Thomas isn't simply a talented NFL player, but also a philanthropist in the local community, primarily by way of his charity, "The Defensive Line", that focuses on teaching youth the ins and outs of football but, most importantly, the importance of mental health and mental health awareness — the goal being to reduce youth suicide after having lost his sister to in the past.

Signing with the Cowboys is a big deal for Thomas, considering he is an alum of Coppell High School, located northwest of the Dallas Metroplex, and what many don't know is that his time in North Texas was preceded by several childhood years spent living in Australia.

Thomas was ranked as the nation's 20th-best overall recruit coming out of Coppell High, and a five-star recruit by at least one metric when he committed to playing for Stanford.

Hailing from a family of athletes, Thomas' parents were active at a high level in sports as well. His father, Chris, played collegiate basketball, while his mother, Martha, ran collegiate track and his uncle, Jon, became a four-time Big-Ten 400m hurdles champion at Indiana.

Thomas didn't take the field as a freshman at Stanford, but he used that as motivation to take the Cardinals and the conference by storm, winning a list of accolades as a junior, including the Morris Trophy for being named best defensive lineman in the conference in 2016.

Only one defensive end was ranked higher than Thomas as he entered the 2017 NFL Draft, and that person was none other than Myles Garrett, a nod to Thomas' near-limitless ceiling en route to becoming the third-overall pick that year.

Milton was a composite four-star recruit in the class of 2018 out of Olympia High School in Orlando, Florida. He received 25 offers in high school, but decided to commit to the Michigan Wolverines over his hometown Florida Gators, where he'd spend the first three seasons of his college football career.

After two years as a backup and a 2-3 record as the starter in Michigan's 2020 COVID season, Milton entered the transfer portal and headed to Knoxville to play at Tennessee. After serving as the backup for a majority of the 2021 season and again in 2022, until he replaced an injured Hendon Hooker at the tail end of the season. The highlight was Milton's MVP performance in the Orange Bowl against Clemson, where he threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns against the Tigers in his home state.

Milton's sixth and final season of college football saw him finally take the reigns as the starter for a team throughout the entire season, leading Tennessee to an 8-4 record with 2,813 yards and 20 touchdowns to just five interceptions over the course of the season. It wasn't the full season that Milton or the Vols wanted, but he left Knoxville with plenty of upside and more starting tape on his film heading into the NFL Draft process.

The NFL combine was made for quarterbacks like Joe Milton, who have cannons of arms that can air the ball out deep and draw "ooo's" and "ahh's" from the crowd on hand. Milton took that to the next level, airing out deep balls on go routes 70 yards or longer with a simple flick of his wrist. At Tennessee's pro day, Milton's throwing session was highlighted by an 80-yard throw that went viral on social media.

The New England Patriots selected Milton in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, where he played behind third overall pick Drake Maye for his rookie season. Milton got his first NFL shot in the Patriots' final game of the season against the Buffalo Bills, who were resting most of their starters for the playoffs, and he capitalized on his opportunity. Milton went 22 of 29 through the air for 241 yards and a touchdown, adding 10 carries for 16 yards and a rushing touchdown on the ground en route to a 23-16 win.

After the big finish to his rookie season, Milton got an early fresh start in his career when the Patriots traded him and a seventh-round pick to the Cowboys for a 2025 fifth-round pick. With both Cooper Rush and Trey Lance gone, Milton will compete with Will Grier for the backup quarterback job in Dallas behind Dak Prescott, with the chance to earn a long-term role on the team going forward if he develops.

Pickens was a composite five-star prospect out of Hoover, Alabama in the 2019 recruiting class. After initially committing to Auburn, he flipped to Georgia on National Signing Day and would go on to play for the Bulldogs in all three seasons of his collegiate career.

Pickens' brother Chris Humes, was a star defensive back at Arkansas State and later spent a training camp and preseason with the Raiders.

Heading into his junior season, Pickens suffered a torn ACL in spring practice, a brutal blow for Georgia's offense and Pickens' NFL outlook. He'd end up returning later on in the season, and stamped himself as a top player in the upcoming draft with a 52-yard diving catch in the 2021 national championship game against Alabama, which Georgia won 33-18.

In his rookie season with the Steelers, Pickens made a one-handed catch against the Browns that had some NFL pundits comparing it to Odell Beckham's catch against the Cowboys in 2014.

In 2023, Pickens led the entire NFL in average per catch at 18.1 yards. One of the games that catapulted him to that lofty average occurred against the Bengals. Pickens not only hauled in an 86-yard touchdown pass – the longest reception from scrimmage by any NFL player that year – but also had a 66-yarder in the same game. Pickens is one of just 13 players in NFL history to record multiple TDs of 65 yards or more in the same game.

After a brief stint with No. 13, Pickens is now settled into the jersey of No. 3 after a switch with defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. Pickens attended nearly every one of the voluntary OTAs and all of the minicamp, alongside CeeDee Lamb. Pickens and Lamb are looking to become just the fourth wide receiver duo in Cowboys history to have 1,000-yard seasons in the same year. Only Amari Cooper/Michael Gallup (2019), Terry Glenn/Terrell Owens (2006) and Tony Hill/Drew Pearsons (1979) have accomplished that feat.