• Damone Clark‘s stellar start to training camp: After an average season last year (62.7 overall grade), the third-year linebacker has looked fantastic through the early portion of padded practices at Dallas Cowboys training camp.
• The Cowboys stole Caelen Carson in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft: The Wake Forest product has made the most of his opportunities during camp, displaying impressive ball skills to disrupt passes at the catch point.
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Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes
The Dallas Cowboys‘ 2024 training camp continued Saturday, as the team continued to develop its roster in an effort to get ready for Week 1 in early September.
A few of Dallas' likely contributors missed Saturday's practice, including Eric Kendricks, DeMarcus Lawrence, Tyler Guyton and Luke Schoonmaker, but those absences enabled many of the younger and down-the-roster players to get more practice reps. Additionally, a steady diet of two-minute and red-zone drills highlighted the day from a competitive standpoint.
Therefore, without further ado, let's dive into some observations from the Cowboys' training camp practice on Saturday.
Damone Clark‘s strong start to camp
Suppose there was one player who impressed the most given their pre-training camp expectations. In that case, Clark has been the obvious choice thus far, as the LSU product has benefitted from Mazi Smith‘s gradual development taking on double-team and combinations over the last couple of days. Without blockers immediately in his lap post-snap, Clark's speed and pursuit angles have put him in position to make plays consistently against the run.
Mazi keeping Damone Clark clean for the stop in run drills pic.twitter.com/Zp0okkE9kg
— John Owning (@JohnOwning) August 3, 2024
Additionally, Clark's ability to quickly key and diagnose the opposing offense's actions has taken a notable step forward thus far in camp. Last season, Clark frequently struggled with his run fits, especially when opposing offenses employed motion at the snap and post-snap motion (such as a tight end sift coming across the formation post-snap to block an edge defender on split zone runs). However, he looks much more comfortable against those types of actions thus far in camp. The Cowboys offense has used a litany of motion to try and create confusion and indecision on Dallas' defense, and, at least in Clark's case, he has been steady in those situations.
Moreover, Clark has proven to be a capable pass defender throughout camp as well. Notably, he recorded a pass breakup against Jake Ferguson during seven-on-seven drills, carrying the tight end up the seam before getting his hand on the ball to create the incompletion.
Coming into this season, the linebacker position was one of the biggest question marks on the roster. Still, with Clark's notable improvement, Eric Kendricks‘ veteran savvy and DeMarvion Overshown‘s athleticism and infectious energy, it may prove to be much better than anybody thought, especially if Smith and Osa Odighizuwa can continue to do their jobs up front.
Caelen Carson appears to be the next Cowboys fifth-round steal at cornerback
The Cowboys are often lauded for their ability to find hidden gems late in the draft, such as Dak Prescott, Daron Bland, Jake Ferguson and more. Nonetheless, Dallas has been particularly adept at finding promising cornerbacks in the fifth round, as Bland and Orlando Scandrick are previous fifth-rounders who turned into major contributors for the Cowboys defense.
Caelen Carson isn’t afraid to throw a body on you #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/wNP5VarlYD
— Nick Harris (@NickHarrisDC) August 3, 2024
It's still early in camp, but the Cowboys appear to have found a third, as Carson has absolutely played above expectation during camp. The Wake Forest product has been particularly adept at the catch point, using strong fundamentals to continually poke passes out of the grasp of opposing receivers. Oftentimes, young defensive backs have the bad habit of swiping at passes as they arrive at the catch point. However, the more optimal technique is to stick a hand through a receiver's grasp, as it creates much less room for error and leads to more consistency when attacking the catch point. Here's a great example:
Caelen Carson with the PBU to prevent Jalen Tolbert from bringing in the would-be touchdown toss from Dak Prescott.
Al Harris and Trevon Diggs letting him know they love it. #Cowboys #Seatbelt pic.twitter.com/Lbk4Zo0kgA
— Patrik [No C] Walker (@VoiceOfTheStar) August 3, 2024
On this play, Carson is carrying Tolbert's crossing route across the field in the red zone. Tolbert did a great job creating early separation but Carson was able to employ a “tailpipe technique” to get connected to Tolbert and once the pass arrived, Carson was in perfect position to stick his hand through Tolbert's grasp to knock the ball free and generate the incompletion.
In addition to his ability to combat passes at the catch point, Carson has done an excellent job matching the physicality of opposing receivers without generating penalties. Many receivers have tried to bully the rookie at the breakpoint, but Carson is not allowing it whatsoever.
If there's one area where Carson needs to improve, it's when he's playing off-zone coverage, as he's been a tick slow to drive on receivers underneath, leading to some easy completions on occasion.
Many have second-guessed the Cowboys' decision to not bring back Stephon Gilmore mainly because Bland, Trevon Diggs and Jourdan Lewis were Dallas' only proven cornerbacks on the roster, but Carson's play thus far should ease many of those concerns. If Carson can carry his impressive play to the regular season, the Cowboys will employ a strong four-deep depth chart at cornerback, something that's very important in today's NFL.
Jalen Cropper was the most impressive reserve receiver Saturday
Thus far in camp, Tyron Billy-Johnson has been a popular “winner” in Dallas' receiver room; however, it was Cropper's turn Saturday, as he was making plays all over the field throughout the competitive periods, especially in the two-minute drill. In fact, Cropper registered two touchdowns and more than a handful of other receptions with Dallas' first-, second- and third-team offenses during the two-minute drill period.
Another Jalen Cropper TD pic.twitter.com/jBwuvvUwbr
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 3, 2024
Cropper's speed in and out of his cuts in addition to his sure hands made him a reliable target throughout Saturday's practice. At 5-foot-11 and sub-185 pounds, Cropper is never going to be a receiver who can consistently win downfield or in contested-catch situations, but his quickness and nimble breaks make him a tough cover from the slot in the short-to-intermediate portions of the field.
Prescott has gravitated toward his short-to-intermediate targets throughout his career, and while Cropper wasn't seen as someone who could vie for a spot on Dallas' 53-man roster before camp, maybe his ability to be a reliable option to those areas of the field could earn him a spot and a real role in the Cowboys offense in the future. He needs to continue to stack strong days on top of each other for that to happen, but Saturday was an excellent start.
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