Coffee with the Cowboys: Prescott on his receivers, UDFAs make a splash

Happy Saturday, Dallas Cowboys fans! Another week of training camp is in the books and the team actually made some moves. Some highlights from the week were the signing of free agent LB Anthony Barr and some impressive tackles from rookie Tyler Smith. Some low lights were the continued struggle in the kicking competition and losing several players to COVID-19 and injury.

Grab your coffee and check out these other stories about what’s going on in Cowboys Nation.

Dak Prescott not fretting Cowboys’ WR corps: The young guys will ‘step in and take on bigger roles’ – Kevin Patra, NFL.com

Whether it’s just a cookie cutter response or not, Cowboys QB Dak Prescott says he’s not concerned about lack of healthy WRs currently available for Week 1.

"“You’re never going to catch me looking at anything in my life as a step back. You’ve got an opportunity to move forward, you’ve got an opportunity to grow. If you don’t do that, you’re in trouble and you’ve already lost to begin with,” Prescott said, via the team’s official website. “I just know, the young guys that we’ve got, the guys that we already have are going to step in and take on bigger roles. I continue to say exciting, but that’s what it is. And the reason is, is because I feel like a lot of you — and people don’t know necessarily — what these guys are, what these guys can do.”"

Barr Chose Dallas Because ‘This Is A Contender’ – Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com

"“Obviously, I have some connection with [senior defensive assistant] George Edwards – being in Minnesota – we got real close while I was out there, and we’ve had some success,” Barr said in his first media appearance at training camp. “I’ve heard nothing but great things about [Dan Quinn], and how he operates.”“And I think Dallas is a contender. I wanted to be on a team I think has a chance to win. I wanted an opportunity to play at a high level, and I’m excited to be here.”Barr and Edwards established a connection at the outset of his NFL career, the latter having joined the Vikings as defensive coordinator in 2014 before selling the team on making the former their first-round pick (ninth-overall) that same spring.They’d go on to make defensive music together from that point forward, evidenced by all four of his Pro Bowl nods having been earned prior to Edwards departing Minnesota to join the Cowboys coaching staff."

Markquese Bell named as Cowboys’ UDFA with best chance to make the roster – Matt Holleran, Blogging the Boys

"One of the more exciting things to look for in training camp is seeing if any undrafted free agents have a chance to defy the odds and make the 53-man roster. The Dallas Cowboys, like any team, have a couple of UDFA that have some sort of shot at doing just that this summer.Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report took a deep dive into the topic earlier this week, writing about every team’s UDFA that has the best chance to make the roster. For the Cowboys, Moton selected safety Markquese Bell."

‘Huge aspirations for him’: Cowboys special teams guru raves about newcomer KaVontae Turpin – Todd Brock, Cowboys Wire

"After helping his New Jersey Generals team to a 9-1 record, the MVP of the USFL’s comeback season this past spring inked a three-year deal with the team. In just over a week’s time, the 5-foot-9-inch, 158-pound speedster (some outlets list him even smaller) has made a huge impression on coaches.“I think there’s probably been a lot of proof of a lot of little guys that are really, really good,” special teams coordinator John Fassel told the media this week in Oxnard. “Eric Metcalf- I don’t know his size. Dante Hall- maybe a little bit thicker, but Turp’s probably a little bit quicker. So I think there’s a lot; Tyreek [Hill]- obviously, he may be a little but thicker. I just know when we practice against the little guys and play against the little guys, they’re really hard to see behind blockers. And then if you can ever see them, it’s really hard to get a clean shot on them. So for those little, quick, fast guys, you’ve got to populate-tackle them, and if you don’t, you don’t ever really get clean shots. I think it’s a little bit overrated- the impact of a little guy taking big body blows- because they just don’t seem to take those. I’m excited to see what he does.”"

With Cowboys battling injuries at WR, who will play next to CeeDee Lamb? – Jon Machota, The Athletic

"The top young guys are Jalen Tolbert, Dennis Houston, Simi Fehoko and T.J. Vasher. Tolbert was drafted in the third round back in April. Houston was signed after the draft as a rookie free agent. Fehoko was a fifth-round pick last year. Vasher was an undrafted rookie signed last year.Then there is Noah Brown, a seventh-round pick in 2017 who has played in 50 NFL games but has only 425 career receiving yards and has never caught an NFL touchdown. He believes injuries have prevented him from having a bigger impact."