And they’re off! The Dallas Cowboys began their quest to bring home a sixth Lombardi trophy on Wednesday, opening up 2026’s training camp in Oxnard, CA. The team hit the field for Year 11 of quarterback Dak Prescott, Year 2 of head coach Brian Schottenheimer, and Year 1 of defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
While the glamour and glitz of being the Cowboys signal caller will always mount loads of pressure on Prescott, it is Parker who may have the most riding on him. The defense has religiously underwhelmed, and he’s now the fourth defensive coordinator in four years who is trying to right the ship and stop letting down one of the NFL’s most powerful offenses. He’s been given the ability to shape the roster about as much as one can in a single offseason, and the work began in earnest on Wednesday.
What can fans takeaway from the opening salvo? Here are the top five takeaways from Wednesday’s work.
Starting secondary etched in erasable ink
Parker’s speciality before taking over the entire defense has been the secondary, so it’s no surprise that the majority of the offseason acquisitions, and of the Cowboys’ 90-man roster focus on this group. Drafting Caleb Downs (more on him in a few) was the icing on the cake following a free-agent frenzy that saw them sign Jalen Thompson and PJ Locke at safety, and adding Cobie Durant at corner. Thompson was clearly intended to be a starter, but a forced pay cut to Malik Hooker meant Locke had a chance to emerge as a starter. Meanwhile Durant joined an oft-injured CB group headlined by former All-Pro DaRon Bland and Shavon Revel, a second-year pro drafted in the third round.
So all eyes were on who exactly got the first defensive snaps and in what configuration.
Things might change as the days grow longer, but for now the starting group consists of Durant and Bland on the boundary, with Downs, Hooker and Thompson manning the middle.
Caleb Downs will indeed line up everywhere, and from the jump
As draft season progressed, Cowboys fans focused in on several defensive prospects, with a special eye on Ohio State’s Caleb Downs. Downs’ official position was safety, but he was a do-it-all star defender who excelled at both Alabama and OSU, two of the top-three programs in the country for the last forever. Downs was seen as a coach on the field, and a perfect match for how Parker liked to deploy his nickel defenders, with abilty to line up against anyone and do it from anywhere. The question was whether the No. 11 pick would be given a light load to begin his career, focusing on doing just a single thing well.
Nope. It’s on.
George Pickens is on a mission to get paid
The Cowboys played their cards as intended when they traded a third and fifth-round pick for the wideout prior to last season. Pickens excelled, earning Pro-Bowl and All-Pro honors while nearing 1,400 receiving yards. The franchise tag was used to secure his services for at least one more season, and Pickens will have to wait a little while for the guaranteed money payday offered to the best in the business.
That means the receiver has to be on his best behavior, and according to Schotty, he’s approached this year’s offseason and camp with an even more stellar focus than what resulted in last year’s dominant campaign.
You have to be able to stand in front and command a room
A group has to have not just a strong general to thrive, but they have to have a ton of leadership also engrained in the smaller pockets of the collective. Can the 2026 Cowboys boast that? Here’s a look at the team’s leadership council as announced by Schottenheimer in Wednesday’s pre-practice press conferece.
Offensive Line contingency plans
Some eyebrows were raised a few days ago when, outside the team’s Hotel California, Pro Bowl guard Tyler Smith announced he wasn’t sure where he was going to line up. He punted the conversation to Schottenheimer and it seemed to be a spillover from when Smith looked to get clarity back in January and was denied such.
Smith has often had to kick back out to tackle, where he played as a rookie, while Tyler Guyton either dealt with injury or struggles. Smith is clear he’d rather play on the inside, where he’s become one of the NFL’s top interior protectors. Schottenheimer put some calm on things, saying that Smith to tackle is a contingency plan, much like prepping second-year right guard Tyler Booker to take snaps at center.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Top 5 Takeaways from Cowboys training camp Day 1: Pickens ‘Dialed in’
Reporting by K.D. Drummond, Cowboys Wire / Cowboys Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By K.D. Drummond, Cowboys Wire | USA TODAY Network
