The new defensive coordinator and his prized draftee finally got on the practice field at The Star.
When the dust settled on the Dallas Cowboys' selection of Ohio State star Caleb Downs, the next thing fans were interested to see was him with new coordinator Christian Parker.
Well, as rookie minicamp got underway at The Star, the pair finally got together on the field.
With Downs seen as the quarterback of Parker's defense, much like Dak Prescott and Brian Schottenheimer, the pair is seen as the duo pushing the unit forward.
But that only happens if the pair is in lockstep with each other, and for two cerebral football junkies, many thought it would be a natural fit with Parker and Downs.
And as it turns out, it was.
"Hit it off pretty well," Parker said of his interactions with Downs. "I think even down to his 30 visit coming in here, he was very familiar what we were going to do because he watched our tape from Philadelphia the past two years.
"So, a lot of the stuff he was familiar with from the shell system and some of the things they played a different style, but it was very similar. So, talked about some of those things on his visit, talked about his tape, and it's been the same thing, last night and today."
One big discussion piece is how Parker will use Downs in his system.
We've heard Schottenheimer state that Downs will play nickel, he'll be at the line of scrimmage, he'll blitz, and everything in between.
In short, he'll play wherever Parker needs to be play.
Where he spends the majority of his time isn't yet fully known, but for Parker, it will all depend on how much the rookie can handle from a mental standpoint when it comes to his versatility and being able to execute at a high level.
"I think a guy like Caleb, he's a natural football player," Parker said. "He's one of those first picks in in the schoolyard. So, he's going to have natural versatility and just a matter of what he can handle mentally and how we fit everything together."
Day 1 is in the books for Cowboys rookies, and it is the first step in what many of them hope will be a productive offseason.
The Cowboys' defense was woeful last season, but with Parker and Downs spearheading the revival, it's easy to see why fans are bullish on what the duo can accomplish in 2026.