Mike McCarthy reveals changes Connor McGovern made ahead of Cowboys position battle

The NFL offseason is a time for plenty of players across the league to take time away from the physical pounding and pummeling of game action to get their bodies and physiques finely tuned for the grind that is the regular season. This week, Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy recently said that former Penn State Nittany Lion Connor McGovern has done an excellent job of getting himself in the best shape of his life.

“Well, I think Connor has done an excellent job. I think like anything, you control what you can control. And we have so many players, and he’s one of them right there that, we have Captain’s workouts. These guys have been here since February and Connor’s one of those guys,” the Dallas Cowboys’ head coach said.

“So, this is clearly the best shape he’s been in. It’s the strongest [shape] that he’s been in. The numbers that he’s pushed. His body index. All those components of really what you look for. He’s maxed out at this time of year to get ready for the competition,” McCarthy said.

The former third round selection in the 2019 NFL Draft has played in multiple positions over the years for the Cowboys, right guard, fullback, and tight end.

McGovern has been surprising in team drills this offseason and he was recently taking first team reps at left guard ahead of Tyler Smith, a man that some had pegged to be the Week 1 starter at the position this upcoming season for Dallas. There are still plenty of questions around the offensive line that need to be answered in the upcoming months.

McGovern isn’t the only Cowboys player who has looked in great shape this offseason a few months away from the 2022-2023 season. The Dallas head coach has also said that his star signal-caller, Dak Prescott, is in great shape, too.

Cowboys’ quarterback Dak Prescott has looked in great shape, too

Mike McCarthy addressed his star quarterback’s health this week during mini-camp, noting that his health is “clearly different” than this time last year.

“It’s been huge,” McCarthy said. “It’s been huge for him, it’s been huge for everybody. All the little things that we do- particularly the meetings, the walkthroughs and all of that – they’re important, obviously. But just for him to have no limits has been outstanding, and I think you clearly see it in the way he’s moving this year. You look at his body: he’s clearly different than he was last year. He’s leaner, more flexible.”

A leaner, more flexible Dak is great news for the Cowboys who are hoping he can be more involved in the run and RPO game in 2022.

In the first three seasons of his NFL career, Prescott rushed for 270+ years each year, with six rushing touchdowns apiece as well. He posted his lowest yards per rush average in 2021 at 3.0 with a total of 146 yards rushing and one score, along with nine fumbles. His seven rushing first downs were also the fewest of his career.

The Cowboys cancelled Wednesday’s practice to hold a team bonding event, per Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News.

On3’s Nikki Chavanelle and Nick Schultz also contributed to this article.