valuable playing time. Payton Turner arrives in Dallas after finally notching a healthy season in 2024 with the New Orleans Saints and Marshawn Kneeland brings value as a run defender after being drafted in the second round in 2024.
Defensive Tackle
Could 2023 first-round pick Mazi Smith lose his starting job? It’s not likely, but it’s not impossible either.
With his wide 330-pound frame, rookie seventh-round pick Jay Toia could prove to bring more on early downs and he could push for priority playing time over Smith. Regardless, the depth at the 1-Technique position will have eyeballs, as it could lead to a situation where an outside veteran is signed if the current options don’t prove to have acceptable value in training camp.
