By Jamal Baker
NDG Sportswriter
The Dallas Cowboys held their first padded practice on Monday in the second week of training camp.
When the pads come on competitive spirit rises and the intensity of every rep is heightened—especially in the trenches.
The defensive line in particular is a unit Cowboys fans should be excited about this upcoming season. Led by an extremely talented defensive interior featuring Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark, along with athletic edge rushers Donovan Ezeiruaku, Malachi Lawrence, and Rashan Gary, and hybrid outside linebackers Marist Liufau and Jaishawn Barham, this front should be able to stop the run and rush the passer at a high level.
“Man, the film speaks for itself,” Gary said. “But everybody [should] pay attention this year. It’s gonna be a great year. … I can’t wait. … Christian Parker’s defense, the swagger he brings, it trickles down to the players. The guys I’m around, it’s easy to go to work, man. … It’s been great.”
The way the secondary has competed in the early stages of training camp has also been an indication of the positive impact Parker is having on the defense.
Second year cornerback Shavon Revel is enjoying his first fully healthy professional offseason and made plays all over the field against the first-team offense on Monday. Revel had four PBUs and even taunted All-Pro wide receiver George Pickens with a friendly finger wag.
“I definitely feel like I’m getting close to my ECU (East Carolina University) self, and I say that every single day,” he told DallasCowboys.com. “I watch myself on film every single day. I go back and watch my ECU film too, and see that I used to do.
“… I wasn’t always perfect back then, so I take that, give myself some confidence when I come into practice to prove who I used to be, and lock in.”
Going against CeeDee Lamb, Ryan Flournoy and Pickens everyday in practice can be humbling at times but can also boost the confidence of Revel when he holds his own against arguably the best receiving trio in the league.
“They just sharpen my skills each and every day, and I’ll go back and watch film, see what I need to do, see what they see, how they move, and fix it in practice. But, those boys, man, y’all know, y’all see, that’s just who they [are], Revel said of the Cowboys’ receiving trio.”
Flournoy is the unheralded star of the group and enters this year’s training camp in a completely different position than he was in last year. As opposed to fighting for a roster spot, Flournoy has etched himself as the third option in the wide receiver room. He credits Lamb for contributing to his growth in the offense and as a player.
“I can’t give him enough credit, man,” Flournoy said. “Just learning from him, even just asking questions and watching him, how he is a pro and how he approach this game, and you can tell he loves it, you can tell he’s obsessed with it. I implement some of his stuff into my game, and it shows on the field. A lot of stuff y’all see comes from him and [George Pickens], and obviously my talent, but I learned a lot from him.”
In what was only the first of potentially 16 padded practices, Dallas appears to have assembled a team poised to play exceptional complementary football and make a deep playoff run.
