Dallas Cowboys Preseason G1 Stock Report: A lot to love

The Dallas Cowboys just wrapped up their first preseason game of the season so let’s take a look at who’s stock is up and who’s stock is down.

The Dallas Cowboys traveled north from Oxnard to the Bay Area to take on the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night. While some players built on their strong training camps, others failed to live up to their hype.

Who’s up and who’s down? Let’s dive in and take a look.

Stock Up

Jaylon Smith – Jaylon was already having a great camp in Oxnard so it wasn’t surprising to see him balling in Week 1 of the preseason. But after just re-watching his film from 2017, it’s shocking how different he looks today. Even if rookie Leighton Vander Esch lives up to his lofty expectations in Year 1, he’s not going to be able to supplant Jaylon playing like this. Smith had explosion, change of direction, pass-rush ability, and most of all – he knew what he was doing without hesitation.

Stock Down

Chaz Green – This may surprise some people but Chaz Green has been having a decent training camp. In fact, he’s been Tyron Smith’s first alternate at left tackle (that should scare us all). The Dallas Cowboys have preferred the plodding Cameron Fleming on the right side and Chaz on the left. But Green’s performance on Thursday, which hearkened back memories of Week 9 against Atlanta, may now facilitate Fleming’s move to the left. It will be interesting to see how Dallas responds when camp resumes this weekend because it doesn’t appear Green can be relied on at tackle.

Buy

Tavon Austin – Tavon Austin didn’t get many touches but he played a big part for the Dallas Cowboys on offense. As we discussed before training camp kicked off, Tavon will be used to stretch the field this season and prevent teams from focusing in on the running game. Thursday, Austin filled in for Cole Beasley, stretching the field both vertically and horizontally. He ran good routes – making clean cuts and creating separation.

If there’s a time to buy Austin stock it’s probably now because it’s only going to rise from here.

Sell

Anthony Brown – If you’ve been following along, Anthony Brown has been playing great in training camp. But on Thursday he picked right where he left off…last season. Brown had a game to forget and struggled much like he did most of last year. With the uber-talented Jourdan Lewis waiting in the wings, now may be the time to sell your Brown stock.

IPO Report (aka rookie report)

There are several IPOs (initial public offerings) performing well but none more so than WR Michael Gallup. Gallup found himself open repeatedly and if a certain Cooper Rush pass was even remotely on time – he would have had two long TD passes on his stat sheet. He runs routes with subtly and nuance that translates to sustained success.

Joining Gallup in the plus column is G Connor Williams. He had quick error early but came back with a vengeance and played a great game and never allowed another pressure. LB Leighton Vander Esch also looked good in his first action. It appeared he could have played better in coverage a couple times, but for the most part, it was a strong showing.

Next. Training Camp is going great - except for at this position.... dark

Finally, DE Dornace Armstrong, a player the Dallas Cowboys aggressively hunted during the draft, looked like a budding star.

Published on 08/10/2018 at 13:00 PM
Last updated at 08/10/2018 at 13:11 PM

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