Joint practices are very important to coaching staffs around the league and that's no different for the Dallas Cowboys, whose head coach Mike McCarthy came away happy with his team's performance against the Los Angeles Rams ahead of the preseason opener to be played on Sunday . On Friday, McCarthy talked to reporters and inevitably fielded questions about who had stood out to him among younger players on Thursday and although he didn't elaborate a whole lot on specifics, he did mention four players by name that caught his eye. "(RB) Malik Davis had a really good day, really like some of the things that he did," McCarthy revealed .
"(Rookie wide receiver Ryan) Flournoy did some really good stuff, (TE) John Stephens had a nice play or two, Cooper Beebe did some good things." The short list McCarthy offered off the top of his head is actually a pretty interesting one for many reasons. Here are some thoughts on where each player currently stands going into the preseason.
RB Malik Davis Davis was left off of my latest 53-man roster projection but the Cowboys clearly like him as this will be his third year with the team. Davis, however, appears to be relatively buried on the depth chart. But with Royce Freeman and Deuce Vaughn both missing time with injuries, Davis must seize the opportunity to impress his coaches.
Davis has some special teams ability as well, so there's a legit path for him to survive roster cuts at the end of the month. It'll be an uphill battle for the former un.