DeMarcus Lawrence enjoys needling pass-rushing understudy Taco Charlton George Fant Jersey , who spent plenty of time in the offseason working out with the man who tied for second in sacks in the NFL last year for the Dallas Cowboys.

"He's aggravating," Lawrence said, trying not to show that he was joking. "I go places in Dallas thinking I'm by myself and two seconds later, I see Taco walk in. Why is he always following me?"

Maybe it's because Lawrence is coming off his best season at 14 1/2 sacks while Charlton is trying to deliver on first-round expectations in his second year.

Add Randy Gregory working to get his career back on track after a year away from the NFL on a substance-abuse suspension, and these recent high draft picks by the Cowboys, all defensive ends, offer an interesting trio of story lines going into 2018.

"Encore?" said Lawrence, who tied Jacksonville's Calais Campbell for second, 2 1/2 sacks behind Arizona's Chandler Jones. "You've just got to stay tuned. We're going to put on a big show this year."

Gregory was activated from the non-football injury list Wednesday following a yearlong suspension over multiple violations of the league's substance-abuse policy.

Coach Jason Garrett says the club did it to allow Gregory to be more active in morning walkthroughs at training camp in California. The Cowboys aren't in any hurry to have him participate in a full padded practice.

"He's been away from football for a long time," Garrett said. "He did a good job of keeping himself in shape. But again, we don't want to compromise him early on here and put him a couple of weeks behind where he should be, so we're going to progress deliberately here."

As for Lawrence and Charlton, it's full-speed ahead. Here's an overview of all three players a week into camp:

LAWRENCE'S MOTIVATION

The Cowboys put the franchise tag on Lawrence at the end of his four-year rookie deal Jack Crawford Jersey , and there weren't any contract discussions of substance before the deadline to sign a long-term deal expired.

Lawrence, who gets $17.1 million guaranteed this season, was the first pass rusher drafted by the Cowboys after they released franchise sacks leader DeMarcus Ware in 2014. Dallas traded up to early in the second round to get him.

He didn't get his first sack until his second season and had just nine through three years before a quick start in 2017 led to his breakthrough. Now the 26-year-old is playing for a big payday.

"As a kid, they tell you the sky's the limit. They lyin' to you," Lawrence said. "You set your own limits. That's why I said, 'Secure the bag,' because I'm going out there each and every day and showing my son and showing my family I set my own limits."

CHARLTON'S MODEL

The former Michigan player is actually three sacks ahead of Lawrence's pace. Charlton had three as a rookie after the Cowboys took him late in the first round. If nothing else, he knows patience is part of the formula.

The 23-year-old Charlton's debut in the NFL was Lawrence's first season without an injury or season-opening suspension, which Lawrence served in 2016.

"I talk trash, like, he didn't do nothing," Charlton said. "That's kind of how we wing it, 'Ah Cornellius Carradine Jersey , you didn't do nothing. Ah, you did this, I'm going to go faster.' It pushes us to go to that next level. Him doing what he did last year pushed me to try to do that same thing."

Charlton seems much more at ease, speaking freely and frequently with reporters during camp.

"The comfortability level is probably the biggest thing," he said. "There's not so much where I'm wide-eyed seeing what's going on. I roll out here like I belong and I can do whatever I need to do to progress."

GREGORY'S LONG ROAD

The former Nebraska standout has been suspended for 30 of the past 32 regular-season games for multiple violations of the substance-abuse policy.

Gregory was considered a first-round talent when he slid to near the end of the second round of the 2015 draft over off-field concerns that included a positive test for marijuana at the combine.

While he was cleared to return by Commissioner Roger Goodell not long before training camp, Gregory hasn't spoken to reporters. Garrett hesitated to indicate when Gregory might practice for the first time.

"You have brothers falling the wrong way, do you give up on them? No," Lawrence said. "We say togetherness, we say family for a reason. Randy's my brother. We stuck by him for this long time and it's time for him to ball now."

Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli, also the defensive line coach, said it's a first for him to have a player back after not seeing him for a year and a half.

"Each night we have a chance in our meetings, we visit," Marinelli said. "He knows the progression that he's got to go through. He's not going to walk out there and it's going to happen. As talented as he is Jerry Rice Jersey , it doesn't work that way. And he knows that."

The Philadelphia Eagles went from playoff spectators to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, an impressive one-season turnaround that was far from unprecedented in the modern NFL.

The Eagles were the seventh team in the past 19 seasons to pull off that trick in a sport that always goes through some significant playoff turnover each season.

There have been at least four new playoff teams each year since the NFL went to the 12-team format in 1990, including eight new postseason participants last season when the Eagles won it all.

With new blood coming into the playoffs each year, there are just as many teams heading another way, doomed by injuries, age, bad luck, poor coaching or other reasons.

Here's a look at three teams that could go from playoff spectators to participants, and three others that could go the opposite direction:

TRENDING UP

Houston Texans: Deshaun Watson showed flashes of becoming a star quarterback in six starts as a rookie before getting hurt. With the dynamic Watson on offense and a healthy J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus back on defense, the Texans could be in position to get back into the playoffs after a one-year hiatus. The Texans scored at least 33 points in Watson's final five starts and then went 1-8 after he had a season-ending injury in practice. Keeping Watson healthy will be necessary it the Texans are going to rebound.

Green Bay Packers: Green Bay's run of eight straight playoff appearances ended last season thanks mostly to a collarbone injury that limited star quarterback Aaron Rodgers to seven games. With Rodgers again healthy, the Packers should be among the contenders in the NFC, as they usually are. Green Bay was much more active this offseason under new GM Brian Gutekunst, adding prominent free agents like Jimmy Graham and Muhammad Wilkerson. New defensive coordinator Mike Pettine should bring a more aggressive approach that could help support Rodgers and the offense.

San Francisco 49ers: San Francisco won its final five games last year after making the switch to Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback. With Garoppolo signed long term and poised to take his 7-0 career record into his first full season as an NFL starter and coach Kyle Shanahan having much more talent in Year 2 at the helm Mike Hull Jersey , the Niners could have the pieces to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Free-agent running back Jerick McKinnon should spark the offense, and the defense has some key building blocks in DT DeForest Buckner and LB Reuben Foster. Richard Sherman could provide a defensive boost at cornerback if his Achilles tendon injury is healed.

TRENDING DOWN

Buffalo Bills: The Bills ended the longest playoff drought in North America's four major sports leagues when they made the postseason for the first time since 1999. Repeating that in coach Sean McDermott's second season will be a more difficult trick, especially with the change made at quarterback this offseason. Tyrod Taylor was traded to Cleveland, leaving either career backup A.J. McCarron or raw rookie Josh Allen as the top two options. Making the playoffs with one of those two at the helm would be a long shot, even in the weaker AFC.

Tennessee Titans: The Titans also ended a playoff drought last season, making the postseason for the first time since 2008 under third-year quarterback Marcus Mariota and coach Mike Mularkey. Even winning a postseason game wasn't enough for Mularkey to keep his job and Tennessee is now retooling under new coach Mike Vrabel. The Titans are in a tough division with Houston and Indianapolis likely taking big steps forward if Watson and Andrew Luck are healthy, and Jacksonville having one of the league's most talented rosters. That makes a return to the postseason a difficult proposition in Tennessee.

Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons took a step back last year after their Super Bowl collapse the previous season but still made the playoffs as a wild-card team. The offense regressed a bit after losing Shanahan as coordinator. There still is plenty of talent in Atlanta led by quarterback Matt Ryan and receiver Julio Jones, but the NFC is stacked, leaving little margin for error.

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