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Congratulations.
You made it through the dog days of the Dallas Cowboys offseason.
The Cowboys will fly from DFW Airport to Los Angeles International Airport on Monday before making the 90-minute drive up the Pacific Coast Highway to check into their home away from home in Oxnard, California, for a monthlong training camp.
Being the only team in the NFL that chooses to travel over 2,000 miles for the runway into the season provides a unique setting on the West Coast, and we will have you covered from start to finish with all the happenings across all 13 practices.
To start, there are a handful of storylines that will develop during the teams time in California.
Here are the five biggest ones to monitor: New line of defense Its a new year, and its a brand-new defense under new coordinator Christian Parker.
And while there is quite a bit we can pull from his press availabilities about how much the unit will see change, its tough to truly envision it until it hits the field.
How has he solved the communication problems that plagued the unit last season? How will the 3-4 scheme find consistent pressure? Who will hold the bulk of the responsibilities in the secondary? Those questions might not get full answers in Oxnard, but the on-field product that we will see will offer a ton of insight into the unit that Parker has constructed over the past six months.
Personnel-wise, there are a lot of new faces with things to prove.
Rashan Gary was traded from the only NFL team hes known (Green Bay) in April.
Jalen Thompson arrives with the biggest free agent contract in team history.
Caleb Downs walks into the NFL with sky-high expectations, and fellow first-round pick Malachi Lawrence will be looked at for a premium role as well.
After poor linebacker play in 2025, Dee Winters is back in DFW to see if he can be the solution in the middle.
The expectations remain the same on offense.
On defense, the level of play has to take a significant step forward.
How far has it come? Well at least get a head start on answering that question in the next month.
Javonte Williams needs a running mate When the Cowboys signed Javonte Williams in free agency last season to a one-year, $3 million deal, even their wildest dreams couldnt have predicted the year he had in store in 2025.
He not only posted his first 1,000-yard NFL season, he ran for 1,201 yards and 11 touchdowns both career highs.
The good news: He was rewarded with a three-year, $24 million deal in the offseason.
The bad news: The Cowboys desperately need to find a running mate for him so that he sees the life of that three-year deal play out.
Taking 287 touches cant be the permanent game plan for Williams moving forward, meaning someone behind him on the depth chart will have to earn the trust of the coaching staff to pick up some of his load.
Who are the leading candidates? Lets start with the young duo of Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah.
Both day-three draft picks in 2025, both battled injuries early in the season last year, and neither earned enough trust to see significant playing time until the meaningless season finale against the Giants.
However, Cowboys sources continue to praise the progression each has made this offseason physically and in the classroom.
It doesnt mean much, though, until the pads come on.
Those two are expected to get the first crack.
But if they dont impress enough to secure the role, Malik Davis will be lurking in the shadows, just as he successfully did in 2025.
When the Cowboys arrived in Oxnard this time last year, Davis was back home in Florida not knowing if hed receive another NFL opportunity.
Fortunately for him, Blue went down with a high ankle sprain just days before the teams preseason opener, and he got the call to suit up.
From there, he slowly ascended to the RB2 role where he finished the season as the teams second-leading rusher.
However, hes 27 years old, and the Cowboys need to get younger behind Williams.
Israel Abanikanda and rookie undrafted free agent signing Dominic Richardson will also get cracks at the job, but they will have fewer reps and less room for error.
Answers needed at cornerback While the front office and coaching staff did a lot to overhaul the defense in the offseason, there are still concerns about the cornerback room.
Lets start with what we know: Downs is expected to be the starting nickel.
Well, thats it.
DaRon Bland is expected to lock down a starting job on the outside, but will he be healthy when camp begins? The 2023 first-team All-Pro required foot surgery for the second year in a row and has spent the entirety of the offseason recovering.
He told the media in June that he expects to be ready for the start of camp, but the Cowboys will surely be cautious with his workload.
As for the other starting job on the outside, a healthy battle is lining up between Cobie Durant and Shavon Revel Jr.
Durant is the new face, but he has the proven NFL production.
Revel was a prized third-round draft selection in 2025, but he hasnt yet shown that hes fully put his college ACL tear behind him.
Camp will be huge for both of them to answer those questions and fight for that role.
Lets say something above goes wrong, or more realistically, lets say the room needs an injury replacement at some point in the season.
Behind the four aforementioned players, theres a collage of names on the depth chart.
Caelen Carson has been reliable in the past, but he also brings durability concerns.
Rookie fourth-round pick Devin Moore has fun physical traits, but is he ready for the bright lights? Trikweze Bridges and Reddy Steward were used when the room fell apart last year, but does the staff see them as break glass in case of emergency or legitimate contenders for roles? If the Cowboys defense wants to truly shake off the porous year it had in 2025, then it needs consistency from the cornerback room.
Oxnard will be its first chance to show that.
Mark your calendar for Aug.
11 One of the more exciting parts of training camp is when two teams take a day to scrimmage and practice against each other.
Over the past few seasons, the Cowboys have gotten comfortable with the Los Angeles Rams, and this year is no different.
On Aug.
11, the Cowboys will make the short trip over to the Rams facility in Woodland Hills to compete over the course of an afternoon.
Considering the Cowboys dont like playing their starters in the preseason and thats expected to stay the same in 2026 this is the only real taste of first-team competitive work that we get to see against another team before Week 1.
Granted, the Cowboys also have the New Orleans Saints on the schedule one week later for a joint practice in Oxnard, but the Rams session is the one that carries the most intrigue.
Widely considered the best roster in football, the Rams enter 2026 with the reigning MVP in quarterback Matthew Stafford, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Myles Garrett, one of the best cornerbacks in football in Trent McDuffie and a lethal wide receiver duo of Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.
After falling short in the playoffs last season, the Rams are prime contenders to come out of the NFC in 2026.
And, oh yeah, that Aaron Donald guy might make a return to spice things up, too.
The Cowboys will get a little over three weeks to put everything in motion before heading to Woodland Hills, but they will then get a real look at how far the roster has come in the offseason.
Brian Schottenheimer, Dak Prescott and more are not shying away from the words Super Bowl this offseason.
To truly fuel that expectation rather than let it die out, Aug.
11 will be massive.
George Pickens situation is worth monitoring early on As of now, there isnt any reason to be concerned about the George Pickens situation, but wed all be fools to just completely disregard it.
Lets stick to the facts, first.
Faced with a decision on Pickens ahead of free agency, the Cowboys placed the franchise tag on him to keep him on a fully guaranteed $27.298 million deal in 2026.
Pickens signed that franchise tag shortly after the draft, contractually tying him to the team for the year.
The Cowboys came out and said that they did not plan on signing him to a long-term extension this offseason, and both sides let the July 15 deadline pass to do so without getting a deal done.
When asked about the situation in June, Pickens said he was ready to play on the tag and revisit the situation next offseason while letting his agent handle the rest.
The teams leading receiver in 2025 did not report to any of the voluntary workouts and team meetings during the offseason, citing his agents advice, but he did show for mandatory minicamp.
He said he plans to be on the plane Monday when it departs for Southern California.
If were taking the words and actions of Pickens into account, there doesnt seem to be any drama ahead.
And, boy, that will be a welcome reality for the Cowboys after three consecutive offseasons of training camp contract drama with other players.
But with all the recent context in mind, it would be foolish to just completely disregard the possibility.
Well know early on if there is any plan from Pickens camp to either perform a hold-in show to each practice but not participate like Micah Parsons did in 2025 or work another loophole to not fully participate.
But if all goes well and he is participating fully like the Cowboys are expecting, then it will be a lot safer to truly turn the attention of his long-term future with the team to what happens in 2027.