The Cowboys have learned the biggest benefit of showing up to training camp before anyone else means more media coverage, especially on PFT. (That Jerry Jones is a sneaky one.)
Our next bit of microanalysis while we wait for the other 31 full squads to show up focuses on the Cowboys backfield, likely the best 1-2-3 combination in football.
Felix Jones has a great chance to pass Marion Barber as the team’s starter, and the players are also going in opposite directions in weight. Jones has bulked up his upper body, and now weighs 220 pounds. (Reports earlier this offseason had him at 225.) Barber is down to 214 pounds, ten pounds off his sluggish, injury-plagued frame last year.
A former scout watching Cowboys practice said Barber’s burst appears improved, which Dallas coaches have said throughout the offseason.
We’re always skeptical of articles focused on weight. This year’s “bulking up to stay healthy” posts often turn into next year’s “slimming down to regain explosiveness” articles.
But we do think too many people inside and outside of Dallas have buried Barber, a complete back that is only 27 years old. Finding enough carries for him if he’s truly revived qualifies as a great problem for the Cowboys.