The Dallas Cowboys coaching staff is finally getting their hands on their 2019 players. No, not in a Bob Knight sort of way, but the organization is finally allowed to work with part of their roster on the football field. Veterans have been doing some work at the team facilities, but coaches have been required to stay away, as only strength and conditioning coaches could be involved. With Friday’s onset of rookie minicamp, the coaches now have an integral role again. The Cowboys have all eight of their draft picks, all 13 UDFA signings as well as some other veterans who are short on experience on hand this weekend, to go through three days of acclimation to the ways of head coach Jason Garrett and his staff. Here’s a complete list of the players, which includes two who are trying to impress the staff to the point they will be offered contracts. Cowboys’ rookie minicamp roster pic.twitter.com/pv8R29Ad2d — Jon Machota (@jonmachota) May 10, 2019 Dallas will meet in full, with all 90 members of the offseason roster in a couple weeks, for the first of three voluntary OTA sessions, followed by the only mandatory minicamp of the offseason.<doc-sep>The first official practice of the 2019 NFL season has come and gone for the Dallas Cowboys as Friday was the first of three rookie minicamp practices for the club. With 31 attendees, Dallas doesn’t have the turnout of some other franchises, but that’s because the Cowboys roster is chock full of talent and it will be difficult for many of the invitees to make the 53-man roster. In fact, Dallas may have trouble squeezing all eight of their draft picks in come cutdown day near the end of the summer. For now though, all participants are getting a taste of what life is like under the rule of Jason Garrett. There are going to be a lot of similarities to year’s past but there are some important changes, and not all of them center around the new players. Here are 8 takeaways from the first day of the camp.<doc-sep>FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys, I'm told, are in the process of signing a volume of their rookies today -- that goes for at least some of the draftees as well as the UDFA signings -- and while the front office is busy doing that, the coaches and players took the the field for the Friday opening of a two-day rookie minicamp here inside The Star. The work took place inside the Ford Center, was followed by a media session in the locker room, and will be followed by yet another on-field session. The initial look and feel ... The fellas were up-and-at'em to start the day ... Cowboys rookies were up and at em preeeeetty early on Friday morning pic.twitter.com/mI2Drxzl4b — Blogging The Boys (@BloggingTheBoys) May 10, 2019 And then continued with their predictable amazement at the Cowboys HQ's facilities ... Members of the #DallasCowboys 2019 draft class share their thoughts on arriving at @thestarinfrisco and describe how they believe they will best fit in with the team. #EarnTheStar pic.twitter.com/xWs3AoR8yz — Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) May 10, 2019 And by about 10 a.m. were on the field in position group performing in traditional Underwear Olympics fashion. Third-round pick Connor McGovern, wearing No. 66, along with UDFA Mitch Hyatt, were among those worthy of watching ... #Cowboys o-line work at rookie minicamp here inside The Star ... pic.twitter.com/ZQ9d1M8Jiw — mike fisher ? (@fishsports) May 10, 2019 And indeed, owner Jerry Jones and personnel boss Will McClay spent a good chunk of time doing just that, eyeballing the offensive line's work. Jerry Jones gave #Cowboys rookies a post-practice pep talk after he and Will McClay enjoyed their watching of the O-line work under @marccolombo pic.twitter.com/yS05W1Zuce — mike fisher ? (@fishsports) May 10, 2019 Hyatt is a two-time All-American tackle from reigning national champion Clemson, a four-year starter who pretty much allowed one sack per season. He's penciled in as a roster member in 2020 ... and maybe more, sooner. Starting today, of course, he will likely be obscured along the offensive line by Dallas' third-round pick, Connor McGovern. But someday, maybe both guys will be considered prizes from the Class of 2019. Meanwhile, top defensive aide Kris Richard spent a great deal of time with the DBs, including draftees Michael Jackson (No. 33) and Donovan Wilson (No. 37) ... #Cowboys Richard supervises Top rookie DBs Jackson & Wilson rookie minicamp here inside The Star ... pic.twitter.com/ynpdE4xi9v — mike fisher ? (@fishsports) May 10, 2019 And Richard was also in the mix with the drafted defensive ends, Joe Jackson (56) and Jalen Jelks (74) ... #Cowboys d-line work at rookie minicamp here inside The Star feat Jackson & Jelks pic.twitter.com/8DWHGb0nQR — mike fisher ? (@fishsports) May 10, 2019 Some of these jersey numbers are going to change, obviously; Bob Lilly is 74 around here, and that's just the way it is. For Tony Pollard, the elusive fourth-round running back, he told me he's looking forward to changing from No. 36. #Cowboys @Tp__5 - apparently not a fan of Jersey No. 36 - at work at rookie minicamp here inside The Star ... pic.twitter.com/h4f14XYnr7 — mike fisher ? (@fishsports) May 10, 2019 "It's no big deal, they just gave it to me,'' Pollard told me. "But I'd prefer, like, No. 23.'' Defensive back Darian Thompson is the present owner of 23, so ... we shall see. But Pollard does have his four-year contract as a done deal ... #Cowboys signings - a bunch are coming - begin with deal with 4th-round RB @Tp__5 .. four-year contract, done deal. pic.twitter.com/BPeuU9RR4n — mike fisher ? (@fishsports) May 10, 2019 Another running back, seventh-round Mike Weber, was among the 31 players in camp this morning. That group includes a single QB, Phillip Nelson of East Carolina and the AAF, where he briefly spent time with new Dallas QB coach Jon Kitna -- surely the reason Nelson is the guy chosen to be "an arm'' for this minicamp. Also participating are a handful of "first-year players,'' so the young vet group working here includes cornerback Donovan Olumba and tight end Codey McElroy, an impressively long presence at 6-6, 258. At the far end of the field, UDFA Daniel Wise (who I believe is the second-highest-graded guy in the bunch) joined second-rounder Trysten Hill in making a lot of noise in drills, pounding the "tackling dummies'' with bullish swim moves and the like. Hill also made a positive impression in the post-practice locker room, sharing with the media that he's a "country boy who likes to scuba-dive.'' . @trystenhill9 describes himself as a "country boy who likes to scuba-dive.'' No fear underwater for the 6-3, 308-pound Hill? "If I see something as big as me,'' the #Cowboys rookie DT said, smiling, "I swim away.'' pic.twitter.com/0P0lILz9bx — mike fisher ? (@fishsports) May 10, 2019 No fear underwater for the 6-3, 308-pound Hill? "If I see something as big as me,'' Hill said, smiling, "I swim away.''<doc-sep>Broaddus, of the mothership gives a look into of day one of Cowboys rookie-minicamp. I am finally getting used to Sanjay Lal working with these receivers the entire practice without using a ball. Lal’s attention to detail is impressive when it comes to teaching these receivers how to execute routes -- from the number of steps they take, to the proper knee lift coming off the ball. I was impressed with how quickly Jalen Guyton, Jon’vea Johnson and Reggie Davis were able to pick things up. Guyton especially caught my eye with how powerful he looked. Watching him live you can feel him exploding out of his cuts. There is a lot of power in the way he moves. David Helman of the mothership gives a look into the UDFA process from the view of Mitch Hyatt. “I’m just happy to be here, just to have the opportunity to come out and show what I can do,” he said Friday. Hyatt enters The Star as one of the prized members of this undrafted class – one of the seven free agents the Cowboys had draftable grades on. That’s not surprising considering his resume, and it’s also not surprising to hear that Dallas wasn’t the only club that wanted to sign him. “I received a fair amount of calls. It was a pretty chaotic five to 10 minutes for me,” Hyatt said. “I had a whole bunch of people in my ear. But I knew what kind of team the Cowboys were, I knew what they were about.” The Cowboys have signed all draft picks, except for third-round pick, Connor McGovern. There once was a time where rookies signing their contracts with the team that drafted them was of serious interest. Who was able to reel in what, how much was guaranteed, the usual so on and so forth. Under the new CBA (amazing how we still call it “new”), these things are really a formality. There are obvious and supremely rare exceptions like Joey Bosa with the Chargers, but more often than not it’s just a matter of everyone being in the same room and swiping a pen. Speaking of Bosa, he played his football at The Ohio State University. The Dallas Cowboys drafted a Buckeye recently, running back Mike Weber. He and a few other of his draftmates (in fact all but Connor McGovern) have begun their contractual partnership with the team as they’ve officially signed their rookie deals. The Cowboys used multiple day three draft picks on running backs in the 2019 NFL draft, do they have a plan in store for how to use all of them? The two-time rushing champion had 304 carries last season, which was 43 more than any other NFL player. He also caught a career-high 77 passes, fifth-most among all running backs. To help manage Elliott’s touches, the Cowboys used a fourth-round pick on versatile back Tony Pollard last month. They also drafted a more traditional back in Mike Weber in the seventh round. ”We understand what Zeke is to our football team and to our organization and to our success,” running back coach Gary Brown said after Dallas’ first rookie minicamp practice on Friday at The Star. “I think it’s important for us as an organization to make sure that we can maximize his ability to help us go out and win championships. The way to do that is to take a little off of him. We got to make sure we take care of that guy.” Second-round pick Trysten Hill is coming to the Cowboys with some baggage, but it sounds like he’s ready to mature into the “right kind of guy”. What there is no question about is Hill’s passion for football and connection with defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli, which is why the Cowboys took the talented pass rusher amid questions about a falling out with the coaching staff during his final season at UCF in 2018 when he started just one game and didn’t play much in the bowl game. He is considered the perfect fit for the three-technique tackle in Marinelli’s 4-3 scheme that made Warren Sapp into a Hall of Famer in Tampa Bay because of his quick first step and ability to disrupt the pocket. But it was his relentless effort and love for the game that sold the Cowboys and Marinelli on Hill as he spent his 21st birthday going over plays in a budget hotel in Orlando. ”We were in the hotel lobby actually. On my birthday, yes sir,” Hill said. “We just hung out in the lobby. It was my 21st. We were there and talking football, talking drills and everything like that. I’m not really used to nice hotels. But coach said it was a little shack. It was run down. We had two little chairs pulled up to a table. ”But that doesn’t make the difference. That’s the experience that I’m happy to look back at and say that I spent my 21st with my coach.” Hill said they didn’t pop any bottles. They just talked about football and talked about drills. Tony Romo didn’t quite make the cut at The Byron Nelson, but he’s happy with his overall performance. Romo’s 74 left him at 8-over for the tournament and well off the cut line to play the weekend in a PGA Tour event for the first time, but the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback shot his best round in his third sponsor’s exemption over the last two years. ”I think more than anything, I got a sense to be able to hit a lot of high-quality shots under what is a pressure situation for me,” Romo said. “That’s encouraging and shows that the work you’re doing holds up when it counts. And from there, you just got to find the little things that allow you to keep things going and not derail a round. Just small stuff, technique-wise, but we’re coming on.” Romo hit nine of 14 fairways and 11 greens Friday after hitting just six fairways and eight greens in Thursday’s first round.<doc-sep>
The Dallas Cowboys are about to hit the field with the rookies, but what will happen over the course of the weekend? With the rookie minicamp running over the weekend, the Cowboys coaching staff will be focused on getting the youngsters up to speed so they can be better prepared for their first season in the NFL. Unfortunately, the current rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement prevent any drills in which the offense and defense face off, so the Cowboys will instead be relying on a mixture of approaches throughout minicamp. New offensive coordinator Kellen Moore will still be incorporating his new plays, but he will do so at a much slower pace than if this was training camp. "The biggest thing we're trying to do, "Garrett said on Wednesday, "is you try to focus on fundamentals this time of year. So, we are getting out on the field twice a week for 45 minutes. That's not a lot of time. We are installing plays, but most of the work on the field is individual work. We get together as a team offensively at the end of it, but you aren't going against the defense. It's more just to hear some of the plays being called. Like it is in most years, there's a lot of stuff that carries over from year to year, but you are always looking for ways to evolve and get better." As head coach Jason Garrett explained on Sunday, as well as Wednesday, the biggest focus in this first minicamp will be getting the rookies caught up in multiple meetings. Garrett views this first weekend as more of an orientation opportunity and will be putting his players through introductory meetings to familiarize them with the coaches and the process. When it comes to the actual on-field sessions, the Cowboys will be changing up the formula just a bit. These practices will be viewed more as "jog through" sessions instead of actual full-speed practices, which will provide more of a relaxed intro to the league instead of hitting the ground at full speed. By building this foundation up, Garrett hopes that the rookies will be better prepared for the coming months of grueling work and will be a step ahead of the competition during their first season at The Star. The Cowboys starting roster is essentially set with so many returning figures, but building up the young depth is critical in case of unforeseen injuries. The Cowboys have to properly approach the first weekend in the building in order to get everyone on the same page and ready to contribute at an equal amount. With so many expectations, he has to hope that this plan pans out. Jerry Jones and multiple other figures in the NFL expect the Cowboys to be even better in the 2019 season, and the rookies will be a big part of this process. If they can't succeed early, the season could quickly go off the rails.