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The Cowboys are bringing back a fair bit of talent from last season. Superstars like Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons give the team a solid baseline for success in 2022, but Dallas lost a lot of talent as well. After a less-than-groundbreaking offseason, Dallas is set to rely on more than a few players this season like they never have before. The Cowboys' core of top-level talent can only take them so far. A successful season for America's Team in 2022 could hinge on the emergence of other players as contributors. The good news for the Cowboys is that there have been reports of several different players making a good impression since the start of training camp. After a few weeks of training camp, these are some of the Cowboys standing out from the crowd in Oxnard
Tyler Smith
The Cowboys used their first overall pick of the draft on Tulsa product Tyler Smith with plenty of other talent still on the board. Dallas passed on the likes of Tyler Linderbaum, Devin Lloyd, and George Karlaftis to bring Smith to Dallas. After the first few workouts of training camp, it appears that they did so with the intention of sliding him right into a feature role on this year's offensive line.
Smith was drafted as a tackle but he played left guard at Tulsa as well. The Cowboys have had Smith splitting first-team reps with 2021 starting left guard Conner McGovern in Oxnard. McGovern's experience level may give him an edge in that position battle, but reports out of Oxnard suggest that the rookie is handling himself well in his first ever training camp. One clip captured by the Dallas Morning News' Michael Gehlken features Smith showing off his impressive strength with a pancake block of Cowboys defensive tackle Trysten Hill.
Cowboys LG Tyler Smith and DT Trysten Hill engage in trenches during first padded practice. (Right of screen.) pic.twitter.com/IiPlglAieZ
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) August 1, 2022
Reporters aren't the only one's taking notice of Smith at training camp. David Helman of Fox Sports tweeted a quote from Parsons on the impression the rookie has made so far.
“I think Tyler's going to be a really good player,” said Parsons. “I know for some people this probably wouldn't be what they expected, but man we're all really excited about him. He's a strong kid. He gets his hands on you, I don't see too many people getting away. He's [gotten] the best of a lot of guys here in practice so far, really made a great impression.”
Dallas appears ready to place a lot of trust in Smith during his rookie campaign. Even he doesn't turn out to be the heir to Tyron Smith's throne as Dallas' left tackle, Smith will have to to be ready to play meaningful snaps right away. There's no substitute for NFL action, but Smith appears to be taking things in stride so far this year.
Anthony Brown
Anthony Brown entered training camp with a decent grip on Dallas' second starting cornerback position. Brown played 97% of defensive snaps last season and allowed a career-low 53.3% completion when targeted. It was a good statistical year for Brown, but he had some rough patches. Last Thanksgiving, Brown was flagged for multiple pass interference penalties, including one that set the Las Vegas Raiders up for a game-winning field goal in overtime. Moments like those, coupled with the perceived upside of second year cornerback Kelvin Joseph, kept Brown from being a lock to hold on to his starting gig this year. After a fast start in Oxnard, Brown might be on his way to keeping the job.
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Brown kicked off Cowboys camp with a pick-six during a two-minute drill at the end of the first day of practice. Since then, there have been other reports detailing Brown's impressive start to camp, and The Athletic's Jon Machota spoke with Mike McCarthy about the veteran cornerback.
Mike McCarthy on Anthony Brown: “AB is having a heck of a camp. Frankly, I'll be honest with you, he's picked up right where he left off last year. I think he's someone that should get more love from you guys. Just a suggestion.” pic.twitter.com/7vDqHBS2Xz
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) July 29, 2022
Noah Brown
Perhaps the most popular of all criticisms that the Cowboys front office has endured this offseason has been about their evident unwillingness to add another receiving threat, even after the one wideout they did bring in, James Washington, went down with a foot injury. Jerry Jones and the rest of the Cowboys brass have been vocal about their confidence in the younger wide receivers already on the roster. If Dallas never brings in another pass catcher, it will be up to players like Jalen Tolbert, KaVontae Turpin, and Noah Brown to pick up the slack.
Brown has never been a big part of Dallas' offense. The former Ohio State Buckeye's best NFL season was last year when he caught 16 passes for 184 yards. Nearly all of Brown's career has been spent in a crowded wide receiver room behind players like Lamb, Amari Cooper, and Michael Gallup. With more snaps up for grabs this year than ever before in his career, Brown is one of several players with an opportunity to latch onto a bigger role this season.
Brown has generated some positive press out of Oxnard already this year. Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News tweeted some footage of Brown shaking Nahshon Wright for a nice completion from Prescott.
Noah Brown takes Nahshon Wright to school with a little stutter step. pic.twitter.com/rc7AVYN4ZR
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) August 4, 2022
As the roster currently stands, the Cowboys will need all the help they can get at wide receiver. It's likely that it won't be one single player that jumps out and has a breakout year, but multiple players that combine to increase overall production. Brown's hot start to the season may be an indication that he is ready to be one of those players.
