Here we are, less than a week away from the Dallas Cowboys' season opener and Randy Gregory is exactly where he should be.

When the Cowboys drafted Gregory with the 60th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, optimism reigned supreme. Gregory was the premier pass-rush talent in the class, and he would be a perfect complement to their early second-round pick from the year prior -- DeMarcus Lawrence.

With memories of DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer terrorizing offenses in the rearview, the Cowboys thought they had found their next dynamic duo on the edge.

Now, as Dallas prepares to take on the Carolina Panthers in the season opener, optimism still reigns supreme for Gregory and the Cowboys, though with a slight tinge of skepticism.

Of course, the skepticism is a result of the path Gregory took to get here. Marijuana, mental health issues

the NFL's archaic drug testing program have eroded Gregory's career to this point. After a rookie season that was slowed by a high ankle sprain, Gregory was suspended 30 of the next 32 games for failed drug tests.

Many thought Gregory's NFL career was over. Yet, through hard work and determination in a terribly arduous process, he has made it back to the NFL, and it couldn't have come at a better time for the Cowboys.

Lining up opposite Lawrence will be hugely beneficial for Gregory. Last year, Lawrence proved he was one of the best defensive linemen in the NFL, recording 79 total pressures and 14.5 sacks (both tied for second among NFL edge defenders) while playing lights out against the run. This means Lawrence will receive a lot of attention from opposing offenses. Teams will slide their protection, keep a tight end to help block or send a running back to chip Lawrence in an effort to minimize his ability to ruin the offense's day.

In other words, Gregory is going to see a lot of one-on-one matchups this season. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 242 pounds with gangly 34-inch arms, Gregory is the type of talent who can take full advantage of those matchups.

Like many great pass rushers, Gregory's entire skill set is built off his electrifying get-off. Gregory uses his get-off to gobble up ground and threaten the offensive tackle's outside edge, setting the stage for Gregory to win in a multitude of ways.

In the third preseason game, Gregory gave us a glimpse of his impressive burst off the snap:

On this play, Gregory is lined up at

defensive end with a wide alignment. After the ball is snapped, he explodes out of his stance, bursts upfield and beats the offensive tackle to the intersection point. From there, Gregory contorts his body and dips his inside shoulder to reduce his surface area, leaving the offensive tackle little space to land an effective punch. After that, Gregory slips by the half-hearted chip block to pressure the quarterback and affect the throw.

Complementing his speed up the arc, Gregory has freakish flexibility in his hips, knees

ankles, giving him the ability to speed skate around tight corners on his way to the quarterback. Take a look at this image from Gregory's Nebraska days:

I can't wait till Randy Gregory is back in the NFL. He has some of the most insane ankle flexion I've ever seen. pic.twitter.com/vXLpKMmhuO — John Owning (@JohnOwning) March 28, 2018

Even though his entire foot is on the ground, allowing him to maintain his balance and traction when pursuing the quarterback, Gregory creates a 45-degree angle between his leg and the ground while turning his hips toward the quarterback.

Less than a handful of pass rushers in the NFL are blessed with those physical traits. Gregory just happens to be one.

That kind of freakish pliability in his lower half allows Gregory to run the edge track at an acute angle while maintaining his momentum and speed. Here's an example:

Here, Gregory is lined up as the left defensive end. After the snap, he uses a stutter step to freeze the offensive tackle's feet and force him to punch with his hands. However, instead of continuing inside, Gregory explodes outside with a well-timed swat-to-arm-over move to beat clear the contact and get to the tackle's edge.

From there, Gregory does an excellent job of getting his toes pointed toward the quarterback while he drops his pad level to turn a tight corner, allowing Gregory to carry his momentum through the turn and to the quarterback, which results in a sack-fumble.

While his premier ability is to race around the edge to the quarterback, Gregory is not a one-trick pony as a pass rusher, as he has the capacity to win inside or through an offensive tackle as well.

When offensive tackles are afraid of a pass rusher's speed around the edge, they will start to take extra measures to protect their outside edge. Whether it is widening their pass set or turning their shoulders upfield to push a rusher upfield and past the pocket, it usually results in a gaping inside lane to get to the quarterback.

Gregory, who possesses powerful hands despite his thin frame, knows how to take advantage. Here's a great example from his rookie season:

On this play, the Jets are looking to set up a screen to Gregory's side. Because of this, the left tackle takes a wide pass set to prevent Gregory from immediately bursting into the backfield and disrupting the screen. While this does stop Gregory from using his speed, it gives him an opportunity to win inside, which the Nebraska product takes full advantage of.

After initiating with a long-arm stab with his inside arm, Gregory uses a violent arm over to clear the tackle's hands and win inside, allowing him to pressure the quarterback and disrupt the screen.

During the preseason, Gregory displayed a nifty spin move to win inside as well:

Even with help from the running back, the left tackle is so afraid of Gregory's speed around the edge that he oversets the Cowboys defensive end, leaving a massive hole between the left tackle and left guard. Gregory uses a perfectly timed long-arm shot put to force the left tackle's momentum to continue up the arc. Then right as the running back looks to land his chip block, Gregory uses a counter spin move to win inside and pursue the quarterback, resulting in a sack.

If there is an area Gregory needs to improve most, it's his ability to trim the edge with hand usage at the top of the arc, meaning he needs to do a better job of defeating the blocker's hands when he's using his speed rush. This will make his speed rush even more devastating, and it will allow him to be effective against the best offensive tackles in the NFL.

As a pass rusher, Gregory has it all -- speed, length, awareness, flexibility and counter moves to go along with deceptive power in hands. Gregory figures to get ample opportunities to show off his pass-rush prowess this season. Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli has intimated that the Jacksonville native will play primarily as a pass-rush specialist to start the season, though he did start to get a lot of time with the first-team defense toward the end of camp.

The benefits of a legitimate pass rusher opposite of DeMarcus Lawrence will permeate through the Cowboys defense. Marinelli isn't a known blitzer, but if Dallas can consistently get pressure with just four rushers, it gives Marinelli and defensive backs coach Kris Richard flexibility with their coverage calls. Furthermore, it will make life easier on the linebackers and defensive backs simply because they won't have to cover for as long. Even more beneficial is that it allows the back seven to play aggressively, jumping routes and taking risks that would be illogical without a potent pass rush speeding up the quarterback's internal clock.

While a 10-plus-sack season is a lot to ask of a player who has been out for essentially two years (six-to-eight sacks may be a more reasonable expectation this year), that's the kind of extraordinary skill set Gregory possesses. In fact, if Gregory can remain compliant with the NFL for the rest of his career, multiple double-digit-sack seasons will undoubtedly be on his resume when he retires.

The road to get there will be a tough one filled with countless ups and downs. But it's nothing in comparison to the road Gregory took to get where he is today.

John Owning writes about NFL player evaluation for SportsDayDFW.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnOwning.