Cowboys minicamp observations: CeeDee Lamb lets defense hear it after big play
The Dallas Cowboys hosted their mandatory minicamp this week at The Star in Frisco, as they put their final on-field preparations in place before breaking for the summer.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the team participated in a 90-minute practice on the outdoor grass field, taking part in individual drills, position drills and full 11-on-11 work along with 7-on-7 team work. On Thursday, the team canceled the final practice, a scheduled walkthrough.
While Tuesday was a hot one outside, it was easier to weather the elements on the first day than on Wednesday as high winds affected the passing game.
Here were the highlights from those two practice periods.
CeeDee Lamb with a big gain on day one
In the two periods of team work across the two days, CeeDee Lamb saw six targets come his way with three receptions. The highlight for him was a long completion down the right sideline from Dak Prescott that would’ve been good for more than a 30-yard gain.
As Lamb ran out the play, he made eye contact with cornerback DaRon Bland who was working with the rehab group to the side (foot), and he talked a little trash about his matchup on that play.
“Tell your boy to back up,” Lamb yelled at Bland about his matchup on that play, Cobie Durant. It was said with a laugh, as the two sides of the ball have noted that the trash talk has picked up under new defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
Wind puts damper on backup quarterback battle
Although the high winds didn’t do any favors for Joe Milton III and Sam Howell on Wednesday as they compete for the backup quarterback job this offseason, they were still able to get ample work in across two days — especially since Prescott was limited with a minor knee issue.
In all, Milton went 9-for-17 over the two days while Howell went 12-for-14 passing. Neither will have the opportunity to truly separate until the preseason rolls around, as they both can just simply take advantage of their opportunities at this point and move forward.
Working exclusively with the first team, Prescott went 22-for-29 passing with three drops. He used an array of receivers throughout the two days, completing passes to Lamb (three), tight end Jake Ferguson (five), receiver Ryan Flournoy (two), tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford (two), tight end Luke Schoonmaker (two), receiver KaVontae Turpin (one), receiver Traeshon Holden (one), running back Jaydon Blue (two), wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling (two) and receiver Anthony Smith (two).
Depth chart specifics
While no player will ever win a depth chart battle during minicamp, the two days of practices can serve as a foundation for how legitimate a battle will be when training camp and preseason rolls around.
At linebacker, DeMarvion Overshown received most of the work at the green-dot MIKE spot. In taking on the new challenge, head coach Brian Schottenheimer said he’s been performing well in the offseason program. Dee Winters has operated to his left in the formation while Shemar James has rotated in at both spots. Curtis Robinson has had periodic usage as well.
At cornerback, it seems that there is a wide open battle to take a starting job on the outside. When DaRon Bland returns from his foot injury — which he told reporters this week that he expects to be ready for training camp — he will get his starting job back on the outside while Caleb Downs holds down the nickel spot. The other outside job is up for grabs.
Cobie Durant looks to have the inside track at holding down the job based on the reps he’s received compared to others and the positive reviews he’s gotten behind the scenes. Caelen Carson has once again had a good offseason, but it will need to be seen on the field in the preseason to back up the early confidence. Shavon Revel Jr. is slowly ascending as he gets his legs back under him this offseason, and rookie Devin Moore even received a couple of first-team reps.
At left tackle, Tyler Guyton received the majority of the first-team reps while Nate Thomas worked at both left and right tackle throughout the week.
At running back, Javonte Williams got to watch from the sideline this week as Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah split first-team reps in their battle for the backup running back job. Both received handoffs and were given receiving targets.
While there isn’t any known threat to Turpin as the primary kick returner, a large handful of players received return reps on Tuesday including Valdes-Scantling, Holden, Blue and running back Malik Davis.
A handful of fun plays from minicamp
While minicamp is tough to truly pull away strong football takes based on there being no pads and an uneven balance between offensive aggression and defensive play, there are still some fun moments that do pop up.
Here are a handful that drew some attention:
- While working through field goal work on Tuesday, the Cowboys pulled out a fake that saw starting center Cooper Beebe catch a pass.
- Prescott completed a scripted swing pass to Blue on Wednesday that was immediately blown up by Overshown. The fourth-year linebacker’s pursuit was on display.
- In one stretch on Wednesday, Prescott targeted rookie Caleb Downs on three consecutive plays, completing one-of-three attempts. When asked about it on Thursday, Prescott insisted he wasn’t intentionally going after the rookie, but that the rookie just always seems to be around the ball.
- As Revel picks up more confidence in his skill-set, some highlights have come along with it. The second-year cornerback broke on a dig on Tuesday that resulted in an athletic pass breakup on a Prescott ball intended for Flournoy.
- The undrafted rookies didn’t get a lot of team work during the offseason program, but Wednesday offered a couple of opportunities for those players. Tight end Michael Trigg hauled in a reception and receiver Camden Brown hauled in all four of his targets for receptions (Brown was the only undrafted player to get some burn on Tuesday). Receiver Jordan Hudson finished off Wednesday with two receptions.
