OXNARD, Calif. -- Safety Matt Johnson, a fourth-round pick, made his practice debut of sorts Wednesday. He was limited to individual drills but wore pads for the first time in training camp since suffering a hamstring injury.

"It felt good," Johnson said. "I didn't get to do a whole lot. They limited me, but it felt good to put the pads on and be involved."

The Cowboys drafted Johnson with the objective of using his playmaking ability (17 interceptions in four seasons at Eastern Washington), hoping he could compete for one of the safety spots.

But Johnson was slowed because classes were still in session during the offseason program and he missed practice time. Then he suffered a hamstring injury when he did participate, and it lingered into training camp.

Johnson was supposed to compete with Danny McCray, the special teams ace, for playing time at a backup safety spot. But Johnson is behind due to his injury.

"I'm just ready to go," he said. "I feel behind and left out and I'm ready to get going and put in the work to get going. They're making sure I don't (have a setback). I missed enough time as it is. They're making sure I don't miss a big chunk of time by pulling it bad. It's smart on their part but I want to get back out there."