Cowboys D-line waiting through no-hit minicamp: ‘They’re embracing wanting to get out there’
As good as it was for the 2023 Cowboys to finally assemble again at The Star last week, it still wasn’t quite the real thing.
League rules have kept the early work for all teams at a light and leisurely pace; Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy in particular was up front about wanting to avoid a monetary fine (and maybe worse) for a third straight year due to spring practices that got too physical.
So while encouraging nuggets came out of last week’s walkthroughs- or “jogthroughs,” as McCarthy called them- about a long touchdown catch by this wide receiver or a nifty pass breakup by that defensive back, certain units are still waiting for it to really feel like football.
“There’s a lot of drills- team drills- that the D-line can’t be part of,” Cowboys defensive line coach Aden Durde told reporters at the conclusion of last week’s minicamp. “But you feel comfortable with where we are because in the walkthroughs, the guys are getting deliberate practice. And then when we’re out on the field, their conditioning is going through the roof.
“You can work on the fundamentals, the techniques, certain little things are more individualized teaching because of the time you have with the guys. So I feel really good with where were at.”
Some of Durde’s confidence no doubt comes from the arrival of Mazi Smith. The Cowboys spent a first-round draft pick on an interior defensive lineman for the first time in over two decades, and expectations for the havoc-wreaking Michigan man are sky-high.
“Part of it is, ‘Mazi’s coming,’ you know?” Durde admits. “We drafted a player like that.”
And while Smith hasn’t yet gotten a chance to show much beyond classroom work and weight room reps, his 43-year-old position coach is careful not to set the bar too high too soon.
“He’s done a great job so far. It’s just like any rookie,” Durde said, “when they come in, they come from a completely different system, completely different language. We have to give these guys some time to develop. This period’s been good for them. As much as you want to get old-school, go out there and practice against the offense, this is actually good for them because you can do way more walkthroughs, you can talk about it, you can talk about techniques we use, the language we talk, how we communicate. I like where they’re at now. Obviously, you want to see them in pads, and that will come this summer.”
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So for now, for the next six weeks anyway, it will continue to be about the individual players taking care of themselves, logging mental reps, studying the playbook, and drilling on nitpicky things like hand- and footwork.
Because when they get to Oxnard, they’ll finally get to hit somebody. And that’s when things will become a lot more meaningful, for both Durde and his D-line charges.
“Everyone has to be the best version of themselves. When they get to that,” Durde said, “the chips fall where they fall. That raises the level of the room. The guys right now, they’re embracing it. They’re embracing the competition, they’re embracing wanting to get out there.
“And what it means is you maximize reps; you don’t take reps for granted. It’s a good thing to see.”
