Cowboys training camp standouts: 5 players impressing so far, including a pair of young defenders, veteran RB

The 2024 NFL offseason has been a looong one for the Dallas Cowboys.

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones modified his offseason motto from "all in" to "get it done with less" and carved out future cap space -- $64.7 million in 2025 (fifth-most in the NFL per OverTheCap.com) and $165.4 million in 2026 (most) -- to re-sign quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and eventually three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons, but he has yet to ink any of them to long-term extensions. Jones has instead compared his timing on big deals to being like Patrick Mahomes, holding on to the football until the very last second. 

Fortunately for Dallas' fanbase, training camp is here, which means it's time to hear about actual football and what's going on in practice. With that in mind, here is a look at five early training camp standouts through a week's worth of practices. 

OT Tyler Guyton

Tyler Guyton

DAL • OT • #60

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The Cowboys opted to select Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton 29th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft with the hopes he could one day become an anchor at left tackle, filling the void creating by eight-time Pro Bowler Tyron Smith departing in free agency to sign with the New York Jets. Dallas is essentially asking Guyton to be well on his way to being that guy now with veteran journeyman Chuma Edoga serving as his only real competition for that starting spot.

Fortunately for Prescott and the Cowboys offense, Guyton showed some early signs that not only could he hang with the first team in practice, but he even got the better of Parsons on a few reps in pads during team drills. That's incredibly encouraging for a player who started 13 of his 14 starts at Oklahoma at right tackle. 

"It's great work obviously," Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said Wednesday when asked about Guyton going up against Parsons in pads during practice. "He can't get enough of it. He's doing some good things, but I think like a lot of these rookies, he's going to see how it keeps coming at him. I thought he had some nice reps against Micah."

Four-time Pro Bowl defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, one of Dallas' elder statesmen, made the comparison between Smith and Guyton, noting he feels like the rookie is going to become great. 

"Tyler is a pretty strong, young fella," Lawrence said Wednesday. "He is 6-7, got a long wingspan. I feel like the difference between him and Tyron is Tyron had a tool box of different hand movements he could put on you. Right now, Tyler is still figuring out what his tools are, so it's just a learning process. He's a rookie. I feel like he's going to get it great."

Pro Bowl left guard Tyler Smith, Dallas' first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft who played next to Tyron Smith for two seasons, came away "truly impressed" by the rookie's early reps in camp. 

"It's not very often that you find a human being who measures how he does, 6-7, 330 and has light feet and can just move and just bully dudes," Smith said. "When he really becomes confident and gets the playbook down and does all that stuff, the sky is truly is the limit for him and his development. ... He's a confident guy. He knows the tools that he has. He knows how rare they are. It's just a matter of time before he solidifies things and he's playing at that truly elite, elite level."  

Parsons himself made sure to note he'll be giving feedback to Guyton about other pass rushers around the league, but he isn't going to give Guyton the keys to consistently get the better of him on a regular basis. 

"I can't teach him too much, I can't have Tyler dominating me, but against fellow pass rushers around the league, I will be more than welcome to give him tips and help him make his own way," Parsons said on July 26. "As [DeMarcus Ware] and Tyron came up in the league, if you ask D Ware, he would say he dominated Tyron. If you ask Tyron, it was back and forth. I wish I could see the footage. It will be one of those things where we feed off each other and make each other better every day."

LB DeMarvion Overshown

DeMarvion Overshown

DAL • LB • #13

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The Cowboys envisioned 2023 third-round pick linebacker DeMarvion Overshown to factor in heavily to their defense as a rookie a year ago, but a preseason ACL tear ended those hopes. A year later, Overshown is providing the spark they envisioned him bringing a season ago. 

"He has great energy," McCarthy said Tuesday. "He's had that since the day he walked in here. His light is bright. He has an infectious personality. Everything he does is full speed and you obviously (saw) it at the University of Texas. He was everywhere; the way he played, his play style. Watching him go through the rehab process, the way he attacked that. Love his personality, love his approach and it's great to continue to bring him back the way we are."

One of Overshown's early highlights included stopping a running back dead in his tracks, something the Cowboys defense definitely could use since that was a weak point for this unit a year ago. 

Despite being relied upon to produce and play a lot of reps immediately with the lack of depth at the linebacker position after Leighton Vander Esch's retirement -- and the team's only adds at that spot being Pro Bowler and Mike Zimmer disciple Eric Kendricks, 2024 third-round pick Marist Liufau and UFL linebacker Willie Harvey -- Overshown, who is a soon-to-be 24-year-old (his birthday is on Aug. 13) isn't phased. 

"No pressure at all," Overshown said Sunday when asked about expectations. "They drafted me where they drafted me for a reason. I already had that chip on my shoulder that I want to be another guy on that defense, not just a guy, but I want to be another guy out there making plays. I'm putting that all on me. They want me to take my time, come back when I'm ready, but I'm expecting big things out of myself."  

DT Mazi Smith 

Mazi Smith

DAL • DT • #58

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Parsons challenged 2023 first-round pick defensive tackle Mazi Smith, saying "He has to be dominant. He has to be a force. He has to be that guy for us." following a rough rookie campaign that culminated with him playing only four defensive snaps in Dallas' 48-32 NFC wild-card round defeat against the Green Bay Packers. 

So far, he's been doing "a really good job" in training camp, according to new Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. 

"What we're asking him to do, he's doing a really good job," Zimmer said Thursday. "You might not see him make flash plays, but we see him taking on double-teams, getting his hands in the right place. I see him understanding where he's supposed to be. He's not gonna be a speed rusher by any stretch. He's going to have have to be a power rusher and push the pocket. But as far as the run game, what I've seen so far I've been impressed with him. He's doing a really good job. Now he's got to keep it up. I've enjoyed what I've seen with him, along with the rest of the defensive line."  

Zimmer couldn't have come to Dallas at a better time for Smith since what he is asking him to do is right in the defensive tackle's wheelhouse. 

"My whole career I've been a guy who could play in multiple schemes. I got the athletic traits to be an up-field guy, but I have the strength to play at the line of scrimmage and build a wall," Smith said Sunday "[Zimmer's] telling me what to do. He's seeing some of the same things I see in my own game that I want to improve, and he's right there with me helping me improve."  

Smith said he locked in this offseason and got his weight closer to the 323 pounds he weighed in at during the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, and getting back to a size that's more aligned with gap-stuffing NFL tackles is serving him well early in training camp. 

"I did everything I was supposed to do and did nothing but train," Smith said Sunday when asked about his offseason. "Everything in my power. Control the controllables. In this scheme, I don't want to be 290. Probably want to be like 310-315. See what that's doing for you. If you have to go up [more in weight], go up."  

RB Royce Freeman

One of the few moves Dallas made this offseason is sign a couple running backs following the departure of Pro Bowler Tony Pollard to the Tennessee Titans: prodigal son and three-time Pro Bowler Ezekiel Elliott (one-year, $2 million deal) after a one-year stint with the New England Patriots, and journeyman Royce Freeman (one-year, $1.292 million contract). Elliott, of course, garnered much of the attention, given his historic start to his career in Dallas. 

Neither of their contracts scream long-term commitment, but Freeman, a 2018 third-round pick who has played for four teams -- the Denver Broncos (2018-2020), Carolina Panthers (2021), Houston Texans (2021-2022) and Los Angeles Rams (2023) -- didn't come with fanfare that screamed he is going to be on the Cowboys' 53-man roster. However, Freeman may already be a roster lock come September. 

"He does everything well," McCarthy said Wednesday. "Clearly knew him as a runner, but when you see running backs when the bullets are really flying in the pass protection part of it -- the declaration, the adjustments -- all that I think has been excellent. He has very, very good hands. He has a very high understanding of the game. Also, he has a chance to be one of our primary players on special teams. He's a really good fit for us." 

WR Jalen Tolbert

Jalen Tolbert

DAL • WR • #1

TAR36

REC22

REC YDs268

REC TD2

FL1

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No one has taken more advantage of the extra reps now available in practice while CeeDee Lamb holds out for a new contract than third-year wideout Jalen Tolbert. The 2022 third-round pick out of South Alabama struggled to make his mark as a rookie with only two catches for 12 receiving yards while playing eight games. Last season, McCarthy's first as the Cowboys' offensive play-caller, Tolbert put together a more complete second season: 268 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns on 22 catches while playing all 17 games. 

Both in organized team activities and minicamp, Tolbert shined in Lamb's absence, and early in camp, he made a Lamb-like snag with 2023 interceptions leader DaRon Bland coverage. That led to a strong review from offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer on Thursday. 

"You guys were at the practice a couple days where he just was making plays all over the place on a really good corner," Schottenheimer said Thursday. "DaRon is just a hell of a corner as you guys know, but here's a guy that anytime Dak throws -- back in Texas, up in Oregon where they worked some this summer -- Jalen Tolbert is going to find a way to be there because he realized it's all about that trust factor between the quarterback and himself. Last year, it was Brandin kind of leaning into JT, and now it's JT leaning into some of these other young guys whether it's [Jalen Cropper], [Jalen] Brooks, so I see a player that's mature, and a player that is ready for his opportunity."