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OXNARD, CALIFORNIA - JULY 30: Caleb Downs #13 of the Dallas Cowboys defends during training camp at River Ridge Playing Fields on July 30, 2026 in Oxnard, California. (Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Dallas Cowboys have packed away three practices at training camp so far, and while there are a lot of new things to watch, some of what we expected going in is playing out. Here are three things we expected that are happening.
Caleb Downs is a chess piece
As many people predicted, Caleb Downs is being used all over the field. He’s dropping into the box, he’s played nickel back, and with Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke out Saturday, he started at deep safety in the base 3-4, before rotating back into the nickel back position.
Downs’ versatility has stood out thus far; he’s even mixed it up a bit with Brevyn Spann-Ford after Spann-Ford dropped a would-be completion. Downs nearly had an interception after fellow rookie Malachi Lawrence rushed Dak Prescott and drew a hurried throw. It will be intriguing to see what else they ask of Downs, but so far, we’ve see a ton of versatility from the rookie.
George Pickens is shining
What can be said about the receiver that hasn’t already been said? Pickens has looked fantastic to start camp; we all knew he would be a handful for this defense, but Saturday’s red-zone drill further demonstrated his ability as a pass-catcher.
Pickens had Shavon Revel draped all over him and used a perfectly placed ball from Prescott, his inside leverage and his body to seal the TD catch from Revel. Granted, that was a coachable moment for Revel on positional defense, but Pickens still made it all look so easy. As training camp ramps up, Pickens’ play will continue to show through and hopefully help sharpen and test these defenders.
The offense looks as good as advertised
Pickens hasn’t been the only one who has played well so far; the Cowboys’ offense has been humming. Prescott has been accurate, the receivers have made contested catches, and the running game has looked explosive, to some people’s surprise, mostly because of Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah. Some contested drops aside, everybody on the offensive side of the ball looks confident and locked in. With the continuity that the Cowboys maintained on the side of the ball, that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody.
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