Cowboys Camp Preview Special Teams: Turpin, Deuce & Kicker
OXNARD, Calif. - What is the value of a reliable kicker in the NFL? The Dallas Cowboys are aware. It is their hope that newly-signed Brandon Aubrey from the USFL - and from Plano and the world of professional soccer - will be that reliable kicker as he comes to Oxnard trying to win the job over Tristan Vizcaino.
What do we think it will look like starting at training camp in Oxnard? Our camp preview of the O-line is here. Our preview of the secondary is here. And here is our look at "Home-Run Hitters!' Cowboys Camp Preview: Lamb & Cooks & WRs'' ... And now to coordinator "Bones'' Fassel's special teams ...
THE KICKERS Aubrey, the former Notre Dame and MLS soccer star who just started playing football two years ago, is capable of knocking down 60 yard kicks, as seen on his Instagram story. And Aubrey knocked down 14 of 15 field goal attempts and all 35 PATs last season in the USFL while coached by Chris Boniol, the Cowboys' former Super Bowl-winning kicker.
"Brandon is an athlete and has the right mental makeup to make the big kick,'' Boniol, who served as the USFL-champion Birmingham Stallions' special-teams coordinator, tells CowboysSI.com. "In terms of his mentality, he's a lot like Dan Bailey.''
In Cowboys lore, that might be an ultimate compliment. (Oh, and given the way Boniol guided Aubrey? Boniol surely merits a look as an NFL staff hire.)
Following a season where Brett Maher missed all four PAT attempts in a playoff victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, finding a cool, calm and collected kicker would be a blessing for Cowboys fans. Boniol tells us that Aubrey can be that guy. We're about to see it in person in Oxnard.
THE RETURNERS KaVontae Turpin is a receiver but he's really a return man - a Pro Bowl one from his 2022 rookie season. Deuce Vaughn is a running back, but can the rookie also be a return man?
We're told the Cowboys do not plan to cut Vaughn. Maybe that means he gets stashed ... or maybe that means the competition is on here.
MISCELLANEOUS The Cowboys are locked in at punter with Bryan Anger and with new long-snapper Trent Sieg. ... Core special-teamers Luke Gifford and Noah Brown are gone via free agency ... The team did re-sign C.J. Goodwin, one of the best special-teamers in the NFL who has led Dallas in "teams'' tackles three times.
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