The Dallas Cowboys start training camp in nearly a month, they will report to Oxnard, California, on July 24.
They will spend nearly a full month there and return to Texas on August 22, but while we wait for that a few position battles that might happen have caught my eye.
Before we get into that though, some news out of Dallas if you haven’t seen yet is that the Cowboys signed linebacker Willie Harvey and cornerback Gareon Conley on Tuesday.
Harvey led the UFL in tackles this past season and was named a first-team All-UFL performer for the St. Louis BattleHawks.
https://twitter.com/VoiceOfTheStar/status/1803821885626405236
Conley, a former first-round pick of the Raiders in 2017, played three years in the NFL but tried to revive his football career with a standout season for the DC Defenders in the XFL.
Neither of those guys is on my watch right now, though, so let’s see if you agree with my battles below and let me know which you think will draw more interest.
QB2?
Yes, we are going there, which quarterback is going to be the backup to Dak Prescott in 2024?
Cooper Rush or Trey Lance, everyone is calling for one of the other if you don’t like Prescott, but let’s be real. Lance couldn’t even beat out Sam Darnold for the backup job in San Fran.
Rush does not have a powerful arm or athleticism, he did enough right to win games when Prescott was hurt, but in that loss to the Eagles when he needed to score more than 20 to win, he struggled.
Trey Lance took the second-team snaps in 7-on-7 2-minute drill. Threw some good passes but forced throw to sideline that was tipped by Josh Butler and picked by Julius Wood. Lance, however, has looked decent in the two open OTAs to media.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) May 30, 2024
I remember when Andy Dalton took over, and everyone thought this team would be just fine. It is hard to be a good quarterback in this league once teams have film on you.
Training camp is going to give us a nice picture of who will come out on top. Honestly right now just based on the track record, I will go with Cooper Rush continuing to back up Prescott.
Don’t forget that Dallas declined Lance’s 5th-year option.
Who Starts At Center?
My favorite Cowboys draft pick Cooper Beebe or Brock Hoffman, who will be under center for the Cowboys in 2024?
Dallas deserves credit for turning the 24th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft into two potential starters. They traded that selection to the Detroit Lions for the No. 29 pick in Round 1 and the No. 73 pick in Round 3. They were able to turn that into Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe.
Beebe has been mentioned by many as the steal of the draft, and I have to agree.
Mike McCarthy "very pleased" with the progress being made by #Cowboys rookies Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe in their transition to left tackle and center, respectively.
Notes that they'll refine more as more reps are put on them, and there will be no shortage of that to come.
— Patrik [No C] Walker (@VoiceOfTheStar) June 4, 2024
He played against first-round pick Byron Murphy and second-round pick T’Vondre Sweat from Texas and allowed ZERO pressures, proving that he can hold his own against players who will be day-one starters in the NFL in 2024.
Among draft-eligible guards, Beebe had the highest career grade at 88.3.
Hoffman has been with Dallas since he was signed as a free-agent rookie in 2022. Two of the Cowboys’ top three offensive games were started by Hoffman, who was a serviceable backup on game day with his ability to play both center and guard.
This is going to be a fun one to watch when the end of July rolls around.
Jalen Tolbert Or The Field?
Jalen Tolbert in my guess is a lock to be wide receiver no. 3 on the depth chart. That will also be a fun battle to watch between KaVontae Turpin and either Ryan Flournoy or Jalen Brooks.
Turpin should just be a guy that the Cowboys can throw all over the field and have him make plays. We haven’t seen enough from Brooks or Flournoy and Tolbert out snapped Michael Gallup in a few games last season.
As noted, my guess would be that Tolbert takes a big time leap this season and takes over the WR3.
