Dallas Cowboys 2022 preseason round-up: training camp, Jabril Cox, CeeDee Lamb…

Nine days until training camp - what to know

Dallas Cowboys training camp will begin on Wednesday, July 27 in Oxnard, California. Thus starts a new season for the Cowboys, who haven’t gotten past the second round of playoffs since 1995, which was also when they won their fifth and last Super Bowl. Last season, the Cowboys went 12-7 and won the NFC East for the third time since gaining quarterback Dak Prescott six years ago, but that competition has not always been the greatest. Last season, Prescott, just as he was coming off of an ankle injury, suffered a shoulder injury in training camp, which led him to miss the whole 2021 preseason. This year, Prescott has said he’s in his best shape ever, and he could use a training camp in which he is fully healthy.

They’re here! Madden NFL 23 ratings: who are the best players in each position?

Things to watch out for:

First-round draft pick Tyler Smith - Smith is a tackle, but he is likely to fill the spot of left guard, as Dallas has a hole there after giving up Connor Williams in free agency. Connor McGovern could be the other possibility to challenge him for the position.

The Cowboys lost DE Randy Gregory at the last minute in free agency. It looked like he would re-sign with Dallas before announcing he would actually be moving on to the Denver Broncos. Last season, the defense recorded 41 sacks and gave up 1,918 rushing yards. They essentially replaced Gregory with Dante Fowler, but they have also got second-round pick Sam Williams or Dorance Armstrong.

CeeDee Lamb became the no. 1 WR with Amari Cooper gone and Michael Gallup recovering from an ACL injury. How the receivers line up behind him is the question.

Linebacker Jabril Cox, who missed most of the 2021 season with a knee injury, could be seeing more playing time alongside Micah Parsons and Leighton Vander Esch.

Jabril Cox’s role could expand this season

In the 2021 NFL Draft, expectations were that the LSU linebacker Jabril Cox would go by the second round. Somehow he was still there in the fourth, and the Cowboys took him. For most of the 2021 season, however, Cox was sidelined with an ACL injury he suffered early on. Before that though, Cox had four defensive snaps in the two games he played against NFC East rivals Giants and Eagles, which both resulted in blowout wins for the Cowboys. Now that Cox is healthy, it’s his time to prove himself at the linebacker position. Stephen Jones said he expects Cox to “fill in right where Keanu Neal left off”. (Neal left the Cowboys in free agency.) This is when Jerry Jones can finally see how the duo of Cox and Micah Parsons will turn out. His playing time will depend on how much he has actually recovered by the regular season, and he could rotate with Leighton Vander Esch early and safety Jayron Kearse on in the season until he’s proven what he can do.

Cowboys’ class of receivers - how they fare without Gallup

With Michael Gallup still recovering from the ACL injury he sustained in January and Amari Cooper traded to the Browns, CeeDee Lamb has become the no. 1 wide receiver. Lamb had an impressive season, but the bigger question mark lies with the receivers lining up behind him without Gallup. The Cowboys brought in James Washington, the Steelers’ 2018 second-round pick. When Washington played for Pittsburgh, he didn’t have quite so many opportunities, as he was behind Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson, and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Washington played well for the OSU Cowboys in college, and managed 11 touchdowns for the Steelers, so it seems like he has the abilities, but with his lack of significant playing time, we won’t really know how he’ll do until we see it. The other option behind Lamb is Jalen Tolbert, the Cowboys’ third-round pick in this year’s draft. As the third-round pick, Tolbert should see plenty of opportunities while Gallup is out. At South Alabama, he averaged 100 yards per game, and his playing style resembles that of Gallup. Stephen Jones confirmed that Gallup os likely to miss at least the first two to three games of the regular season, so with that in mind, we should see how these two fare in the first few weeks. In any case, the Cowboys have prepared for the worst when it comes to Gallup’s return.

Drew Pearson, forever trolling the Eagles

Former Cowboys wide receiver and hall-of-famer Drew Pearson has been known to troll the Philadelphia Eagles fans…

He hasn’t slowed down. In an interview on the Zach Gelb podcast, Pearson said, “we should have a lot of confidence that we can dominate the NFC East. We’re not that afraid of Philadelphia.” This year, the Eagles made a lot of roster moves that should make them more of a competitor than last season. They added wide receiver A.J. Brown, pass rusher Haason Reddick, and rookies defensive tackle Jordan Davis and linebacker Nakobe Dean. Pearson did give credit to quarterback Jalen Hurts. But last season, the Cowboys dominated the Eagles, and Pearson (nor any Cowboys fan) has forgotten it.

“[The Cowboys had] success playing the teams that didn’t have better records. A team like San Francisco had great defense and we couldn’t do anything against them, but I think playing Philadelphia twice this past season, I think we scored 90 points combined. "

It was 92, actually. The Cowboys won the first game 41-21 and the second 51-26, with Prescott putting up a combined 42 passes on 53 attempts, 733 passing yards, and eight touchdowns. As long as the Cowboys and Eagles are rivals, Pearson will keep the trolling alive.