OXNARD, Calif. -- After opening the first two days of training camp without even working the offense against the defense, the Dallas Cowboys will put on the pads for the first time Monday afternoon.

Jason Garrett’s message to the players: be smart.

“I don't know if it’s a speech, but you always talk to the team of how you want to practice,” Garrett said. “You try to do it beforehand and you try to coach as you go. We will lay out what the expectations are. We will coach them during the practice. We will look at how we did. And then we will get together and clean some things up. We will recognize what was good and clean up the stuff that wasn't good.”

The last time the Cowboys had the pads on was Jan. 3 in their 2015 season finale against the Washington Redskins. For some rookies, it has been a little longer. And for Rico Gathers, it has been years. He's making the transformation from Baylor basketball power forward to Cowboys tight end and hasn’t played football since junior high.

“It will be interesting to see how he handles it,” Garrett said. “I think he has gotten better and better in his football movements since he has been here. Excited to see him in that environment.”

First-round pick Ezekiel Elliott said it was awkward not working against the defense the first few days, but he is looking forward to “getting physical.”

How long does it take him to get used to the pads?

“It’s a little bit different, kind of just carrying that extra weight on,” Elliott said, “but doesn’t really take that long. It’s probably more excitement to get the pads on than to be out there with just helmets.”