Cowboys minicamp: Jake Ferguson, George Pickens shine on Day 2; ping pong duels intensify

New York Times

a day ago

FRISCO, Texas — With the threat of inclement weather looming, the Dallas Cowboys held their Wednesday afternoon mandatory minicamp practice on the field inside The Star. As players went through their regular stretches and warmups, Where The Hood At by DMX — a song released a year before running back Jaydon Blue was born — started blaring through the speakers. The song choice instantly put Dak Prescott, among many other players, in a different groove as they got ready for the final practice of minicamp.
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The Cowboys will take the field Thursday for a walk-through but Wednesday's session was the last practice before the team takes the field for training camp in Oxnard, Calif., next month. Let's examine some things that stood out from the two practices this week.
Nearly everything observed on the field this time of year should be taken with a grain of salt. Contact is non-existent, which not only makes it impossible to gauge the players in the trenches on both lines, but also makes it tricky in other areas. For example, George Pickens had a great catch up the field on a pass from Prescott on Wednesday, with cornerback DaRon Bland in tight coverage. The play would count as a plus for Pickens but isn't necessarily a negative for Bland, who was stapled to Pickens and would have probably made a more aggressive play on the ball in different circumstances.
Speaking of cornerbacks, former first-round pick Kaiir Elam, who the Cowboys acquired this offseason in a trade with the Buffalo Bills, popped out on both days. It was a little bit of good and bad. He had a nice pass breakup Tuesday on the field outside and again indoors Wednesday. On Wednesday, Elam was in coverage against CeeDee Lamb and Prescott tried to go deep to his primary receiver in the end zone. Elam made a nice play to beat Lamb to the ball but dropped the interception. It was similar to the previous day when Elam made a nice play on the ball but dropped the pass that hit him in the hands.
The tempo of these minicamp practices favors the offense, and on Tuesday, Pickens was the standout. It's easy to see why there's so much excitement around the Cowboys adding him to the mix. Not only does he have reliable hands, but his route running is crisp, he stretches the field and works the underneath on plays the Cowboys anticipate turning into big yards-after-catch opportunities.
'When I play receiver, it's always about what the (defensive back) thinks you're doing,' Pickens said. 'I try to keep him on his toes at all times.'
WRs are movin' 💨#DallasCowboys | @Invisalign pic.twitter.com/SHoIYfLJxW
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) June 10, 2025
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer is doing more from a scheme standpoint to hunt mismatches, rather than just reply on the individual talent of his playmakers. Pickens and Lamb frequently line up next to each other, sometimes getting off the line of scrimmage together and other times with one of them going in motion to the other side before the snap. Either way, it puts additional stress on the defense and makes things easier on Prescott.
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The offensive standout Wednesday was Jake Ferguson. The fourth-year tight end had a great touchdown catch down the seam from Prescott during the team session. Prescott placed the ball perfectly, just behind Ferguson and away from linebacker Jack Sanborn, who had tight coverage. The middle of the field has become a money area for the connection between Prescott and Ferguson.
'That's been going back since I got here,' Ferguson said. 'I love the seam ball, he loves throwing it. We just happened to have that play called today but we've been repping that daily with routes on air and stuff like that. That's been a connection that's been building continuously. You guys just saw a piece of it today.'
Ferguson, who is going into the final year of his rookie contract, is looking for a rebound year after a down season in 2024. Last season, Ferguson dealt with a knee injury, a concussion and a midseason injury to his QB1. All together, it resulted in a touchdown-less season for Ferguson. He brought that up unprompted Wednesday.
'That was something I came into this offseason really working on,' Ferguson said. 'Just really tried to dial in on that and make sure I was lights out. … That one stung but at the same time, I was asked to do different stuff, whether it be chipping or pass (protection) or something like that, and that's OK. I'm trying to do whatever it takes to have this team win and to go get our ultimate goal. So, whatever they need me to do, it's kind of just a personal thing to probably get over that hump. At the end of the day, yes, I do want to score touchdowns.'
One of the most intriguing players this week — as well as the past month with OTAs — has been backup quarterback Joe Milton. He took reps Wednesday ahead of Will Grier and flashed a lot of the advertised potential. To cap off his first drive, Milton, rolling to his left, hit Ryan Flournoy for a touchdown. He'll be interesting to watch as each level amps up from training camp practices to preseason games and potentially the regular season, if circumstances require him to play.
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In many ways, Milton is the complete opposite of what the Cowboys had at backup last year in Cooper Rush. That's not a slight to Milton or Rush — they're just different. Milton has all the physical tools and arm strength one would like, whereas Rush processed the game and read defenses well. Milton is only in his second NFL season and his third offensive system in the past three years. A learning curve is to be expected. Rush was in his eighth year with the vast majority of it in Dallas. Once it all comes together for Milton and he racks up more experience, there could be something there for the Cowboys.
There isn't much to read into yet when it comes to the performances of the offensive and defensive lines. However, unlike last year, there's no ambiguity with who the top group includes. Every time the No. 1 offense goes on the field (from left to right), Tyler Guyton, Tyler Smith, Cooper Beebe, Tyler Booker and Terence Steele lead the charge. There will be more to say about this unit when the pads come on next month.
Micah Parsons was involved in a variety of ways today, helmet and no helmet, going through some drills in individual. Parsons didn't participate in any team activities, team or 7-on-7. Parsons was around the whole time. pic.twitter.com/JAcx0HQrn1
— Saad Yousuf (@SaadYousuf126) June 11, 2025
On Tuesday, star pass rusher Micah Parsons was present for minicamp but didn't participate in on-field activities. In speaking to the media, Parsons said he was dealing with some back tightness stemming from a workout he had with Trevon Diggs. Of course, Parsons is also under the spotlight as he waits for the Cowboys to give him a monster extension that would make him one of the richest non-quarterbacks in NFL history.
On Wednesday, Parsons joined the team on the field inside The Star during warmups. He was in his jersey but didn't have on a helmet. That's also how he was when individual drills began. However, Parsons soon put on his helmet and went through some individual drills, taking competitive reps against his fellow pass rushers. Parsons didn't participate in any of the team activities later but remained on the field. At one point during the team session, Parsons was on the sideline tossing the ball around with Diggs, who is still rehabbing from his injury and was not a participant at all this week.
By now, it's well documented that the Cowboys have a ping pong table in the locker room. The most intense competition, at least when the media is allowed in, occurred Wednesday when Parsons played against rookie defensive tackle Jay Toia. It was a frustrating start for Parsons, who went down early against Toia, primarily because he couldn't make contact with Toia's returns. For what it's worth, Toia played while holding the ping pong paddle in an unconventional way, with his entire hand gripping the round part of the paddle.
After Parsons dug himself into a deep deficit, Diggs came next to him to try and hype him up. It seemed to do the trick. Parsons mounted a huge comeback and dispatched Toia, much to DeMarvion Overshown's dismay. The match between Parsons and Toia resulted in an extremely loud locker room, with players and media standing on both sides to watch it unfold. Parsons also later beat Lamb.
Juanyeh Thomas is thought to be one of the better ping pong players on the team. Earlier in the offseason, Thomas took on the praise of his ping pong skills while also sharing that he would only concede his skills to punter Bryan Anger. Anger, who also is the reigning back-to-back champion of the team's Home Run Derby and completed two passes during Wednesday's practice on fake punts, seems to have one of the more diverse skill sets on the team.
(Photo of Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb: Chris Jones / Imagn Images)