DeMarcus Lawrence enjoys needling pass-rushing understudy Taco Charlton P.K Subban 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 Semyon Varlamov Jersey , 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, 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 Womens Tyler Eifert Jersey ," Charlton said. "That's kind of how we wing it, 'Ah, 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 Scott Darling Jersey , 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, it doesn't work that way. And he knows that."

James Harrison and Malcolm Butler can probably trade notes when it comes to Super Bowl-changing defensive plays.

The two New England Patriots teammates are the authors of perhaps the two most memorable from the first 51 Super Bowls. One a game-sealing interception and the other a 100-yard return that provided a 14-point swing.

”They’re both all-time great plays,” said NFL Network analyst Willie McGinest, who played in four Super Bowls with the Patriots. ”I don’t want to rank them against each other. They both were game-changers.”

Butler’s interception at the goal line that turned what looked like a Seattle repeat title into the fourth championship for Tom Brady and the Patriots three years ago might be the most impactful play of any kind in the Super Bowl when it comes to determining the champion.

”It feels like yesterday, but life goes that fast,” Butler said.

Butler was an unlikely hero that game. He played just one-sixth of New England’s defensive snaps all season and was on the field for just 17 defensive plays before being put in on the goal line at the end of the game.

He then stepped in front of Ricardo Lockette on a slant pattern and intercepted Russell Wilson’s pass to stake his place in Super Bowl history.

”Just be ready. Just be ready,” he said of his attitude that day. ”I might not play, but I’m going to prepare like I’m going to play and I got the result.”

Harrison’s impact was much less of a surprise considering he was the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 when he helped lead the Steelers to the Super Bowl.

Arizona appeared set to take the lead in the closing seconds of the first half when Harrison stepped in front of Anquan Boldin and intercepted a pass at the goal line before racing 100 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the half to put Pittsburgh up 17-7.

While the Steelers still needed a last-minute TD pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes to win 27-23, Harrison’s play was still one of the biggest in Super Bowl history, providing a potential 14-point swing.

Here are some other memorable defensive plays in Super Bowl history:

VON STRIP-SACK: Von Miller set the tone for the Super Bowl two years ago on Carolina’s second drive of the game. Miller sped past helpless right tackle Mike Remmers and ripped the ball away from league MVP Cam Newton on the sack. Malik Jackson pounced on the ball in the end zone to give Denver a 10-0 lead. Miller later iced the game with another strip-sack in the fourth quarter to earn Super Bowl MVP honors.

PICK-SIX: Peyton Manning had the Colts driving for a potential tying touchdown late in the game played in 2010 against New Orleans when everything changed on one play. With Indianapolis facing a third-and-5 at the Saints 31 Authentic Jameis Winston Jersey , Manning looked for favorite target Reggie Wayne over the middle. Tracy Porter stepped in front of Wayne to intercept the pass and raced 74 yards for the title-sealing touchdown.

GOAL-LINE STOP: Few Super Bowl endings have been as dramatic as the one between the St. Louis Rams and Tennessee Titans in the game played in 2000. The Titans rallied back from a 16-point deficit to tie the game only to have the Rams take the lead on the next play from scrimmage on a 73-yard pass from Kurt Warner to Isaac Bruce. Steve McNair took over with less than two minutes left and drove Tennessee down to the 10 with time for one more play. McNair found Kevin Dyson on a short slant and for an instant it looked as if he might be able to run it in the end zone, but Mike Jones wrapped him up for the tackle at the 1 , just short of a potential tying score.

MOMENTUM-CHANGER: Having lost three straight Super Bowls, the Buffalo Bills took a 13-6 halftime lead against Dallas in trip four and started with the ball in the third quarter. But instead of adding to the lead, the Bills lost it when Leon Lett stripped Thurman Thomas of the ball and safety James Washington scooped it up and weaved his way to a 46-yard touchdown . Emmitt Smith added two TD runs to earn MVP honors as Dallas ran away for a 30-13 win, but it was Washington’s play that was most important.

ROCKET SCREEN: Washington trailed the Raiders 14-3 late in the first half of the game played in 1984 when the Redskins took over at their 12 with 12 seconds to play. Rather than taking a knee, Washington coach Joe Gibbs called ”Rocket Screen,” a play that had led to a big gain late in the half in the regular season against the Raiders. Los Angeles was ready this time, putting backup linebacker Jack Squirek in place of starter Matt Millen just for this moment. Joe Theismann faked a pass to his right before floating a screen to Joe Washington to his left. Before the ball could reach Washington, Squirek grabbed it and walked for a 5-yard score that set the scene for a second-half blowout.

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AP Sports Writer Kyle Hightower contributed to this report

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