9:05 AM PT -- Dak Prescott clearly agrees with his coach's assessment of Smith ... telling reporters Thursday that Aldon has looked like a "monster" in practices.
"Damn sure doesn't look like he hasn't played in five years," the star QB added ... "He's going to make all of us better. A great player."
"I would say that if you walked away from practice you'd say, 'Hey, who the hell was #58!?'"
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy says Aldon Smith is KILLING it in his first official workouts with the team ... this despite the dude being away from the game for the past 5 YEARS.
McCarthy praised the hell out of the embattled pass rusher Thursday ... calling Smith's skill set "extraordinary" and his return from a long layoff "impressive."
Aldon Smith working on the right edge pic.twitter.com/X9RHN5PUhz
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 16, 2020
"I'm very, very happy with where Aldon is right now," McCarthy said ... before adding, "Aldon is off to a very good start. He's impressive. Still very impressive."
It's a pretty shocking report from the Cowboys head man ... Aldon hasn't played a down in the NFL since the 2015 season -- and has battled legal troubles and substance abuse issues during his time away.
But, Smith's sober now, and he told us this offseason he busted his ass in Jay Glazer's gym in L.A. to get his body back into NFL shape ... and clearly, it's all paying off.
"You can see his power and his length is extraordinary," McCarthy said.
Smith was officially reinstated by Roger Goodell back in May.
The Cowboys open up the season in less than a month ... and seems Smith might actually be one of their starting defensive ends for the game.
Originally Published -- 7:46 AM PT