Clint Brakebill Sports

For once, the Dallas Cowboys arrived in Oxnard without a contract standoff swallowing training camp.

There is no holdout dominating the conversation. No major injury list hanging over the roster. No offseason drama taking attention away from football.

That leaves the Cowboys with something much simpler to prove.

Are they actually good enough?

Dallas opens training camp Wednesday afternoon in Oxnard, California, coming off a 7-9-1 season that left the Cowboys out of the playoffs for the second straight year. Brian Schottenheimer is entering his second season as head coach, and while this may have been a relatively quiet offseason by Cowboys standards, the expectations have not gotten any quieter.

Jerry Jones still believes this team can contend for a Super Bowl.

“I feel like we’ve got a chance to really be good,” Jones said as the Cowboys opened camp. “It’s going to be hard.”

That is not exactly a low bar for a team that finished below .500 last season.

The offense gives Dallas reason to believe it can get back into the postseason conversation. Dak Prescott is back. CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens give him one of the better receiving combinations in football, and the Cowboys believe they can be even better offensively in Year 2 under Schottenheimer.

The season, though, may come down to what happens on the other side of the ball.

Dallas was one of the worst defensive teams in franchise history last season. The Cowboys allowed more than 30 points per game and spent the offseason making changes throughout the unit.

Christian Parker takes over as defensive coordinator after coming over from Philadelphia. The Cowboys added new personnel, could have as many as seven new starters on defense and will enter camp trying to figure out how quickly all of those pieces can come together.

Veteran safety Malik Hooker described the change as “a breath of fresh air.”

“We always had, on paper, a talented defense, but it’s not just about being talented,” Hooker said. “It’s about putting it all together and being disciplined with it.”

That may be the biggest question of camp.

Can Parker take a group that struggled badly a year ago and make it good enough to support an offense that should score points?

It probably does not need to become the best defense in football overnight. But if Dallas seriously expects to contend deep into January, simply improving from terrible to average may not be enough.

The first place to watch will be up front.

The Cowboys have rebuilt the defensive line around Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark, but there is no obvious answer yet when it comes to who will consistently get to the quarterback off the edge.

Donovan Ezeiruaku enters his second season after recording two sacks as a rookie. Malachi Lawrence arrives as a first-year player who could earn an immediate role. Rashan Gary gives the Cowboys another veteran option, while Sam Williams and others will also compete for snaps.

Dallas may not have one dominant pass rusher carrying the defense. Parker may have to create pressure with depth, rotations and scheme.

That makes the first few weeks of camp especially important.

Offensively, the biggest question may be at left tackle.

Tyler Guyton is expected to get the first opportunity there, with Tyler Smith lining up at left guard. But Schottenheimer has made it clear the Cowboys plan to move players around and eventually settle on their best five offensive linemen.

Smith will get work at tackle. Tyler Booker will get snaps at center. Terrence Steele could move around as well.

For Guyton, that makes this a significant camp.

The former first-round pick is entering his third season and has yet to completely lock down the position. If he struggles, Dallas has one of the best guards in football sitting next to him who has already proven he can play tackle.

That is not a move the Cowboys necessarily want to make, but it is one they are preparing for.

Beyond the starters, several roster battles should start to take shape almost immediately.

Sam Howell and Joe Milton are competing for the backup quarterback job. The Cowboys have decisions to make at the back end of the wide receiver room. The final spots at cornerback, linebacker and edge rusher could also come down to what happens in Oxnard and during the preseason.

Still, this camp feels less about finding out who the Cowboys are and more about finding out whether the roster they already built is good enough.

Most of the major pieces are in place.

Dallas is also entering camp remarkably healthy. Schottenheimer said the Cowboys will not open with anyone on the physically unable to perform or non-football injury lists, although players including DaRon Bland and Ezeiruaku could be monitored early after offseason rehab.

So there are fewer excuses.

The Cowboys have their quarterback. Their receivers are in place. Their offensive line has options. They rebuilt much of the defense and hired a new coordinator to fix it.

Now comes the part that matters.

“It’s our time now,” Schottenheimer said. “And now what we do on the field is what matters.”

For Dallas, that starts Wednesday in Oxnard.