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Cowboys Let's go. Are you ready for a break? Yes?
Are you ready for a break?
Absolutely?
Ready for a break?
Yeah, and so much for that.
It's time for The Break on Dallas Cowboys dot Com with Ambar Garcia, Brian brought Us, Nick Harris, and Derek Eagleton.
It is Wednesday, February nineteenth, twenty twenty five, Season twenty, episode number one oh three.
Welcome to the latest edition of The Break.
We are live from the s WBC Mortgage Studios at the Start, presented by LG. LG is the world's number one OLED TV brand for eleven years in counting See why at LG dot Com Forward slash O led Evo.
Man, it feels like forever since we've been on the air.
Yeah, it kind of has forever since we've been on there two weeks to be exactly. We were out last week, but this week we are back, not whether or notwithstanding a lot of things going on last week.
No, No, we were here last week.
We were here.
We're here last week.
It was the two weeks before that, well at least for me.
First, Nick we have to look at camera. Oh yeah, now focus on.
But it still feels like it feels like a long time. We're not doing it daily.
It always feels like it's it takes forever to get back around to another episode. We got a lot we're going to talk about today. We got to mix a mix in a few different topics here. Assistant coaches for the Cowboys talked yesterday. We'll talk about that a little bit, some of the things that stood out there. Let's talk a little bit too about franchise tags. That's gonna the
window open yesterday. Cowboys and every other team in the NFL have until March fourth to decide on that if they're going to be a play, if there will be a player that they will use a fan franchise tag. And we'll talk about that, and then we'll get some draft previews Brian and Nick. We're going to try to do this every episode now in the draft, let you guys kind of give us a little taste of the
kinds of things you're talking about over on the Draft Show. Today, we'll focus in on a couple of players that we think are should be or could be targets for the Cowboys in the first round and let you guys give us some breakdowns there.
We may even get to a little Yetny time with ag.
We'll sew that goes if we get some time. We got fan questions also lined up. We got so much stuff we can hit today, so we'll see how far we get into this. As Amber always says, we'll only get to about half of it.
Yeah, I was about to say false promises around here.
So that will only mean that my show Rundown is ready for next week.
All right, let's start first with the assistant coaches they spoke yesterday. I know everybody had a chance to look at some of the different information or look at some of the quotes that came out of that. Was there anything particular that stood out to you as you looked at that, or as you listen to those coaches talk that you think that impressed you in some way?
Yeah, I would like to start with Clayton Adams, just because I think there's more intrigue in him than any of the other coordinators or assistants. I give the caveat of Evraflus just because he is the former head coach in the building, but Clayton Adams, I was really intrigued to see what he had to say, and he definitely backed that up. I wrote down a few notes that
I thought were interesting from him. We could start with the quote that stood out to me more than any of them, and the fifteen minute availability he had is how can we be multiple?
How can we be different?
And I think that is a key philosophy that this team needed last year, it needed probably.
The last two years.
And if they can figure out how to marry that concept with what Schottenheimer already has in place, that'd be huge. And what does that mean? That means being creative in the run game? In Clayton Adams's case, it includes pre snap motion, which Brian Schottenheimer has talked about many times how that helps in the past game. That was the quote that really stood out to me. And then there was a question asked as well about Clayton Adams. He comes from the Cardinals, he was the offensive line coach
there for a few years. He obviously had Kyler Murray running the ball behind him. Dak Prescott is not Kyler Murray from a running perspective, but he was basically asked, is there anything you would like to use with Dak from a mobility standpoint, so that you can keep him involved and you know, have that same type of offensive concept move to Dallas. He said, if you're reading off of a play, it takes a digit off the board. Defensively,
what does that mean? You have one player on the defense that always has to be accounted for, Dak Prescott on every snap. If the threat to run is there, Now, what does that look like with Dak Prescott's health. That's what we're gonna to figure out down the line. And Clayton Adams said yesterday that you know, they're they're at a period in time right now where they can't even talk football with the players. They can really only introduce themselves over text or call and say hey, you know
what's up. But once those football conversations start to come around, maybe OTA's or mini camp, that's that's gonna be a big one, just because you know, how healthy is Dak Prescott's legs and they have four years that they need to use Dak Prescott in so are they are they willing to run him as much as they did in twenty three or as much as they did, you know prior to his injury in twenty and then the last thing. And I don't want to take everything from my mansama
right here, but create violence, run hit. Everything we do schematically needs to play into that.
That's the big one.
And I think if that can marry well with what Schottenheimer does in the past game, if they can have a little bit more violence, a little bit more toughness offensively, then obviously it would transition over defensively as well.
Never say that you don't have a few words. You're a man of not few words.
Sorry, I took a page out of my book at that time, so thank you for what you did. Where I think a mandate came down from I know, from the offensive side of the ball. I heard the word toughness, and we talk about toughness quite a bit, and I.
Think the mandate is to will McLay into.
These scouts and to the personnel guys and gallas that work in this building, is that.
They need to get to be a tougher football team.
And that's you know, we talk about the violence and things like that, but now you look at you you have an idea. As a former person guy myself, if I'm listening to these coaches talk and trying to get an idea, get a pattern of what I'm hearing. It's like we need to earmark tough football players, and it's you know, to play this game, you have to be tough, but there takes a little bit more of an inner toughness.
And we've seen this. This team has been good enough to win division titles, has it been good enough to win conference titles, get go through the playoffs.
Tough teams do that. Tough mentally, tough physically.
I think the mandate from the coaches is we want to be a tougher team. And so with that being said, will McClay, the personnel folks over there, got their got their marching orders, and I think you're going to see a direction of that way going that way.
Yeah, I'm right on board with you guys. With that being the main thing that stood out to me during his time with the media.
We talked about it last year.
You look at other teams around the NFL and we talked about that whole point of how are these other teams being more aggressive on the field, and it's something that the Cowboys have and you don't see that same type of aggressiveness when they're on the field playing and offensively that's an area where it's highly needed, and right now it's difficult for them to answer, like what is exactly gonna look like because you still don't have all
your players yet, all your personnel in that area. We got to wait until the draft and you start building that roster. But the fact that that's the question that's being asked in like with him coming in here and saying, Okay, that's a great area. How how are we gonna be more violent? How are we gonna be more aggressively aggressive? How are we going to allow these players to run more free and be able to just hit and be
more violent in that way. So right now, again there's not much that they can answer at this moment, but the fact that those are the questions that are being presented, the things that are being talked about, that's something that's a positive when you that you want to hear because we talked so much about just being very aggressive in
the passing game, in the run, being able. And something that also stood out to me was the fact that he talked so much about the offensive lineman, the lineman and some of the things that they're looking to improve in that area that we know that's a huge part
right there. We still don't know what's going to happen at the running back position, but it all starts with the line, and he mentioned that that's a high area of focus for him coming in and just trying to figure out what they do there with the offensive line.
So I hear violence a lot when we're talking here. My question as I was listening to some of those comments is is violence is the ability to be more violent more you know, I don't know, to be able to push your opponent around. Is that really something that a coach can create or is that really about the player and the player having to have that mental makeup to just be that type of player.
I think it's some mentality. But I also think that when you evaluate your team, you can weed out who you feel like, okay, when it comes to mental toughness or physical toughness, these are the players that we can surely hang our hats on. I think that they're going to be. I think this defensive unit is going to look remarkably different from what we've seen the last couple
of years. I think it's different scheme wise, and I think it's going to look different personnel wise, just because of how players come and go the situation that the Cowboys are up against with their cap in some areas. So I think that to me, now this is the opportunity. As I mentioned earlier, this personnel department now has the task of going out and getting that those type of players. The players we saw a tough mentality in the early
nineties with Jimmy Johnson. That was a tough If you ever went to a practice in Austin at Saint Ed's, you saw toughness. You ever went to you know, some of these practice, even adjacent Garrett practice, had elements of toughness to it because of the way that they work the players. So to work the players that way, you have to be able to find players that can adapt and and and welcome that kind of coaching, but play with that kind of mentality.
It's kind of both as well. It's absolutely voaching and it is and it's.
Not a ride defence thing because you know me, I hate the ride defense. I want to give you an answer one way or another. But they are now tasked the personal guys. They're tasked to trying to find tougher players. And like I said earlier, this game playing it is tough. It's tough to play, but you have to have a certain level of that little bit more toughness in order to be that type of team that you want to be.
Yeah, and it certainly doesn't happen overnight either. No, it's it's it's gonna take some time. And that's where you hope that this staff has the time to to really enact that and put that in place, not only from a personnel acquisition standpoint, but from a philosophy standpoint. Again, it's not gonna happen overnight. It can't happen in one season. So you know, if this staff remains in place for three years, what does that look like compared to today?
I think sometimes you either have it or you don't. You know, physically, yeah, you're gonna have some limitations there, and some players might not be able to do the same as others. But it helps a lot depending on the voice that you have, the voice that you're listening to, and somebody that brings that in and starts changing that culture.
Like you talk to me, and if I listen to David Goggins, all of a sudden, I feel like I can be a Navy seals and being that cold water in the ocean, is that it's not actually gonna have No I probably quit after two seconds. But I think the voice that you have it's highly important. It creates and it has this thing where it's contagious and everybody else around you. I think it starts making you tougher. And when you see somebody else trying to be tougher,
you yourself. You want to be able to keep up and try to keep up. So I think it's maybe not with every single player it's gonna be that instance, because again everyone's physically different, but it's a start and towards the right direction and trying to change the mentality and the whole culture inside the locker room.
Yeah, I think you getting a real quick Derek give I think you get a situation. For examples of last year's team. I don't think Zach Martin was perfect at all health wise, we all understand that. But Zach Martin, future Hall of Fame player, playing through injury. That's an element of toughness. And if you're you know, brock Hoffman, and you're Tyler Smith and your other guys and you're watching what he's going through and playing, it's not perfect, but you get that element of like what.
It takes to go out there and play every day.
And I think those are the types of examples that you need to get on this football team. We talk about this. Every time that you play the forty nine ers. You feel like you feel like that you're not tougher than them. There's a certain element to this, and it's one thing to talk about it. It's one thing to execute it. They're talking about it right now. They need to make sure that they execute it. But that's through the players.
Were going to take our first break when we come back, We're gonna talk about the franchise attag. We're going to talk about any players that we think could be possibilities and maybe what the advantages could be for the Cowboys if they decided to go that way.
We'll do when we come back. Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
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Welcome back.
We are in the second segment of the Breakway Life from that SEBVC Mortgage Studios.
At the start.
The segment brought to you by blockchain dot Com. All right, let's talk about the franchise tag. That window open yesterday. It'll run through March fourth, Just so you have an idea of what the schedule looks like. Free agency, the legal tampering period will start on March tenth. It'll run through four pm Eastern on March twelfth, and that's when free agency will begin four pm Eastern on March twelve, twelve. That all being said, let's talk specifically about the franchise tag.
In my opinion, O SOO DIGGI Zua is probably the most likely candidate, if win anyone, to be franchised by the Cowboys. And I say if anyone, because there's a good chance the Cowboys don't use franchise tag. But I'd like each of you to give me the best reason you can come up with as to why Dallas should use the franchise tag. On osa should should, we'll get to the should not, but let's talk about the should.
I think should you get consistency at that three tech spot, and you want as much consistency as possible, I think from a personnel standpoint, so that you're not having to marry so much change personnel wise, with so much change already coming schematically, are you willing to pay a little bit more than what he would probably get on the open market per year if you were franchise tag? That's gonna be the question, how much is consistency on that defensive line important to you as a personnel guy.
So I think that would probably be the strong case for why.
Yeah, I think the why would be because we finally have got to the point where you drafted a player, you've developed him, and now you're starting to see the benefits from the development. There were times where I kind of felt like, oh, soo DIGGI Zua was a really good college player, and I mean a good college player because he was playing like thirteen games, but it was week fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen that you were kind of looking like, Okay, where did this player go? He
plays so hard, he got wre down. You know, there were some struggles there the last month season, but he was able to play through all the season as a as a high level player, and you saw his ability to tackle, You saw his ability to take on blockers, you saw his ability as a pass rusher. You know, there were so many things that he got better at.
So if you're interested in keeping that going forward and seeing continued development, you know, you take that tag, you put it on him for one year and you have it and then you work from there so you don't lose the opportunity to have a player that looks like he's on the rise right now.
As far as a guy you developed.
Yeah, I don't think personally, I don't think there's anyone on the ruster that I would want to use the franchise tag on. But if you're asking, and you're presenting this case with OSA as to why they should and why that would make sense money wise, I don't think so. But he's a guy just like they all said, you've seen the way that he's developed. Right now, he's at
the best moment of his career. Last year he had such a good year healthy knock on wood it says that way, but he's been so he was so productive on the field, And yes, anytime you see that, you want to be able to keep that. You want to be able to keep that consistency in the line. And that would be one position to worry less about that you have solidified. You have already so many other positions that you have to address, and of course you want to be able to keep a veteran guy like him
that continues to develop and improve. And right now, I don't think we've seen the ceiling for him. I think he's continuing to show you what he brings to the table and looking at Micah Parsons and figure out what he has, what they're going to do with his contract and all of that. But the combination of guy having a guy like Micah and also also on that side, we don't know what's going to happen with DeMarcus Lawrence
is another guy that's becoming a free agent. But those are two guys that if you can keep them together on the line, I mean, it's just going to make your job easier when addressing these other positions.
Yeah, I'll say this.
The thing that stands out to me that I think would be a benefit of a franchise tag for him is I think we've seen, as Brian said, this.
Development over the years.
I think he's gotten appreciably better each year, and quite frankly, I think he was the best last year.
I want to see what the ceiling is.
I want to see if last year was more about a contract year, I kind of want to see one more year of it to see what's his real ceiling here?
Right?
And could you be on the cusp of a really great defensive tackle that you've developed to this point and now he goes somewhere else and he's one of the best.
In the league, that would really.
Upset me, right, So I'm like, franchise tack allows me to get at least one more year to think, to know what I think of him long term and feel more secure in whatever that evaluation is, and then be willing to if you want to go all in and be able to give him that deal, then you give him that deal.
But that one more year.
I think could be helpful for somebody like him who has gotten better every year, but last year I think made a big jump. I want to see if he can sustain that through another year before I would pay him the big money.
But do you have the money to be able to make a decision like that for the team? It just doesn't seem like it's a good position to place a franchise tag or on a guy like him or anybody else on the team in my opinion. Well, but it's like when you look at the again, I'm not the salary cap and expert over here, but all one thing I know is the Cowboys are struggling with money right now, and it just doesn't seem like the smartest thing to do this year. And with a guy like him, you
talk about wanting to see one more year. I think he's had a solid career. Last year was the best one he's had yet. Personally, I don't feel like I need to see more. I just want to keep him here, and if that means a long term deal, then so be it.
Well, and get me wrong, if you can get a long term deal that makes sense, then great. A long term deal is always better because you get to take that money to extrapolate the signing bonus over the years of the contract, or you could backload the contract. You can give yourself some cap relief. I think those things are all positive. I guess the way I look at it, though, is there are ways that the Cowboys can create salary
cap for this upcoming year. If they feel like that's an important piece, and he's an important piece, I think they could probably do it.
Now.
It's probably not profitable to do a franchise tag because again it is one year and all that's going to hit your cap in that one year. But I just I like the idea of being able to again, if I'm giving an argument asked to why if I can't do a long term deal with him, that makes sense. Keeping him around for another year so that I can get a better feel for what his long term value is to me would be an advantage.
The thing that I struggle with on using the franchise tag on him is that franchise tag number would be a twenty three and a half million, give or takes twenty three point four to six a, so twenty three and a half.
This team has suffered from not having.
Depth, and you need depth going into this next seas So do you spend that twenty three and a half million dollars on a sure thing at three Tech? Granted you, as you mentioned, you know it was a it felt like a college player at times because you disappear in November December.
But played well, played really well.
Yeah, played really well this past season, so you have one good year under your belt. How confident do you feel that he can play up to a twenty three and a half million dollar value?
Do you do that?
Or do you go re sign Carl Last and Chauncey Golston Jordan Lewis I mean, et cetera, et cetera at Chumay Dooga. If you want an extra offensive lineman for that same amount of price, and probably still have some money left over, and you're dealing with the defensive tackle class in this draft that is really strong. You can go find a three tech.
So and there's our answer to why you shouldn't.
There's the answer, not anything you have to do with the player, but it all has to do with the players that are potentially available at the three technique.
I think this is you know.
When you start to talk about the edge class, the defensive tackle class, whether it's the one techniques, the three techniques, these are the ones that are that are on the board for your right there.
So that would be if it was a really weak class.
Say say this was say that we had this question about Eric Kendricks, Say you know, okay, Eric Kendricks played the level like, would you franchise tag Eric Kendricks? You know, just I'm using him as an example, you would say, yeah, I would absolutely consider it. Because the depth of the linebacker class in this draft is not as deep as
it is with the defensive tackles or the edges. So that's the biggest reason why I think I would move on for most And I think Nick made an excellent point about could I earmark that money for other positions and don't let all this depth that you've developed the last three years just completely walk out this building.
Oh right, let me ask you guys this. Since we've been talking about just the Cowboys potentially changing their approach during free agency, and we talked about how other teams have been successful during free agency being more aggressive, what is the position that you would want to be aggressive at during free agency?
Linebacker? And there's and I know we can't get into specific names, but if you listen to me on other podcasts, I'll talk about those names. You listen to me on one, O, five, three, I'll talk about those names too. But there's a there's a position that I would absolutely look at, and I think it's linebacker. And I think there's some names that you would absolutely like.
I wouldn't hate. Receiver, Yeah, I wouldn't hate. I wouldn't hate that approach. I mean, you can't go get the big thirty million dollar guys, but you can go get a five to ten million dollar guy that can finally be a wide receiver two to CD.
The other one I would look at.
I'd look at an offensive lineman if I thought there was a tackle or a guard out there that I thought could make me better a veteran type, especially if I end up losing Zach Martin to retirement, then I would definitely look at that. I think this they could use that sort of veteran presence if they find a good veteran I'm not talking about. This reminds me of kind of when the Cowboys went out to get Kyle Kolesar.
Cal Kozar wasn't the best party league, but he was a very very good, solid, serviceable guard on that line.
I would look like a guy I would.
Look at somebody like that at guard or tackle that I could bring in here to compete.
Let me ask you guys this question, then, because there's certain organizations that are putting Zach Martin with other teams.
You know, now, if.
Zach Martin in fact was willing to play or is going to play, is he a consideration for you? Because you mentioned Derek about talking about going in and signing maybe an offensive lineman, maybe a guard. Should you circle back with Zach Martin see where that number is.
I would have to feel certain that he is healthy and that he is going to be able to play at a level that's commensurate with what he has been throughout his career, the level that he played last year. I don't know that I'm necessarily interested in that night we've saw We saw this with with Tyron when they walk, when they when they let Tyron walk, I think it was a similar thing where they kind of thought at that point it just from an injury standpoint, we couldn't
trust it. And now so you're that point with I kind of think I am, But I would want to have that conversation with him, a real honest conversation, like do you think after this offseason you'll be back if he wants to come back and play, do you think you'll be at a point where your health will be back to what it was before, or do you think you're at a point in your career where it's just always going to be stuff.
It's always going to be problems. There are always going to be issues.
And if and if he can honestly tell me that he feels like he's he can be back to where he was, I'll trust him because he's earned that trust with all he's done for you, He's earned that trust. But I would have that kind of really honest conversation.
So, but if he shows up like in Kansas City and is their starting guard.
We're all gonna feel terrible.
Right, depends. It depends. Like same thing with Tyron.
If Tyron would have gone to New York and he would have played great and been healthy, I would have I would have said, Wow, maybe they let him go.
It's a good example. Would be DeMarcus.
When DeMarcus went to Denver, they let him walk because it was like we just always there's a lot of injury, and then it was a situation where we got there and they just chuse him.
In a different way.
He wasn't an every down, you know, pass rusher, but when they had him out there, he was a difference maker and led that defense all the way to a championship. So it just depends on what you see if the player goes to another place, like what do they end up being Did you make the right evaluation on where they were? Are they are they really done? Or do
they still have more left in the tank. And that's why I would have the conversation with Zach to see how he feels about it, and I would trust his evaluation. If he told me I'll be good, I promise you I'll be good, I would trust that.
Another thing I don't I personally right now don't know how. I have no idea where he stands right now as far as like his career, when he see himself, if he wants to continue to play, because again, when you look at also told that this game takes on your body. And he's had a good career, a really good career, just not with the accomplishment that they all want to
get to. So that's the tricky part when you talk about a competitor like him, I think healthy, and let's be honest, I feel like his whole career, a lot of the years he's been here, even though he shows up at every game, he's dealing with something like all this offensive linemen. They're yeah, they're dealing with something. He's just being able to tough it out and be out there and do his job. Last year is just it
took more than he expected. But I think if he was to come back another year, I think he can still be productive. But there's that point that you just talked about, Derek. It does get to that point of their career where they hit an age and it's just like inevitably, you're gonna be dealing with something else. Something new is gonna pop up, and it's hard to manage that during the season and hoping that they are as productive.
And especially when you talk about these changes where you're wanting all the players to be more aggressive and play more tough. That's that's something that's very complicated. It can be very complicated. So but I'm curious to see where he stands. I'm sure we'll hear about as soon enough.
The other thing I think has to be factored in here is listening to or looking at how the teams that they've particularly Adams coming from Arizona, they have their offensive lineman pulling quite a bit. Is he at a point in his career where that's something that he can do well consistently. That's another thing you have to kind
of consider. It's not going to be the kind of offensive line that he's typically worked in, and so is that gonna be something that even exasperates the problem even more of him not being able to be healthy or him having to be mobile as much as you know, when you're a young guy and you can kind of get out there and run, it's gonna be a little different. So I think all that stuff has to be factored in,
but I would trust his evaluation. I would have that conversation with him and trust his evaluation as well.
All right, we're gonna take our final break. We'll come back.
Let's do a little draft preview. We'll get in some first round guys. We think the Cowboys should be looking at well when we come back. Dallas Cowboys dot com radio.
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Welcome back.
We are in the final segment of the break live from the SWBC Mortgage studios.
At the Star Suck a little draft a draft preview.
As a matter of fact, if you don't know about if you've been living under a rock for the last I don't know, twenty years, you might not know that.
We have a show called The Draft Show. It's an excellent show.
Brian and Nick are both part of that show, and they do a lot of really good breakdowns on pretty much every player you're gonna expect to see called during the draft. So I figured we take a little bit of the and we bring it over to our show since we have two people that are on The Draft Show, and we'll let you guys give us some a taste
of what happens over on the Draft Show. So I eat one each one of you guys to give me one player and kind of break down for us what you're looking at, what maybe a comp in the NFL. Just give us some background on one player that you think could be available to the Cowboys in Round one that they should be interested in.
Oh, you're gonna let me go first?
Always after the last time, I mean, you're basically berating him.
Of course he is, right, now, Nick does a fine job with his draft works. I wouldn't berat him too much. A Mecca Abuka from Ohio State, a wide receiveries two hundred and six pounds. My pro comp to this player, if you can imagine this is aman Ron Saint Brown from the Detroit Lions. Bring what we're talking about here. And I say this because Saint Brown is six one, He's one hundred and ninety five pounds. He's a serious athlete, and you know his family is big in his game.
If you know the Saint Brown situation, Abuka is really kind of.
The same way.
His dad is really involved, and I mean in a positive way. This guy is an incredible athlete. I saw a special on him one time where he like, he said, I just took up golf and they showed his swing and he looks like a pro golfer. Now, I mean the way he's playing is just he's got that kind of ability and he's got ideal height and waight for the position. He's super competitive as a player. He's very aggressive with the run after catch, the body control, the strength, the power which he plays.
This guy's a versatile weapon.
You can use him on jet sweeps, those little pop passes that we've seen. He's a smooth route runner. He makes sharp, decisive cuts. The best routes he has are the ones that are across the middle of the field. I love when you see him catch the ball on the move and then his ability to turn it up the field. He's one of the best receivers in the country when it came to playing against man coverage. So this guy knows how to escape. But he could play
on all levels of the defense. Explosive, elusive, shifty, he would be. He's used to playing as the second fiddle. The question is will he ever be a number one. There's teams that are going to have to take him potentially and make him a one, and I think he'll be just fine. But he's always kind of played in
the shadows of another player. But you look at his you look at how he's how his numbers and the metrics and all the number one hundred and six targets and only had five drops and one hundred and six targets, So you know, that's kind of one of those things that they feed him the football even though he's even though he's a two, he's had some really, really nice years at Ohio State and he and he could play in a lot of different roles, and I think he
would fit that role opposite of what you have with with Cede Lamb and his ability to play some of that X stuff that they need for the Cowboys.
It would be a nice robin to have to you know, CD's batman, as you mentioned, you know, he's he's lived in the shadows of guys throughout his time in Ohio State, whether it be Jeremiah Smith or going back to Marvin Harrison junior or even further back in early in his college career. But he is the most receiving yards of any Ohio State receiver in Ohio State history. And you think about all the names that have gone through Ohio State, that's really impressive.
Real quick, how much do you think that whatever receiving options the Cowboys look at have to be able to run great routes and get separation. Because I heard this argument the other day and I think it's a valid one. One of the things we talk about seemingly a lot around here is man receivers just weren't open. There there's no separation. And I know there are bigger receivers in
this draft guys that can go vertical. How much do you think it is a situation though, just based on this team and what they need that the Cowboys, if they're going to look at receiver, they need to go for some that really are great route runners and know how to create separation.
If I'm understanding your question correctly, I think finding versatility to match with CDs versatility.
Is that kind of what you're going for there?
Well, not necessarily, I think what I want stud to get open.
Yeah, it run great guys.
Ris.
By the way, we have some receiver. We have some receivers. There's some receivers in the NFL. I would consider CD one of them. CD is a great receiver. I wouldn't consider his greatest greatest asset being he gets separation, like he just knows how to catch the ball in track.
Is one of the best quarterbacks in the league when it comes to throwing contested balls. And to your point, you know, I think a lot of it has to do Derek was scheme, you know, and and you watch I mean I watched Chip Kelly with this Ohio State offense. Now Chip Kelly is moving on to the Las Vegas Raiders. I watched Chip Kelly with this Ohio State group and the way the crossing routes, the vertical routes, the hitches things, He's putting guys on the move. And you know that quarterback,
Well Howard did a heck of a job. I mean, you where where he came from to where he was at Ohio State. He looked like a completely different quarterback playing And a lot of it has to do with the ability to scheme guys open. And you're you're one of the most talented teams in the country. You won the National championship for that reason because you have the players, You had the skill on the outside, whether it was vertical skill, whether it was crossing skill, hit skill, screen skill.
You know, there's ways that you can create to get these guys open. I think this guy when I watch him play, just the smoothness that he plays and that ability to separate. But a lot of these quarterbacks in the National Football League are now having to throw contested routes. You know, it's you could scheme certain routes open, but there's some that are going to be contested plays. But that I mean, he's comfortable throwing that type of you know,
is it always successful. No, is it successful in enjoy.
Of the time.
Yeah, there's up of a quarterback you have you can get away with not having you get Yeah.
But I'm not saying I don't want a core. I don't want receivers that don't separate. But some of these receivers that Nick and I have been talking about on the Draft show don't separate. But you absolutely would take him in the first, second, third round.
You would absolutely take him.
And like I said, you know, you look at you look at this these contested catches. This guy was thirty first in the country when it came to that. You think of all the wide receivers in college football, and this guy has a separate But okay, now the ball. Now, now the corners made a play on the ball, or the safety's making a play in the ball. You gotta have guys when that happens to be able to make plays. And that's why I would draft a kid like this. I think that there is so much to like about
this player. The mental makeup I talked, We talked about toughness earlier, his ability to get open touchdowns, finish, you know, mentality of like, Okay, I'm not the number one guy here. I'm gonna fit in. I'm gonna do what I have to do. This kid makes a lot of sense.
Nick, You're I'm gonna go with a trade back scenario in the first round here just because I don't.
I don't think I gotta get fancy.
Huh. But the text in saynything about trade back, Snario is.
Making his own.
It did not because I wouldn't necessarily take this guy at twelve, but I think, okay, trade back and pick up some picks. This would be a really specific where him back to let's go to like twenty three.
Oh yeah, twenty that's a nice drop.
Yeah it is. You're picking up some good value.
You probably get loved my numbers.
You probably get two maybe three picks out of that. You could you could really make something fancy with that. I'm going with Gray's abel offensive line out of North Dakota State, all right, interior guy bringing a plane and this team. It would be right guard. But I think he has the potential to play anywhere in the interior, and it would give Connor Riley, the new offensive line coach here Dallas, some flexibility on what he would want to do.
Maybe with a.
Cooper Bebie and that flexibility could extend out to the tackle position too. With Okay, let's say Tyler Guidon is having another struggling year in twenty twenty five, Okay, you have enough confidence in a guy like grays Abel to put him at left guard even and kick Tyler Smith out. That's I'm just saying. This guy gives you flexibility. This guy gives you some versatility inside. He's a bruiser, like I mentioned, versatile. He has a quick anchor. He creates
a pocket depth super fast. He was one of the guys that I came way with most impressed from immobile. His strength rarely has him knocked off balance, but he does have short arms, hence the projection inside. He has played four of the five offensive line positions at his time at North Dakota State. But this is a strictly interior guy. He needs to be a little bit better in the run block category. I think that's probably where he needs the most improvement coming into the NFL, and
my my NFL player camp for him. Funny enough, another North Dakota State guy, just because it reminded me of him when he was coming out, was Cody Mauk out of Tampa Bay who's now starting for them at right guard and has been really really solid for them. And again, where where he would fit. I'd see him at right guard, but really wherever you would want in the interior.
I like this player.
And going back to Connor Riley, before he was at Kansas State, he was at North Dakota State. So there's a lot of uh, you know, background that he could pick up on Zabel as well that I think would be able to translate to this building.
Yeah, this guy.
I Nick nailed this kid, and I think you could play him in a power scheme, you could play him in a zone scheme, and I think he'll be just fine. He's got agility, he easily makes cut off blocks, he makes reach blocks, I mean the knee bend as a pass protector. You can watch him against Colorado to open today if you're thinking about we, oh wait a minute, he plays at North Dakota State.
By the way, North Dakota State. They're folks.
They live here in Frisco because they're in that National championship game.
Every single year.
Yeah, so you think you're you have.
Green Bay Packer fans in town with that color scheme that they got, But this guy. This guy is a good one. He could play tackle, he could play guard. They've used him at some center. He didn't look uncomfortable playing that way. The trade back scenario, there's a lot of people talking about him as a late one.
Type of a player.
So where Nick dropped you back to, I'm sure he picked up some good draft capital along the way. He got our fourth round pick back some way, maybe got us an extra third along the way. So yeah, but a player like that, absolutely, at twenty four, you would consider a guy like this. He's he's risen up the draft boards that much, but it's not just rising on his own. This is the ability when you really really watch him and then you watch him against the good competition where he's shown up.
I like everything he said in inch, but then he just casually threw him their own and he needs to improve on the run block. And then you kept talking and then that you lost me right there, I mean, does not give you any pause, And he's like, Okay, hold up, this is an area that you we gotta make sure if we're this guy.
I think this guy sells as a drive blocker. I do, okay. I think there's some things When Nick said it.
I was kind of like going, I don't know, man, there's things when like you say, when I'm talking about the scoops, the reaches, things like that, but there are things that he does as a drive blocker getting into guys. Now, there's one of my one of my favorite players is Lampkin from North Carolina. You talking about stay on guys, center staying, but he's only five to ten. Here's a five and seventy five pound center guard from North Carolina.
He's he blows away any metrics that you I've never seen a player like this, But we talk about a guy that sticks on to the guy and finish. You know, Gray's Abel And I'm really again, I appreciate Nick bringing him up because I think that's the spot that Gray's Abel is probably going to go at. And I do think he's probably got a little bit better run blocking traits. I know I see it that way. And you know in the knee been with the pass protection and all that.
This guy is going to be a valuable player for somebody. He should have He should have very well been playing in a Big ten school. He you know, they and and and scouts, Hey, we missed players.
We miss him. We were missing when recruiting.
I think this kid's got that ability where he could have played at a Wisconsin or played it a Michigan State or me even played in Michigan.
The way that he plays, Yeah.
I probably should have furthered My point there. The reason I say that is when he when he comes down on his run block, he gets really wide and he can get grabby, and he's he's had holding penalties called in that in that area. So that's why I say the red flag. Well that's.
Tyler Smith was a holder too.
Yeah, I'll take him again, give me another one, I'll take him all. I appreciate you guys.
Jones.
We'll be back next week.
Uh is happening next week, so we'll get into some of the information around the combine, some of the things we're looking at as we enter that. I think when we have our show that they won't have started. I don't think they'll start at workouts by then, but it'll be close. It'll be starting around Thursday, I think is when they'll get started. We'll have a lot to talk about.
Y'all hear next week.
I'm not I'm not saying so whatever.
You know you were going to you're gonna come bye toa Oh.
Yeah, I'm crying right now because the show going to the combine and it ain't my show.
How did that happen?
Never mind, I never mind, never mind, I'm not we'll talk about that, right.
I don't wanna. I don't want to take you to a bad place.
All right.
We appreciate you, guys, Jones. We'll be back next week or maybe the week after. We'll see so then, for Nick Harris, Brian brought us to Ambergarcia. I'm Derek Eagleton. This has been The Break live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
This has been a production of Dallascowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.