The Good & Not So Good From Day 3 of Cowboys Training Camp: Jaishawn Barham is Ballin'

Dallas Cowboys rookie Jaishawn Barham was easily the biggest standout on Day 3 of training camp.

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jaishawn Barham. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Dallas Cowboys have wrapped up Day 3 of training camp and it was all about the rookies during practice on Saturday afternoon.

The biggest standout was unequivocally Jaishawn Barham, who has routinely drawn praise from head coach Brian Schottenheimer, and even Stephen Jones gave him some love for his showing over the previous two practices.

“Jaishawn [Barham] has been outstanding," Schottenheimer said before the Cowboys took the practice field.

Saturday's camp session was no doubt Barham's best, with the rookie especially shining in coverage.

We'll talk about Barham's impressive day and more as we take a look at the good and not so good from Day 3 of training camp.

The Good

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jaishawn Barham. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Jaishawn Barham is ballin'

There has been no shortage of hype for Barham early on in camp and we saw exactly why that's the case on Saturday.

Barham had a sweet pass break-up on a pass to CeeDee Lamb in the red zone and a nice stop on a run play on another rep.

Here's the pass break-up:

Jaishawn Barham is having a strong start to camp pic.twitter.com/Cpz4xH08O3

— Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) August 1, 2026

He once again flashed some coverage skills when he locked down Malik Davis on a wheel route.

Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News noted that Barham was "getting a lot of work with the starters today" and viewed him as "the clear standout" of the session.

The Michigan product is having about as ideal a start to camp as a rookie could hope for.

A strong day for the rookies

Along with Barham, Caleb Downs, Malachi Lawrence, Michael Trigg, Camden Brown and Anthony Smith had some standout plays.

Downs and Lawrence combined to wreck a play on one rep, when Lawrence notched a pressure and Downs recorded a PBU on a pass he almost picked off.

Malachi Lawrence with the pressure, Caleb Downs with the near INT. The two first round picks on the play. pic.twitter.com/S9UJDcgSQE

— Joseph Hoyt (@JoeJHoyt) August 1, 2026

Smith wasn't able to stay in bounds, but on one rep he showed "great movement off the ball to get open and then bent back to the corner where he made a spiral catch," Hoyt wrote.

Trigg recorded his first catch of training camp and the rookie crossed the goal line for a score, , and Brown reeling in a nice catch in the end zone, which promoted Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram to note that the UDFA wide receiver is "making a strong early impression."

George Pickens doing all the right things

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Pickens is making plays, as you'd expect, but he's also doing all the right things when the ball doesn't come his way.

"No other way for me to say this other than to say it: genuinely, through three practices, George Pickens is locked in every single rep — whether he gets the ball or not (decoy routes, blocking) and, when he does get the ball, you’d think he’s playing in a game TODAY," Patrik Walker of DallasCowboys.com wrote.

George Pickens TD pic.twitter.com/CSgGsC00SI

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 1, 2026

Good communication

Hoyt noted how the Cowboys' defense showed impressive communication pre-snap. That's important to note because communication was a major issue for last year's unit.

Communication was such a problem for the Cowboys last year. Here’s a little ASMR of the Cowboys defense communicating pre snap. Spoiler: it’s a lot different than last year. pic.twitter.com/IKvUjwjF6N

— Joseph Hoyt (@JoeJHoyt) August 1, 2026

The Not So Good

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Zion Childress. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

New injuries

Before practice, head coach Brian Schottenheimer revealed that the Cowboys have two new injuries, as Jalen Thompson is dealing with a hip flexor and Zion Childress has a hamstring issue. Also, P.J. Locke remained sidelined with his hyperextended knee.

Jake Ferguson was also absent from practice on Saturday, but it was for a personal reason.

Jaydon Blue drop leads to pick

The Cowboys are especially intrigued with Blue's ability to catch passes out of the backfield, but he wasn't able to come up with a grab over the middle and it led to an interception, which was Dak Prescott's first of training camp.

Malik Hooker comes up with a pick after Jaydon Blue can’t make the catch. pic.twitter.com/VPKct9pD6F

— Zack Hedrick (@zhedrickTV) August 1, 2026

A minor hiccup in August, but Blue has to make sure it doesn't become a trend if he wants third-down work in 2026.

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