Fans of the Dallas Cowboys are giddy now with some much positive reports coming out of camp in Oxnard, California.  It should be noted that its usually always positive during training camp but you can tell that there are some difference-makers making a name for themselves so far early into camp.

Here are 3 positive developments from camp and a not so good one as well.

Positive #1:

Xavier Woods has long been known as the guy that has the potential but nothing to show for it.  Last season changed that when the young safety was paired with secondary coach Kris Richard.

Woods had one of his best seasons and a lot of people thought he’d be a candidate for breakout player in 2019. He was also entering this camp with a chip on his shoulder because of the Cowboys pursuit of Earl Thomas in free agency.

Well, so far Woods has made good on his promises as he continues his outstanding play.

Another Xavier Woods interception. His third of training camp pic.twitter.com/amdFqGqdlo

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 4, 2019

Woods had himself a clean interception during the Blue/White scrimmage on Dak Prescott. He also finds himself all around the ball and the coaches and media have been raving about him.

If Woods plays like this in the regular season, look for the safety position to finally be solved.

Positive #2:

With Zeke still holding out, the Cowboys turned too veteran running back Alfred Morris to help out during camp. The thought was that the young pups in Tony Pollard and Mike Weber might not be ready for the increased workload. Both had early struggles.

Now both have made a big turnaround and had heads turned in camp.  Pollard is being praised for his quickness, which led to a nice touchdown run in practice.

Weber made some plays too and caught the eye of his Ohio-State mentor Zeke Elliott.  It is nice knowing that the team has some options if Zeke continues his holdout into the regular season.

Positive #3:

While Woods has gotten a lot of the attention on the defensive side, the coaches also want you to know about Maliek Collins.  The defensive tackle, entering the final year of his contract, has been dealing with foot injuries his entire career and has slowed what could have been a productive resume for the young player.

Now fully healthy, he seems ready to show off his true potential and the defensive coaches are gushing.

It seems that the strength from his legs is finally allowing him to show off all his tools and it’s allowing him to win his individual match-ups.  He was even able to pancake Cowboys guard Connor Williams.  He’s going to be a fun one to watch this season.

Negative:

Brett Maher

It may be too early to sound the panic bell, but keep an eye on it as kicker Brett Maher continues to give us doubts about his ability to be clutch. Remember Maher?

He beat out Dan Bailey to be the kicker in 2018 but struggled to be consistent during the season. While he is a beast when it comes to long kicks, the short game is where he struggles.

Now during camp, he is still struggling, including a 32-yard miss during the Blue/White scrimmage.  While they won’t do anything right now to address it, hopefully, the team is looking around the league for some help there. I have a feeling Maher isn’t going give much hope this year.

It’s still too early, but it’s still a great start to training camp.  Let’s see if these players can either keep improving or fall off the map.