{"id":56909,"date":"2025-06-18T08:11:24","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T08:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909"},"modified":"2025-06-18T08:11:24","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T08:11:24","slug":"cowboys-second-round-pick-showed-up-to-minicamp-looking-like-a-different-player","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909","title":{"rendered":"Cowboys second-round pick showed up to minicamp looking like a different player"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"article-intro mb-4 text-darkGrey font-group-large md:font-group-normal lg:font-group-large\">A breakout season could be on the way for the former second-rounder.<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex items-center justify-between text-darkGrey font-group-bigger\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n<div class=\"mb-0 md:mb-9 relative md:mx-10 md:mb-9\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden bg-lightGrey\"><picture><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full\" title=\"Washington Commanders v Dallas Cowboys\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_448,y_72,w_4347,h_2445\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/GettyImages\/mmsport\/129\/01jxwsa4sgtdzmvn1ekq.jpg\" alt=\"Washington Commanders v Dallas Cowboys\" width=\"4347\" height=\"2445\" data-uw-rm-alt-original=\"Washington Commanders v Dallas Cowboys\" data-uw-rm-alt=\"ALT\" \/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"ml-1 pb-2 mt-4 md:m-3 text-darkGrey font-group-tiny\">Washington Commanders v Dallas Cowboys | Brandon Sloter\/GettyImages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex flex-wrap justify-center lg:justify-normal\">\n<div class=\"flex lg:mr-4 lg:w-[calc(70%-3em)] max-w-full\">\n<div class=\"hidden md:block md:mx-4 hidden md:block\" data-testid=\"share-menu\">\n<div class=\"sticky top-20 mb-3\" data-testid=\"share-menu-inner\">\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">With George Pickens, Kaiir Elam, and Brevyn Spann-Ford consuming headlines at OTAs and minicamp, other notable Dallas Cowboys players have flown under the radar.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Former second-round pick Sam Williams fits that description, though that was to be expected as he works his way back\u00a0from a torn ACL suffered in training camp\u00a0last year. Even though Williams only just returned to individual drills without a knee brace, his stock is trending up after head coach Brian Schottenheimer praised his physical transformation.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">\u201cBiceps look huge,\u201d\u00a0Schottenheimer said. \u201cHe\u2019s doing great &#8230; Again, no timetable, but you guys see him moving and the size and the speed and the athleticism. I run down there and check on those guys a lot just to see how they&#8217;re doing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Cowboys DE Sam Williams&#8217; new physique could lead to a breakout season<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Williams&#8217; physique was among the biggest takeaways from offseason workouts. One photo in particular\u00a0shared to the Cowboys&#8217; official website\u00a0encapsulates just how much muscle mass Williams tacked on in the offseason.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">The former Ole Miss star has natural pass-rush ability. Between his get-off, bend and hand work, it&#8217;s not at all surprising he compiled 8.5 sacks, 45 pressures and a 73.8 PFF pass-rush grade in two seasons before his knee injury. That all came as a sub-package rusher.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Coming out of college, Williams was viewed as a player that needed to add strength to warrant consideration for a three-down role. That added muscle should help him be more competitive against the run, which is one of the biggest knocks on his game.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Williams will ultimately be judged on how he rushes the passer, but it is highly encouraging that he used the down time post-surgery to focus on his physique.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">For any fans worried if the new muscle will impact Williams&#8217; speed (his calling card as a pass rusher), that does not seem to be an issue.\u00a0His top speed of 21.4 mph\u00a0at minicamp clocked as the second-fastest on the team behind CeeDee Lamb&#8217;s 21.9 mph.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">Does a fast sprint time without pads and bigger biceps mean Williams will post 10 sacks this season? Of course not. The Cowboys may have one too many pass rushers for Williams to flirt with double digits.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">However, Williams clearly knows what&#8217;s on the line this season.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\">He&#8217;s on the last year of his rookie deal. His future in Dallas hinges on his 2025 performance. It is encouraging he tacked on the right kind of weight and is ready to rock after the 2024 season was taken from him before it even started.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A breakout season could be on the way for the former second-rounder. Washington Commanders v Dallas Cowboys | Brandon Sloter\/GettyImages With George Pickens, Kaiir Elam, and Brevyn&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56910,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cowboys second-round pick showed up to minicamp looking like a different player - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cowboys second-round pick showed up to minicamp looking like a different player - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A breakout season could be on the way for the former second-rounder. Washington Commanders v Dallas Cowboys | Brandon Sloter\/GettyImages With George Pickens, Kaiir Elam, and Brevyn...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-18T08:11:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/01jxwsa4sgtdzmvn1ekq.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"405\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909\",\"name\":\"Cowboys second-round pick showed up to minicamp looking like a different player - 24\/7 News America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/01jxwsa4sgtdzmvn1ekq.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-18T08:11:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-18T08:11:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/01jxwsa4sgtdzmvn1ekq.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/01jxwsa4sgtdzmvn1ekq.jpg\",\"width\":720,\"height\":405},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Cowboys second-round pick showed up to minicamp looking like a different player\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"24\/7 News America\",\"description\":\"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cowboys second-round pick showed up to minicamp looking like a different player - 24\/7 News America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Cowboys second-round pick showed up to minicamp looking like a different player - 24\/7 News America","og_description":"A breakout season could be on the way for the former second-rounder. Washington Commanders v Dallas Cowboys | Brandon Sloter\/GettyImages With George Pickens, Kaiir Elam, and Brevyn...","og_url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909","og_site_name":"24\/7 News America","article_published_time":"2025-06-18T08:11:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":720,"height":405,"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/01jxwsa4sgtdzmvn1ekq.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909","name":"Cowboys second-round pick showed up to minicamp looking like a different player - 24\/7 News America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/01jxwsa4sgtdzmvn1ekq.jpg","datePublished":"2025-06-18T08:11:24+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-18T08:11:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/01jxwsa4sgtdzmvn1ekq.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/01jxwsa4sgtdzmvn1ekq.jpg","width":720,"height":405},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56909#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Cowboys second-round pick showed up to minicamp looking like a different player"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/","name":"24\/7 News America","description":"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914","name":"Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=56909"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56911,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56909\/revisions\/56911"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/56910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=56909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=56909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}