IRVING, Texas - Attention all players from the 2006 draft, and even the ones from 2007 as well, the time is now.
The grace period, trial period, rookie exemption period or any other slack-cutting excuses are all over. Training camp is about a month away and there is no more room for error for the vast majority of these two draft classes.
Especially the 2006 crop, which enters its fourth season. For the guys left on that list, every single one of them should feel the pressure to perform at a high level or they could be on the outs here with the Cowboys. And the same goes for the 2007 class, although there is one exception and maybe two.
Still, for the 11 players still around from those two drafts, it's time to shine.
With a very productive 2008 draft that has the Cowboys' first five picks all projected to either start or get extensive playing time, coupled with 12 more picks this past April with many of them expected to play on special teams, there isn't much room for higher-priced, inexperienced and somewhat inconsistent vets.
Cheaper players with upside will usually beat out players who have been around but still haven't produced. Just the way it works.
So that being said, the pressure is rising for these so-called "young vets."
Let's start with 2006, and it doesn't get any more specific than the first-round pick from that draft. Bobby Carpenter hasn't lived up to the potential and it doesn't take a genius to figure that out. When you select a player in the first round, you expect to him play. If not right away, at least by his second year. And so far, Carpenter has started just one game in his career and he's not even pegged to start this year.
But there is a role seemingly in place for him. With Kevin Burnett now in San Diego, Carpenter is penciled in to replace him as the starting linebacker in the nickel defense. That's where he worked all summer, but he'll have to be much better than drafted rookies Jason Williams and Stephen Hodge.
I've said too many times that Carpenter deserves a fair shake and I'm not sure he's really received one yet. He's been moved from inside to outside and back and forth a couple more times. Just put the guy at one spot and let him play. I'm convinced you're going to find the first-round draft pick at some point. But that's just my take.
As Wade Phillips said last week after the conclusion of the mini-camp, the thing with Bobby is that he "has to perform well in the games." And that's what will make or break his chances of sticking around. Those preseason games when Bradie James and Keith Brooking will either rest completely or after a series or two, Carpenter will get a shot to shine and he must do so. If not, the Cowboys will likely just go younger with their two draft picks.
Other 2006 picks that need to step up include third-rounder Jason Hatcher, who has battled through a couple of injuries this off-season that kept him out most of the summer. Instead of letting him take the place of the departed Chris Canty, the Cowboys signed Igor Olshansky, who has experience in Phillips' 3-4 scheme. So it doesn't seem likely that Hatcher will have a great shot to compete for a starting job. That means he will presumably continue his role as a backup, alongside Stephen Bowen and Marcus Dixon, whom the Cowboys are very high on.
Hatcher's job is probably not in jeopardy but as a fourth-year player not expected to start, he has to have a solid camp as well.
The same goes for Pat Watkins, although he might just be on the outside looking in. As a fifth-round pick in 2006, Watkins has started nine games and has been a serviceable backup and quality special teams player. His injuries have been an issue, forcing him to miss half the season last year.
With the Cowboys signing Gerald Sensabaugh, drafting Michael Hamlin and experimenting with Courtney Brown, Alan Ball and rookie DeAngelo Smith as possible "tweener" players at corner and safety, there might not be a lot of room for Watkins.
His saving grace could always be special teams. He led the team with 25 special teams tackles in 2007 and he told me before last season he would break the club record of 32 tackles and do it in just 10 games. That's hard to do when you only play eight.
The fourth and last player from the 2006 draft is Pat McQuistan, who hasn't really done anything and that's not entirely his fault. Flozell Adams has been a Pro Bowler. Marc Colombo might just be the most underappreciated player on the team.
They're good. They start. That means McQuistan sits. And that could be the way it goes this year, too. But at least McQuistan has moved inside to guard this summer, so he'll be competing with guys like Cory Procter and maybe Montrae Holland, if he doesn't beat out Kyle Kosier for the starting job. McQuistan would be a valuable player to take on game days because he could play both guard and tackle. Still, he can't afford to have a poor training camp.
Moving on to the 2007 season, the urgency might not be as high as the previous draft class, but it's close.
Seven of the eight players remain on the roster, and only two of them are penciled in as starters. It begins with the first-round pick that year - Anthony Spencer - who has some things to prove, despite being the projected starter to replace the recently-cut Greg Ellis.
Parting ways with a player who has more than 20 sacks the last two years isn't an easy move, especially when it involves a player who has been around for 10 seasons. So with Ellis gone, all eyes will be on Spencer, whose off-field shenanigans this past spring didn't go unnoticed.
And if that's not enough, Spencer should have some healthy competition behind him in fourth-round picks Brandon Williams and Victor Butler, who will be pushing each other in order to get that all-important third spot. The third guy will be active each week while the fourth player, unless he's a valuable special teamer, could be a week-to-week decision in regards to the active list.
Since the Cowboys had already seen enough of James Marten, a third-round pick from 2007 who was cut before last season, that should've served as a nice wake-up call to others in that draft.
Fourth-round picks Isaiah Stanback and Doug Free know time is running out. Free is at least one of the backup tackles, along with rookie Robert Brewster. As for Stanback, his injuries have been chronicled for a while now. They have limited his development as a receiver and his transition from a college quarterback.
This is his third year and so far he hasn't really done a thing. He knows it. He's frustrated. But Stanback knows he must not only stay healthy, but shine bright enough to convince the team he's got a future at wide receiver. And, that's he got more upside and potential than say a Manual Johnson or Mike Jefferson for that fifth spot.
Nick Folk is a starter. He's a Pro Bowl kicker who has made 86.8 percent of his field goals the last two years. He's a solid as it gets in that department, but he is coming off hip/labral surgery on his kicking leg that won't be completely healthy until right at the start of camp. With the drafting of David Buehler, a kickoff specialist, even Folk knows he must step up his game in that department to leave no doubt with the coaches. Whether or not Folk's job or his role as the starting kicker is up for grabs, he's treating it as such. And with that, it won't be an easy camp for Folk.
And lastly, the seventh-round picks in 2007, both Ball and Brown have looked rather sharp here in the summer OTA and mini-camp practices. Their versatility is being tested as both players have spent time at safety and cornerback. Who knows where each of them will end up, but obviously they fall into that "the more you can do" category that should help their value.
Still, neither player is a lock to make the roster, especially if players such as Mike Mickens or DeAngelo Smith or Michael Hamlin turn it on when camp begins.
Because those guys are draft picks. Current draft picks, which hold a little more weight, regardless if they are contributing right away.
The players picked in 2006 and 2007 know the feeling. But they don't have the same luxury anymore.
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Nick Eatman - 
