Albert Breer Empties His Cowboys Notebook From Training Camp Stop in Oxnard

There's good vibes abound with the Cowboys, as a new-look defense comes together while Dak Prescott once again helms what should be a top-tier offense.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is entering his 11th season with the team. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

OXNARD, Calif. — Here at Cowboys camp, with the team now entering the second decade of the Dak Prescott era …

• You’ve heard Brian Schottenheimer say he’s looking to build the best culture in sports—and the makeup of the roster now reflects that. Prescott hasn’t been shy on laying out his goals for the 2026 season (he wore a Super Bowl shirt into camp). The difference this time around is he’s not the only one who can carry that message, with so many of the top guys the team’s brought in the last 12 months—veterans like Kenny Clark, Quinnen Williams and Jalen Thompson and rookies like Caleb Downs—capable of that. It’s not like the roster is perfect from a character standpoint (George Pickens’s past is why he’s playing this year on the franchise tag rather than a new deal), but the makeup of the guys inhabiting it seems to be a really apparent strength, at least at this early juncture.

• Expectations are high for Pickens and CeeDee Lamb, of course. And Dallas is cautiously optimistic that there’s a really good second layer of skill talent coming together around them. Third-year receiver Ryan Flournoy continues to ascend, and has been outstanding in his work ethic and with the detail in route-running, giving Prescott another security blanket in the middle of the field to go with tight end Jake Ferguson. And second-year man Jaydon Blue has had a great start to camp after a good offseason, is running with more discipline, and looms as a real difference-maker in space to take advantage of defenses stretched by the threat Lamb and Pickens present.

• Left tackle is very clearly the biggest question on offense, and could be what determines whether Dallas is just really good or great on that side of the ball, with the hope being that Nate Thomas pushes 2024 first-rounder Tyler Guyton to finally realize his considerable potential. The rest of the line is set, with second-year Tyler Booker looking like he’ll emerge as the group’s tone-setter—he’s already on the leadership council after just one year in the league and it’d surprise no one if he was elected a captain later in the summer.

• The need for better edge rushers has been well-documented in Dallas, and the Cowboys feel good as it stands now about Rashan Gary and Donovan Ezeiruaku heading into the meat of training camp. Gary’s bigger and more rugged than what Dallas has had at the position, and the vision for him is that he’ll help collapse the pocket with his power, and push quarterbacks up into the laps of Williams and Clark. Ezeiruaku’s coming back from injury, but has done everything right in working to get back on the field. Rookies Malachi Lawrence and Jaishawn Barham (Barham will play off the ball on early downs) should add some juice to the group too.

• Finally, there is a feeling that the secondary is edgier than it was a year ago. Thompson’s an enforcer, and natural leader, at safety, coming over from Arizona, and Downs looks ready to play right away—giving the team two heady, versatile pieces at the position for new DC Christian Parker to move around. And Cobie Durant, coming over from the Rams, brings similar toughness, versatility and smarts to the corner spot, and could wind up becoming a really important piece at a position of need. (By the way, Jerry Jones did mention trading for a veteran at his camp-opening press conference. I’d say there’s nothing cooking there yet, but it did serve to tell the rest of the NFL they’d be open for business for help on defense.)