With a new coaching staff and a group of players looking to rebound from a 7-9 finish last year, there's been a different level of intensity at Dallas Cowboys training camp. It helps that Brian Schottenheimer is striving to instill a level of toughness into his team, but the players deserve credit for meeting the challenge.
A certain number of players are reveling under the pressure, including cornerback Kaiir Elam and undrafted wide receiver Traeshon Holden. Others haven't been as opportunistic.
Schotteheimer has stressed that players will have to earn their spot on the team. One player who hasn't played up to that level is rookie defensive tackle Tommy Akingbesote.
Cowboys rookie DT Tommy Akingbesote has had a quiet training camp
We admittedly do not have boots on the ground in Oxnard, but there hasn't been a peep about Akingbesote since camp started two weeks ago. That isn't because Dallas' interior defensive line is packed to the brim, either.
As expected, veterans Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas are having strong camps. Seventh-round rookie Jay Toia has gotten some burn with the starters and free agent signee Perrion Winfrey has arguably made a bigger impact than former first-round pick Mazi Smith.
Read more: Cowboys’ coaching staff quietly confirming bubble player is all but a roster lock
While Toia and Winfrey deserve credit for outperforming expectations, it's not like Akingbesote is competing against Bob Lilly, Randy White or Jay Ratliff.
Even 2024 seventh-round pick Denzel Daxon has made the occasional splash play. Daxon did not make the 53-man roster as a rookie, and it would appear that Akingbesote is trending in that direction before Tuesday's joint practice with the Rams and Saturday's preseason opener against the Rams.
It wouldn't be the end of the world if Akingbesote didn't make the team. He was Dallas' final draft choice this year. Seventh-round picks are hardly roster locks in the NFL. But the front office would have hoped the 22-year-old would have made more noise by now.
Going through an acclimation period and being invisible are two different things. If Akingbesote doesn't start leaving a mark, it might be time to question if he is worth keeping around on the practice squad.