Winners and losers from Dallas Cowboys training camp so far

The Dallas Cowboys have now gone through three training camp practices in preparation for the 2021 season. It should be said several times that we have only had three practices which means that it is way too early to draw any legitimate conclusions. Still, some of the things that we wanted to see have already begun to happen and some of the things that we thought we would see have shown signs of promise.

So much of football is about competition which means that some players are going to stand out or above compared to others. This is part of what training camp is for, to figure out who the best 53 players are on your team to move forward into the regular season with.

On the latest episode of Jersey Boyz on the Blogging The Boys podcast network the guys discussed winners and losers from early on in camp. Remember to subscribe to the Blogging The Boys podcast network so that you get access to all of our shows. Apple users can subscribe here while Spotify users can subscribe right here. Make sure to also leave a rating and write a review as those help us significantly.

Some winners and losers are obvious, but some require a bit more digging and figuring out. Here are a couple of theirs through the early parts of training camp.

Winner: Dan Quinn

It is hard to disappoint people as much as Mike Nolan did in 2020 so the bar was relatively low for Dan Quinn, however, he has certainly delivered.

About a week into camp Quinn looks like the hands-on teacher that you want to see in a defensive coordinator. What’s more is it seems that his ideas and preferred characteristics are translating well (look at Nahshon Wright’s emergence in the first practice as an example) which is the way that this all should work in theory.

Dallas made it a point to overhaul the defense from a talent perspective this offseason so it is possible that the improvements we are seeing are partly or entirely due to that. Either way, Dan Quinn deserves props to this point.

Winner: Randy Gregory

If there is any player that fans are excited to see justifying a level of offseason belief in it is unquestionably Randy Gregory. It is fair to start getting legitimately excited.

Where injuries are currently hurting the likes of Trysten Hill and Francis Bernard (we’ll get to them in a minute) even more opportunities are available to Gregory with DeMarcus Lawrence also on the PUP list. He has taken advantage of them in just about every way.

This is the first year that Gregory has had the opportunity to experience every part of the offseason since his rookie season, and it is obvious that the work he has put in has gone a long way. The Cowboys have been patient with him when it comes to football-related things and it appears that such patience could pay off rather soon.

Losers: Trysten Hill and Francis Bernard

It is a bit early to have any real losers from a football standpoint, and while we certainly hope to see Trysten Hill and Francis Bernard both be back soon it is hard to deny that missing time is hurting them.

Many believe that Hill entered camp this year on the roster bubble and the fact that he is on the PUP list is only going to hinder him in that regard. He showed signs of improvement in the small sample size that we saw last year, but again the bar was pretty low for him to get over given his rookie performance.

Francis Bernard is in a bit of a different spot and might still be able to save himself with some contributions on special teams, but there is no denying that the Cowboys are well-stocked at linebacker. Opportunities are precious and right now missing them is not ideal.

We discussed all of Sunday’s action in the latest video on the Blogging The Boys podcast network. Make sure to subscribe to our channel (which you can do right here) so you don’t miss anything that we are doing over there.