The Dallas Cowboys Have a SURPRISE Star at Training Camp…

The Dallas Cowboys Have a SURPRISE Star at Training Camp…

The Dallas Cowboys traded for George Pickkins this off seasonason to pair with CD Lamb, which was perfect. A wide receiver 1A, a wide receiver 1B, but it feels like that move kind of outshine some other stuff that Dallas has tried to do to build this wide receiver room. And for good reason. Pickins is going to be great for this team. He’s been great throughout training camp. But there’s another guy in this wide receiver room that’s been playing very, very well throughout Cowboys training camp. A lot of Cowboys fans have kind of written this guy off. NFL media has kind of written him off as well, but through the first week and a half of camp, not that long, but still he’s been balling out. So, I wanted to talk about Jonathan Mingo in today’s video. Let’s not waste any time and get into it. [Music] So, I was trying to figure out a way to go about talking about Mingo, and I I think I figured it out. Right. First, we got to talk about the trade. the trade that seemingly everyone has kind of forgotten about unless you were really mad that they gave up a fourth round pick. I know we were talking about it during the draft. We really wanted to probably get our running back in the fourth, but Jaden Blue ended up falling to the fifth. Mingo was selected 39th overall in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft by the Panthers. And in 2023, he had a pretty good rookie season. He had 43 catches, 418 yards. He didn’t have a touchdown, but he played in 15 games. It was a good start to his career, a good building block for what was to come. And then when it got there, it wasn’t great. Right before he was traded to Dallas with Carolina, he had 12 catches for 121 yards in nine games. And then ultimately, Dallas traded for him. The Cowboys acquired Mingo plus a 2025 seventh round pick from Carolina in exchange for a 2025 fourth. At the time, Cowboys fans were very mad, pissed, I would say. And for good reason. And what Mingo did in eight games for the Cowboys to end 2024 really didn’t help his case. He caught five passes for 46 yards playing with quarterback Cooper Rush. As bad as it was to end the season, and it certainly wasn’t all on Mingo. I promise you that. I do think that this move was for 2025. I think that’s where this is where the Cowboys really want to reap the rewards of trading for a guy, although giving up a little too much draft capital to do it, but having him here for half a season and then having a full off season training camp and then starting the year with him, which does make sense no matter the draft capital. But I wanted to ask you guys a question really quick. And I wrote this down while I was trying to go through Mingo’s career, why I think, you know, he could end up being the wide receiver three for this team. from some of the notes that I got from his camp so far. But I wanted to ask you, is this really a make or break year for him, right? Because he’s in his third year as a pro. Jaylen Tolbert is in his fourth. Would that mean that Mingo, you know, has limited time here? I don’t think the the Cowboys are going to bring Tolbert back. We kind of know what he is at this point. Unless he goes crazy this year and turns into a completely different player, I don’t see him being here in 2026. So that kind of to me gives Mingo another year. They might give him more opportunities so they can build on it even more in 2026. Like you if you have these two guys that are really really close in Tober and Mingo, wouldn’t you want to play the guy that you expect to be here longer? That I mean that at least makes sense to me. So I wanted to ask you guys, make or break year for him? I don’t think it is. There’s always a chance that Dallas resigns Pickkins and then maybe drafts a wide receiver next year because they love drafting wide receivers, although not in the first round, but maybe Pickkins is here long term. So is I mean obviously Lamb. I just wanted to ask you guys that real that question really quick. And now I wanted to talk about what he’s done so far in camp. He’s had super reliable hands. That was a problem with him in Carolina. And I’m going to explain why that was such a problem here in a moment. But he’s had really reliable hands. I haven’t seen any reports of a drop. He’s made some really good contested catches on slants, on go balls. He had a really nice contested catch against I can’t remember the corner’s name uh from Joe Milton. He had a really nice catch on a slant from Dak Prescott. The corner draped all over him. He was able to box him out, secure the pass, nice hands catch, and he’s also had really good chemistry with Joe Milton and Dak Prescott. Like, he’s hauled in quite a few passes from both of those guys. And I think that’s where when I watched his film in Carolina last year when I made a video on him when the Cowboys traded for him, everybody was really mad about the value. Why would you trade for Mingo? He wasn’t good. I went back and watched his film. And then I watched the rest of his season in Dallas as well. And I want to tell you guys, I have never felt worse for a player in my entire life than I have for Jonathan Mingo. Watching him play with Bryce Young. And although after he left, Bryce did become a better quarterback, got benched for a couple weeks, whatever. But just watching some of the throws and routes that when he did get separation, how many yards were left on the field was incredibly bad. It was sad all the way around. And when the Panthers drafted him and Bryce Young at the same time, that was supposed to be a duo. But Bryce was throwing picks. He was starting to get, you know, a little bit more antsy. Mingo’s not a separator, so it’s not a see guy, get open, throw ball. you have to throw this guy open, you have to trust him to go up and make a play. And Mingo also has to trust the quarterback, which I don’t think was happening. But this year in Cowboys camp, based on what we’ve seen, Mingo trust Milton and Dak. And ultimately, both of those guys are going to be his saving grace. His chemistry and connection with Milton might be his ticket to the wide receiver three role. This is the guy he’s going to be playing with in the preseason. Milton’s connected with him. He’s missed a couple deep balls by just, you know, 6 in to a foot. But I think they’re also going to start reeling that in. And Milton and Mingo in the preseason might end up being a really deadly duo and outplaying, you know, Tolber or I I don’t doubt Turpin’s going to get a whole lot of work, but definitely Jaylen Brooks, Ryan Florenoy. It just seems like right now that Milton and Mingo have worked really really well together. Plus, he’s been getting reps with Dak Prescott, which is what ultimately matters. get in there, work with the first team, how does he work with Pickkins on the field, with Lamb? Does Dak trust him? Is he where he’s supposed to be? And I think that’s a big thing for him going into this year. Does he have a quarterback that he can trust? If I’m in the right spot at the right time, are they going to deliver a ball that I can actually go up and get? No offense to Bryce Young, but there was moments where he would throw the ball 10 foot over his head or throw it at his feet. Mingo might not be at the right place at the right time. He just wasn’t trusting himself. and he came out in an interview and talked about how he just feels like he’s playing more freely in Dallas. He’s not thinking so much. To me, that says a lot about the quarterback. Bryce might get there one day, but Dak Prescott’s a 10ear vet that has thrown to god knows how many wide receivers throughout his career. And Joe Milton has just been really good during these camps getting his wide receivers the ball, actually facilitating the offense. So, for Mingo, he has both quarterbacks kind of on his side. The connection’s been good with those two guys. And so far, based on the reports of the group going for the wide receiver three role, he has been the best of the bunch. So, I started thinking about it. What does it look like with Mingo as the wide receiver three, right? I think I kind of pinned it down. I always think back to the 2021 season with Cedric Wilson. What type of receiver he was for that team could not be understated. Dallas still had Amari Cooper, they still had CD Lamb, they had Michael Gallop, and they had Cedric Wilson. Now, he was the fourth wide receiver, but there were just plays and moments. If you didn’t have him, I’m not sure you would have won the games that you did. I think to the 2021 game against the Patriots on a fourth and three, Cedric Wilson on a little drag route underneath. Dak throws it up, he goes high points the ball, first down to keep the drive alive. Now, Wilson wasn’t some big play threat. He wasn’t the thousand yard guy that Lamb or Cooper was, but he was that possession wide receiver that in got to have it moments that Dak could trust and go to because the defense is going to be worried about CD. They’re going to be worried about Pickkins. They’re going to be looking at Ferguson. What running back do you have in the back field? Maybe it’s Jaden Blue. And then you have your third wide receiver in Mingo. And he’s the guy that kind of creeps out the back door, makes a big play. So, I think that’s the role that he really fits. And then Cedric Wilson did get his opportunities throughout the year uh in the red zone. I think Mingo could be a good red zone type receiver because of his ability, his physicality, how he can box out defenders. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s physical with the ball in the air. So, I think he could also fill that role as well. But I just think back to Cedric Wilson in 2021, how dependable he was. Now, he wasn’t, like I said, he wasn’t some big play threat. He wasn’t doing anything crazy, but when you needed him to show up, he showed up. And so far, I know we’re a week and a half into camp. Mingo’s kind of been that guy. Now, the hope is that he doesn’t kind of resort back to what we saw with the Panthers with the drop issues, the quarterback not being able to trust him because drops were an issue for him. Uh I don’t think they were so much at Old Miss. I can’t remember if I saw his drop rate at Old Miss, but it seems to me like he trusts the quarterback. He trusts that he’s going to be in the right spot at the right time, and he’s going to go make a play against any corner. And I also think about his ability as a run blocker. Clayton Adams, Brian Shottenheimimer, Connor Riley, like all of those guys are going to be scamming up stuff and runs to the outside. Like Mingo’s gonna or the third wide receiver, whoever it ends up being, the wide receivers for this offense are going to have to be able to block. All of the things that make Mingo a good deep threat or 50/50 ball catcher. Like those things also translate as a run blocker. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s physical, he can push corners out of the way, give his give his running back a chance to break one off. That’s kind of what I envision for him. But he’s still, like I wrote down, he’s still competing with Turpin, who has been here for quite a while. What Dallas plans on doing with really any of these guys, what they plan on implementing in their offense consistently, we don’t know yet, right? We got to see this team over a three or four game stretch to really get the vibe. Are they going to want to go three wide receivers with Lamb, Pickkins, and then Turpin? because that kind of gives you three different variations. Or are they going to want to go lamb on the inside in the slot and then you have Mingo and then you have Pickkins when they have their three wide receiver sets out there. Get a little bit a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger at wide receiver. They want the speed with Turpin. As of right now, I do think because of what I said earlier with Tolbert being in his fourth year, Mingo being in his third, that if Dallas plans on him being here past 2025, that they’re going to give him every single opportunity to get as many reps as he possibly can because they have more investment in him long term. Think about how good this offense could be. CDI Lamb obviously big play threat. George Pickkins, another big play threat. They just paid Jake Ferguson. Hopefully he’s back. a super reliable tight end that can also create explosive plays up the seam. And then you have that third possession guy that can win on slants, win at the sticks, be able to box guys out, pick up a first down when you really need it on third and four, third and five, or maybe even be able to win in the red zone. Like that’s the type of guy that this offense is really missing. What do Brian Shanheimer and Clayton Adams have planned for that guy? We’re really going to have to wait and see. But as of right now, a week and a half into camp, maybe I’m getting a little bit ahead of myself, but a week and a half into camp. Right now, I think Jonathan Mingo might end up beating out Jaylen Tolbert. But you guys, let me know what you think down below. Hopefully this video wasn’t too much of a rant. Hopefully I didn’t rant too much. Thank you guys so much for watching. If you enjoyed, please be sure to leave a like and subscribe to the channel. We’re trying to hit 50,000 subscribers. 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The #dallascowboys have a NEW WR3? 👀👀

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