Nobody would mistake OTAs for real football, but even the taste of the Dallas Cowboys returning to the practice field is enough to satisfy fans starving for football. And nothing satiates the appetite more than a positive development from an unheralded player.
Look no further than post-draft pickup Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who's getting a ton of burn with the first-team offense in George Pickens' stead. Valdes-Scantling is not alone, however, as safety P.J. Locke has wasted no time making an impression.
Per Joseph Hoyt of Dallas Morning News, Locke has worked with No. 11 overall pick Caleb Downs after every OTA practice. The veteran safety is even helping shape Downs' mindset and work ethic, telling the rookie, "We've got to deposit money every single day. We don't know the price of a championship."
That should be the mantra of every professional athlete.
You can't put a price on Locke mentoring the future face of the defense. For a guy who's only making $3.5 million fully guaranteed on a one-year contract, he already looks like a steal.
P.J. Locke already looks like a great signing by the Dallas Cowboys
Several Cowboys vets -- Dak Prescott included -- have been blown away by Downs' approach and maturity. Having said that, it certainly doesn't hurt to have a seventh-year vet like Locke, who's been on championship-caliber defenses in Denver, teaching him the ropes.
Locke will ultimately be judged by his performance on the field, but the mentorship he's providing Downs only adds to his value.
Quinnen Williams may be the most important player on the defense, but Downs isn't far behind. Christian Parker plans to design his scheme around the first-round pick, who figures to start in the nickel, but wear many hats for the first-year coordinator.
Beyond molding an already-polished Downs, Locke is seeing no shortage of first-team reps. With big safety addition Jalen Thompson working with the rehab group, Locke and Malik Hooker operated as the starting safeties. Meanwhile, Markquese Bell, Zion Childress, and Alijah Clark worked primarily with the second team.
A 29-year-old who's appeared in 90 games, overlapped with Parker in Denver, and has experience in a Vic Fangio defense, Locke was always expected to be ahead of Bell, Childress, and Clark. Even so, it's notable that a low-profile signing is already working extensively with the first-team defense this early in the offseason program.
Regardless of when Thompson returns, Locke figures to have a rotational role at strong safety and could also see work in the slot, where he played 109 snaps as recently as 2024, per PFF.
Between his prominent role on the field and willingness to take Downs under his wing, Locke already looks like one of Dallas' savvier offseason additions.
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