Cowboys Minicamp Preview: Dak Prescott vs. Christian Parker And Top 10 To Watch

FRISCO - The 2026 Dallas Cowboys are still in their infancy, with two OTAs sessions behind them and this week's mandatory minicamp here inside The Star - which launches today - the final step before we move to Oxnard for training camp.

This three-day session will, among other things, continue a promising trend. For lack of any better framing, let's call it "Dak Prescott vs. Christian Parker'' as one of Fish's Top 10 Things to Watch at Minicamp ...

1 - "Dak Prescott vs. Christian Parker'' - Dak and the Dallas offense was one of the best in football last season, while the defense was horrific. Clearly, there  have already been positive strides made this offseason defensively.

CeeDee Lamb said it's "annoying" to go against the defense, and now Dak has had to battle Parker's unit.

And Prescott details what he's already learned from going against the rookie coordinator Parker's scheme."A lot, starting with just their DC Christian Parker, excited about when we got him, but now having spent time with him, having to compete against him,” Prescott told us. “Just his leadership for one, you can feel it amongst each and every one of the position groups on defense, you can feel their intensity.''

So ... Dak managing the challenge of Parker's "3-4 Hybrid'' scheme? That's one to watch.

2 - Where's George? - The latest word is that the breakout star wide receiver will be in attendance when the mandatory workouts begin. Indeed, we have been told that Pickens was in the building as of Monday.

Pickens signed his franchise tender following the 2026 NFL Draft, guaranteeing him $27.3 million for the season.

Had Pickens skipped out on mandatory minicamp, he would have faced fines totaling up to nearly $108,000 for the full three-day period.

Can you hear that sound from here inside The Star? That's a gigantic exhale.

Now, he may take it slowly in terms of his ramp-up ... which will help WR3 Ryan Flournoy continue to blossom while also offering snaps for Marques Valdez-Scantling and Traeshon Holden and Anthony Smith as they bid for a roster spot.

3 - Injury Update - We've got five Cowboys injuries to monitor:

Edge Donovan Ezeiruaku, last year's second-round pick, who is being counted on as a starter but who is coming off minor hip surgery.

Corner DaRon Bland, a star-quality starter who is rehabbing a foot injury and will likely stay sidelined until camp in Oxnard.

Safety Jalen Thompson, with his under-publicized pec strain and plenty of patience being used for Dallas' $11 million APY free agent signee.

Receiver Jonathan Mingo, who is on the roster bubble and who is therefore in trouble as he deals with a groin problem.

Center Matt Hennessy, the ex-Falcons staeter who suffered a neck injury that will require surgery and will land him on the PUP list to open camp.

4 - Trade Buzz - I'm not letting go of the idea that Dallas should continue its chase for guys like Maxx Crosby, Jordyn Brooks and (via free agency) Bobby Wagner.

On my list of things to explore from inside The Star this week: Have the Cowboys sort of let go of the pursuits?

5 - Guyton or Thomas? - Tyler Guyton is the incumbent and a first-round pick. But he's being pushed by Nate Thomas ... and it's all by design.

"We're gonna make Tyler earn it," coach Brian Schottenheimer said. "We think that's going to get the best out of Tyler Guyton and Nate Thomas."

Schottenheimer did go on to say that he likes what he has seen from Guyton this offseason, but clearly that wasn't enough for Dallas to hand him the job.

6 - Milton or Howell? - At OTAs, backup QBs Sam Howell and Joe Milton have split reps- one week for one guy as the No. 2 QB, then next week the next guy.

Here's a question: If Dallas was completely satisfied with Milton last year, would the team have bothered signing Howell?

7 - Blue or Who? - Coach Brian Schottenheimer is painting a picture of Jaydon Blue that some find shocking.

"The intelligence is off the charts,'' Schotty told us regarding the second-year Longhorns ex. "The guy is football brilliant.''

Smart enough after rookie-year struggles, it seems, to take the coach's harsh words to heart?

Said the coach: "I was very honest with my opinion of why he wasn't active. So we had some really great conversations. He took that, he ingested it, took it in, and he's come back with a great look on his face and a great work ethic."

Javonte Williams is the bell cow. Blue has competition from Malik Davis and Phil Mafah. But "fast and smart'' seems like a good combo way of Blue winning the No. 2 job - as Dallas wishes will happen.

8 - About Those Special Teams ... This floats under the radar around here because the defense in 2025 was the NFL's worst.

But the special-teams play was pretty awful, too.

“Being really the head coach and in charge of all three phases and having a handle on that,” Schottenheimer said to reporters. "I think the personnel side of it has been good for me to dive back into the 3-4 world and then shoot, practice schedules, meetings."

By one measure, Dallas had the sixth-worst special teams in the NFL last year.

I don't know the solution here. But Cowboys Nation certainly hopes Schotty can admit that there's a problem.

9 - The Precious Culture - A major Schottenheimer goal that he readily acknowledges: The building of a Cowboys "culture.''

This is bit-by-bit and day-by-day. And it continues that way this week.

“My hope would be that these guys know I love them and care about them, and my door is always open. I remember last year, at different points throughout the season, a guy or two would pop in and close the door. We’d sit down and talk about things outside of football, anything messy in their world that they need help with," Schottenheimer said.

"I think that’s what gives you the ability to have them trust you, love you, care about you, you love and care about them back and then at the same time we're able to have hard conversations and tell them things they don’t necessarily want to hear," he added.

Does "communication'' and "culture'' win games? I can argue that victory does take place in the margins ... and that Schottenheimer really just "being himself'' can have a payoff in the standings.

10 - Defensive Communication - Speaking of which, in a different form ... One of the defense's biggest problems last season was communication.

So many times, we would see veterans struggling to even get lined up properly before the ball was snapped, which led to huge gains either on the ground or through the air.

How many coverage busts did we see in 2025? With a receiver catching the ball and not having anyone around for him 20+ yards? Far too many.

Rookie safety Caleb Downs is a communicator. He can help. Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown is suggesting that he's the "green dot'' guy. Maybe he can help as well.

An assortment of other defensive guys who weren't here a year ago - Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, Dee Winters, Jalen Thompson and Cobie Durant - represent leadership upgrades.

And at this early stage of the offseason program, Dak has already noticed the communication is on a different level under Parker.

"Probably just going against them, their communication, when we motion, or we make moves or calls, they're as loud as we are," Dak added. "They're echoing. Just a defense that communicates, communicates loud is usually a defense that's sound. So just excited about that.

"They've already made it hard on me. They've already made some of these practices very competitive, the trash talking, the energy has been high. It's iron sharpens iron already. I tell you it's only going to get better."

Part of what Parker wants to do is be "deceptive.'' The Cowboys need to work, though, to make sure they're confusing the opponent and not themselves ... as the latter was among the reasons Dallas was ranked No. 32 on defense in 2025.

"Camp's going to be fun,'' Dak said, looking forward to Oxnard. "We're going to make it tough on each other as best we can.”