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The annual Blue-White scrimmage showed some things on both sides of the ball for the Cowboys: an aggressive defense that continues to cause turnovers, Dak Prescott willing to make more throws in tighter windows, and a group of receivers all battling for the last few precious spots on the roster.
Amari Cooper missed Sunday’s scrimmage with a heel injury that Jerry Jones is not too concerned with. That opened the door a little wider for guys like Jon’Vea Johnson, Jalen Guyton, and Reggie Davis to make an impression on the coaching staff in a scrimmage-setting.
All three of the undrafted wideouts have had their ups and downs in Oxnard. We have written on Johnson and on Davis recently, while also taking a look at Guyton after he was inked by the Cowboys back in April.
Sunday, we were able to see a little more from each candidate vying to make the final 53-man squad.
Johnson was given the nod as the fourth receiver during the scrimmage, but the big playmaker struggled in the Blue-White setting. Johnson has had an impressive camp leading into the annual scrimmage; however, drops were an issue for the rookie on Sunday evening. In this clip, Prescott found Johnson as he was working his way over the middle, but it was dropped.
2nd drop of the day from Jon'Vea Johnson pic.twitter.com/vChiTcJwGg
— John Owning (@JohnOwning) August 4, 2019
Johnson has been used to making big plays in Oxnard, but he is unable to come down with a deep ball here:
Like my video skills, Cowboys WR Jon’vea Johnson having a rough day. Second deep shot he’s missed. Couple short targets incomplete as well pic.twitter.com/Rwgg0QfIf6
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) August 4, 2019
It was not all negative for Johnson, though. Dak found him on a deep shot in warmups prior to the start of the scrimmage, and he hauled in a nice grab against Chidobe Awuzie:
Jon'Vea Johnson hauls in a grab vs Chido. #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/ULMmBokgb7
— John Owning (@JohnOwning) August 4, 2019
He didn't have a good day yesterday, but this was a good route by Jon'Vea Johnson against Chido.
— John Owning (@JohnOwning) August 5, 2019
Love how he varies tempo and then throws on the breaks on the stop route. #Cowboys
Reggie Davis is also another popular pet cat among Cowboys fans. He has shown off his speed throughout the team’s time in Oxnard and has been making a strong push for one of the last spots. In fact, David Helman included the former Georgia Bulldogs speedster as one of the more impressive players of training camp leading up to the Blue-White scrimmage.
If I had to pick five Cowboys players who are having the most badass camps so far, they’d be:
— David Helman (@HelmanDC) August 4, 2019
- Xavier Woods
- Maliek Collins
- Michael Gallup
- Jaylon Smith
- Reggie Davis
However, much like Johnson, Davis had some troubles on Sunday — namely with holding on to the football. Davis made a reception on a ball thrown from Mike White, only to have the ball come loose:
Reggie Davis fumbles after getting open over the middle pic.twitter.com/4ZGl5oAuhQ
— John Owning (@JohnOwning) August 5, 2019
This shouldn’t hurt Davis’ stock too much — he has been lighting up training camp thus far — but it doesn’t help, either. We will see how he rebounds on Tuesday.
Finally, Guyton has flown a little under the radar, but he has also had some big moments throughout training camp. Prescott has gone to him on a number of occasions in two-minute and 7-on-7 drills, and he has mostly made the most of those opportunities.
Like the aforementioned two, Guyton has impressed in Oxnard. He made defensive back Treston Decoud look silly here:
Jalen Guyton gets Decoud bad here. #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/lS9ac5IbJm
— John Owning (@JohnOwning) August 2, 2019
The Blue-White scrimmage did not create much separation in this trio vying for roster spots. Each player has shown that they have what it takes to be on the active roster come the regular season, but they have also had some moments that remind us why they weren’t drafted as well.
The preseason games kickoff this upcoming weekend and perhaps that is where the real separation will come. Whether it be Johnson, Davis, or Guyton, at least one of these three promising prospects should emerge.