For the most part, the Dallas Cowboys have avoided offseason controversy to the point that a contract situation with George Pickens, which was resolved months ago, is about all that’s left to dredge up.
As to their best non-kicker, quarterback Dak Prescott, he’s made news for the right reasons, and so it is now. As Dallas completes its first round of OTAs and awaits the start of mandatory workouts, their defensive tackles, who were the most functional part of their defense last year, are optimistic about this season.
So far this offseason, anytime quarterback Dak Prescott’s name has popped up, it’s been for positive reasons, and so it is now when ESPN’s Seth Walder came up with a “way too early” top 10 MVP list that had Prescott on it.
Of Prescott, Walder writes: “Prescott’s incredible 2025 campaign was overlooked due to his team’s lackluster defense, but I felt he was actually the second-most valuable player in the league last season (and ahead of Matthew Stafford). If he plays the same way, and the Cowboys’ defense can be even just mediocre, Prescott will be an MVP candidate.”
“But more than anything it’s just the connection piece. We’ve got a lot of new faces on defense and some new ones on offense. But that’s probably the biggest thing if you’re not attending the offseason program that you miss out on. Doesn’t mean you can’t make it up.”
As expected, wide receiver George Pickens was a no-show at the first round of voluntary OTAs, obviously leading to a round of questioning to coach Marty Schottenheimer as to what this all means.
Most importantly, Schottenheimer thinks he will be around when the mandatory workouts begin June 16-18.
“I expect he’ll be here,” Schottenheimer said. “I think he’s in a good spot, but, again, I know he’s handling his business. I know he misses his teammates, [and] we miss him too. You know how we feel about him. We love him. This is just part of the business.”
So what did his absence from voluntary OTAs mean? Schottenheimer didn’t call out Pickens, but he did say that workouts at this time of year are significant.
“More than anything there is the connection piece that is the most important thing to me,” Schottenheimer said, addressing the media. “This is the time of year where these guys are training, the workouts are a little bit longer, it is more about the strength and weight room program than even the football, quite honestly, working through Phase 1 and Phase 2.
“I’ve always believed this, and this has got nothing to do with a single player—how do you prove to your teammates that you are doing everything in your power to be the best version of yourself? I have no question that George is preparing just like I had no question Micah (Parsons) was going to prepare, or whoever. It’s voluntary. But that’s the biggest thing to me, it’s not really the scheme. GP will learn some of the language and stuff that we do, with he and Dak throwing and things like that, the relationship he has with CeeDee, Joe Milton and all those guys. I don’t worry about that.”
Two Cowboys defensive additions who worked out last year (with the caveat that one of them was acquired in exchange for Micah Parsons) were run-stopping tackles, Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams.
After the first round of OTAs, Williams said having a full offseason with Clark was going to make the defense better.
“Just having him in the room, I’ve benefited tremendously from it,” Williams told DallasCowboys.com. “Just having a leader like he is, a player that he is, a guy who holds everybody accountable and a guy who does everything right on the field and off the field. He’s a dominant player; he’s been a dominant player for years. I’ve been studying him for years.
“Just holding each other accountable to be the best we can be. We’re both still learning, both still growing, and both want to be All-Pros and defensive player of the year candidates. So we keep pushing each other, keep holding each other accountable, and just keep trusting our coaches and the coaching staff to turn this thing around, especially on defense.”
Clark already sees improvement under new defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
“Just the attention to detail,” Clark told DallasCowboys.com. “This defense is going to be huge on the details, huge on pre-snap and all that kind of stuff. All that stuff is going to be really good for us. We’ve got a lot of smart players on all three levels of the defense, and that’ll be great for us.”
Dallas Cowboys Jerry Jones has an estimated net worth between $17.8 billion and $20.3 billion. Much of that came through acquiring the Cowboys. Jones purchased the team for $150 million in 1989, while today they are estimated to be worth $10 billion to $13 billion.
Dallas opens the semi-competitive part of its fall schedule against the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks on Aug. 15 in their preseason opener. Here is the three-game preseason slate.
Week 1 Sat, Aug 15 at Seattle Seahawks 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT
Week 2 Sat, Aug 22 at Arizona Cardinals 11 a.m. MT/noon CT
Week 3 Sat, Aug 29 vs. New Orleans Saints 10 a.m. MT/11 a.m. CT
Bret Bloomquist can be reached, bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Dak Prescott earns MVP buzz as Cowboys start workouts
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