OXNARD, Calif. -- The Dallas Cowboys have been one of the best teams in the NFL at unearthing gems in undrafted free agency.

Tony Romo is the most obvious example, but he's far from the only one. Safety Barry Church was an undrafted free agent who remained with the team for seven seasons and was the full-time starter at strong safety for four of them. Dan Bailey is another UDFA who provided the Cowboys with a ton of value -- he's the fifth-most accurate kicker in NFL history and No. 1 in Cowboys history. Cole Beasley became one of the most effective slot receivers in the league after signing with Dallas as a UDFA. Wide receivers Sam Hurd and Miles Austin were also UDFAs who became extremely valuable contributors during the Bill Parcells and Wade Phillips eras.

Even though the circumstances that forced him to undrafted free agency were unique, La'el Collins has provided exponential value over the average UDFA. Even though he's much maligned by a portion of the fan base, Jeff Heath has significantly outperformed the expectations of a UDFA, having played his way onto the team as a special teams stud before developing into the starting strong safety.

This year, the Cowboys' front office -- on paper -- put together one of the most talented UDFA classes in recent memory.

Linebacker Luke Gifford has turned some heads during training camp and has taken reps with the first-team punt coverage unit with Sean Lee injured -- an indication that he has an actual chance to make the 53-man roster, though the practice squad seems more likely with the depth of talent Dallas has at the second level.

Defensive lineman Daniel Wise is another UDFA making the most of his opportunity during camp, as he's been extremely effective on the third-team defensive line. He has an outside shot to make the 53-man roster, but, like Gifford at linebacker, the sheer depth of talent on the D-line could push Wise to the practice squad.

UDFA offensive linemen Mitch Hyatt and Brandon Knight appear to have outside shots to make the roster, the latter of whom has been moonlighting at guard along with his responsibilities at tackle.

At wide receiver, Jalen Guyton has been mighty impressive in his ability to stretch the defense and win downfield. He has legitimate track speed, but a lack of nuance in his route running likely puts him behind more well-rounded options at receiver.

Nevertheless, there is one UDFA who has put himself squarely in position to make the regular-season roster and would likely make the team if it was cut down to 53 players today: Toledo product Jon'Vea Johnson.

Now, it's important to note that Johnson hasn't been perfect in his bid to make the roster, having dropped two passes in the Sunday's Blue-White scrimmage and having shown some growing pains as he's gotten accustomed to the playbook. He's still an unfinished product who needs to limit his focus drops and improve his releases at the line of scrimmage against press-man coverage.

Having said that, Johnson has been, so far, the most impressive UDFA on the Cowboys' roster and it's apparent the coaching staff agrees, as Johnson has spent some time running with the first team while Amari Cooper has been injured.

Furthermore, Johnson has been working on catching punts -- something he didn't do in college -- which is a good indication that the team is trying to find more ways to use the 23-year-old.

Much like Guyton, Johnson's preeminent weapon is his speed and ability to stretch defenses vertically. Listed at 6 feet, 195 pounds, Johnson has the ability to close and blow by a defensive back's cushion in the blink of an eye.

Here’s a long TD from Jon’Vea Johnson on Michael Jackson.



Johnson & Guyton both had long catches today #cowboyswire pic.twitter.com/KONaconWm6 — David Helman (@HelmanDC) August 1, 2019

Rookie cornerback Mike Jackson Sr. -- a top athlete at his position in the 2019 draft by landing in the 90th percentile among NFL corners, according to Three Sigma Athlete -- has been on the wrong end of a couple of deep completions to Johnson.

Johnson has epitomized the old football axiom of "if he's even, he's leavin'" as his ability to accelerate past defensive backs down the field has been clearly evident since the team arrived in Oxnard.

Cooper Rush to Jon’Vea Johnson pic.twitter.com/22nFqL6Ypa — Jon Machota (@jonmachota) July 30, 2019

Even rookie cornerback Chris Westry, who is listed at 6-foot-4 and ran a 4.31 40 at Kentucky's pro day, got beat deep by Johnson on a go route -- which, given Westry's size and track-like speed, is no easy task.

In recent years, the Cowboys' offense has sorely missed a legitimate deep threat to take the top off a defense, which was a big reason Johnson chose to sign with Dallas after going undrafted.

"During the draft process, they were telling me how they haven't had speed here in so long," Johnson said. "So coming here, I thought, was a big decision for me to make. Just knowing they didn't have any speed that they wanted. So that played a major factor."

Even though his speed is the most notable aspect of his game, the real reason Johnson has separated himself from the other speed merchants at receiver -- namely Guyton, Reggie Davis and Devin Smith -- is his ability to get open on short-to-intermediate routes.

Now, no one is going to confuse Johnson with Cooper, but his ability to vary tempos and use nuanced routes to win in the short-to-intermediate zones has been extremely impressive in the first two weeks of camp. Here's a great example against Chidobe Awuzie, who's been the team's No. 1 corner with Byron Jones injured:

He didn't have a good day yesterday, but this was a good route by Jon'Vea Johnson against Chido.



Love how he varies tempo and then throws on the breaks on the stop route. #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/k51jKNjApG — John Owning (@JohnOwning) August 5, 2019

On this play, Johnson is aligned across from Awuzie, who's in a soft-press alignment. Once the ball is snapped, Johnson does an excellent job of varying the tempo of his route. He begins his release patiently, not immediately accelerating when the ball is snapped.

Once he gets about 5 yards downfield, Johnson presses on the gas and accelerates, forcing Awuzie to flip his hips and burst downfield for fear of getting beat deep (remember, if Johnson is even, he's leavin').

With Awuzie's hips turned toward the end zone, Johnson does an excellent job of throwing on the brakes, using efficient footwork. With Awuzie's momentum taking him a couple of yards farther downfield, Johnson's sudden stop creates enough separation for Dak Prescott to fit the ball in despite pressure in his face.

This is exactly the kind of nuance required to get open on Sundays, and it's a great sign that the rookie receiver has already proven capable despite it being so early in his career.

Like with any young player, Johnson is going to go through his fair share of growing pains as he gets more comfortable with the playbook and NFL-level competition. The early signs, however, are incredibly encouraging.

If Johnson continues his current trajectory, not only will he make the 53-man roster, but he could also play a prominent role for the team on Sundays.

The Cowboys' ability to find value in undrafted free agency is uncanny, and Johnson appears to be the latest gem unearthed by the front office.

Enjoy this post? More film studies:

-- Film room: The 5 players who have impressed the most at Cowboys camp

-- How Maliek Collins physically dominated Connor Williams in a 1-on-1 pass-rush drill

-- How TE Dalton Schultz stymied Leighton Vander Esch during Saturday's practice

Twitter: @JohnOwning