Five Dallas Cowboys whose stock is already soaring high even before the pads come on in training camp

They say training camp isn't real until the pads come on. While it's true you can't evaluate a player when live contact is limited, to say it doesn't matter at all is an overstatement.

Ahead of the Dallas Cowboys' first padded practice on Sunday, I'm listing four players and a coach whose stocks are already up even before the pads come on. 

Let's dive in. 

1. Brian Schottenheimer, head coach

I hate to be that guy and lead off with the head coach instead of a player but Schottenheimer's stock is way up and there's no point in hiding it Three reasons for that: 

1. The Cowboys are showing they were serious about implementing pre-snap motion to the offense and it's something we've seen in every practice so far. It's also about how they've used motion.
2. I don't know how much "high energy" practices are supposed to translate in the win column but the change is palpable. Players and coaches are fired up since warmups. Practice looks different to previous years. Will it matter? Who knows. But it's real. 
3. If you're worried about the Cowboys having a too-friendly kind of coach, don't be fooled by Schottenheimer's attitude. When the first fight broke out, the head coach quickly got everyone in line by threatening to kick out players who got into scraps. One day later, teammates quickly broke up an exchange between WR CeeDee Lamb and CB Kemon Hall. 

2. Kenneth Murray, linebacker

In OTAs and minicamp, the linebacker that was stealing all the headlines was Jack Sanborn. But Kenneth Murray is drawing praise from the coaching staff and working with the ones. Schottenheimer confirmed he was wearing the green dot for the defense, denoting the player with comms with the coaching staff.

"What I’m finding, now that I’m getting to know (Murray. . .) is the leadership he possesses," Schottenheimer said Wednesday. "He’s a grown-ass man out there. He takes charge. He makes a lot of the checks, he’s very smart, and he’s wearing the green dot for us in a lot of the things we’re doing."

There's a big chance the first-round rookie becomes the starter at middle linebacker over Sanborn. 

3. Donovan Ezeiruaku, defensive end

Pads have yet to come on. But Ezeiruaku's get off speed and technique is turning heads as predicted by all those who considered him a major draft steal back in April. In the clip below, the second-round rookie gets the would-be-sack after getting a head start vs. left tackle Tyler Guyton.