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This He's Talking Cowboys Straining live from.
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Second's got ten.
Techdown and now your hosts Isaiah Standback, Patrick Walker, Josh Rodriguez and Kyle Yeomans.
It's sent off season adedition of Talking Cowboys, presented by Black Rifle Coffee Company, live from the Star in Frisco, Texas and the s WBC studios.
Welcome in, everybody.
We've got Patrick noc Walker, Josh Rod Reganz, Chris Beam in the back of Kyle Yeoman's Glad you were with us. Isaiah Standback is busy being a national superstar and he's on Good Morning.
Football all weekend long.
There's so much going on in his world, and Patrick's holding up the brand new addition to our world.
Put your put it on.
Yeah, yeah, they're going now now we can now we can do it. Take a look at that coming soon, coming soon.
I think it's available.
It's not. It's not. It's not April early April.
Okay, well, there it is. That's a Dallas Cowboys Star magazine. Draft Guide, got a Ashton Gent article from Tommy Yar issues on this show.
Got to be a science lab in there.
There is a science lab right there. And then we've got some rankings and some scouting reports for all the positions in the NFL draft.
And I got a bone to pick with you, man. I don't want to tease the rankings a little bit, but defensive tackle.
Bone to pick with me. Yeah, with my rankings. Yeah, let me see what.
I put it.
Number four.
Okay, I'm gonna tease a little bit.
Number four.
It's Walter Nolan.
Yeah, I should put him lower.
Oh good? In disrespect?
No, there's no disrespect there. I think it's a great defensive tackle class.
And then Mason's I had number one with his broccoli haircut.
Again, his broccoli haircut is going to be awesome in the NFL. Mason Graham number one, he's a top ten pick. Derek Harmon number two, Kenneth Grant from Michigan number three. Don't give them Walter Nolan number.
Four, don't give them a day.
I can give them all the give them the defensive tackle class.
We're not out as magazines. With Mason Graham.
I was wondering where you put Alfred Collins. I'm seeing it now.
Yeah, well dispectful.
Yeah, that's that's a that's a smidge low for me, just a smidge.
Listen, what are you doing? Listen?
Because I had three days on your heels.
I watched one hundred and fifty prospect one hundred and fifty prospects. I wrote one hundred and ten bios for the draft magazine itself, and I've ranked four hundred and fourteen players. And this magazine is due the week after the so it's still early. Like these are no pro days, no workouts, no thirty visits. This is all pure film, is what this is. And so yeah, I'm gonna stand on and Walter Nolan's number four in the defensive tackle class and Alfred Collins is number seven. But I did
have a third round grade on Alfred Collins. He's a great Okay, So I think it's a deep defensive tackle class and I think Dallas should dip their.
Toe in the water in terms of defensive tackle.
Overall, there's a lot of good players in there. Yeah, just the Kyle shousta Kurt for Draft magazine.
It's coming soon. Yeah, really excited. About it.
Tommy wrote a ton of features too. I want to give him credits for it the TV. It should be a lot of fun. Got k Y and t Y and his is in reference to a former wide receiver. Here with the Cowboys, something they want to talk about on the air.
I'm Jilly.
Let's get into some news and notes outside of the fact that the Star.
Magazine Draft Guy is available.
Yes, and they pre order their copy.
I think not yet.
Okay, get it's getting keep tuning in Dallas Cowbys dot Com.
It's getting close.
So the Cowboys they kind of slowed down their transactions. And now we're talking about a couple of key names that they lost in free agency, one being Brandon Cooks, and we'll talk about what the impact of that is. Brandon Cook's returns to the New Orleans Saints. He's going to join Kellen Moore. He wasn't in Dallas when Kella Moore was an offensive coordinator, so it'll be their first
time together. But Brandon Cooks is looking too, you know, for lack of a better way to put it, cook in New Orleans as he did in the Drew Brees era. And then we talk about Cooper Rush. We were talking about what was the backup quarterback situation gonna look like in Dallas. Cooper Rush has signed on with the Baltimore Ravens. He will now back up former league MVP Lamar Jackson.
I had some conversations yesterday within the building. Inside the building, I should say, and it does not sound as if the Cowboys are even remotely in on trying to re sign Trey Lance. And we said that we talked about this before the season expired, going into free agency. From a player standpoint, I sat right here at this table and I said, if I'm Trey Lance, I'm out on the Cowboys as well. So it just doesn't sound like
there is anything there. Because opportunity wise, sure, if you want to, the.
Teams are going to be lining up to science that he lamb to a huge I mean sign Trey Lance to a huge deal.
See Lambs on a teen screen. But the uh what you did there?
Yeah, no, they're not lying.
Portray its opportunity. It's opportunity because this is a Cowboys team that we talk about the draft magazine. This is the Cowboys team that's likely going to use a draft pick on a quarterback to back up Dak Prescott. And if you talk about, you know, whenever they might do it, could it be like a fourth or a fifth round,
or whatever the case may be. Will Greer is still in the building, Maybe Trey Lance feels that there will be a better opportunity for him to immediately become someone's QB two with a possible sliver of a shot at maybe not twenty twenty five, but maybe twenty twenty six proven himself worthy to be somebody's QB one.
I just don't see that opportunity is in the doubts.
But to your point, I mean, it's not free agency isn't over yet. No, it's not done. The transactions have slowed down foreshore, but there are still quality QB free agencies that are out there.
In that conversation I had, they're in conversations with a couple o names are not going to be reviewed.
That's all right.
But this is the time of the stretch of free agency where price points start to come down.
Exactly.
Cowboys are waiting for the veteran price points to come down on those backup pards.
Good saying we're bargain shop.
Well, I mean, look you're so bad. Look at it, though, Sam Donald got paid three years, one hundred million dollars to go to Seattle. Justin Fields two years forty million dollars. We're in the Kyle Trask business. You know what I'm saying. He got paid two point.
Eight That just made me sick, like a little bit in my stomach, Like I just felt like I needed to throw up a little bit.
I understand what you're saying. But if you look at the names that are out there, and granted this is these are not like necessarily the time that Kyle.
Kyler huntly businesses.
Okay, any of the names catching you guys at all? Joe Flacco, No, Drew Locke absolutely, now, Carson Wentz.
Drew lock Stop, Desmond plot twist, Carson Wentz.
Okay, Ritter would be interesting for me because it's still a young guy, and I think he compares skills. That's another thing you got to look at. You gotta look at the skill set of Dak Prescott exactly. Because we've heard and Brian Schottenheimer has made it very clear that a lot of times as an offensive coordinator he said this in the past, you change your offense towards your quarterback. When it was Dak Prescott to Cooper Rush. There was
a vast difference from Cooper Rush to Trey Lance. There was a vast difference in what you could do from a quarterback. Still, skill set it Now you got to look at maybe now that Schottenheimer is the guy that was what he was saying as an offensive coordinator. If you hit these breadcrumbs along the way, you could possibly say, hey, maybe it's.
A guy that compares the Dak Prescott.
And I think not that Desmond Ritter is Dak Prescott, but we're talking about skill.
Sets, similar skill sets. Seas Johnson's also out, there's there's a bridge that we can make, you know what I mean, there's a bridge between finding the quarterback of the future and finding a solid backup now and I don't know, maybe a Teddy Bridge.
Water bridge over.
Yeah, I mean you're going to have to have a stop gap, like you're going to have to. I mean, you're talking about likely drafting a quarterback and you're not going to use a premium pick on that, which means he can't he's going to be right, he's going to be developmental. So because he's going to be developmental, you need someone who can step in immediately in the event that Dak Prescott misses a game or two. When not that dark Prescott is injury prone. However, over the past
two or three seasons, he's missed several games. So you have to have someone ready to step in and impact the game in that way.
So but that's why I hate this.
Barkin jumps off the page at me.
I'm okay with bargain shopping at certain Positionsack, but your backup QB is an important one, and we've seen that over the last couple of years.
To be clear, Cooper Rush well nine and five as.
A starter of the Cowboys wouldn't got his money.
But to be clear, because I was in on Justin Fields, he was one of the options I listed in the open moortar not at that price.
Price tag that was twenty per year, No, thank two years.
Forty million max.
I mean Daniel Jones sid for seventeen to seven. I mean he signed for nearly fifteen million dollars. And that's Daniel Jones.
But I do wonder because comparable to Cooper Rush's deal with the Ravens was like Jacoby Brissett who landed with the Cardinals.
I think two at twelve and a half. Yep, I might have done that.
I might have done that, especially when you're talking about a similar skill set to Dak Prescott. I think Jacoby Brissett would have been been fine. Yeah, would have been fine, But that twelve was a little too hard. Some of these perennial backup quarterbacks six the piece team option for year two. So really it's a one year deal. I mean that's that's the nuts and bolts of like a two year deal. Really a one year deal, right, depending on what the guaranteed money is. I would have done that.
I would have done justin fields this deal. Absolutely not. But if I could have had Jacoby Brissett or even like Cooper Rush back at two or twelve, then yeah, because again keeping in mind, you need to combine at a veteran who can step in and win a game or two with the developmental quarterback that you're likely going to draft anyway.
Right, and if they're already out on Trey Lance, I mean who else.
But also, and I mentioned this earlier, Will Grier is still in the equation, so you know, not to say that Will grid is a world beater, but I didn't want him to leave in the first place, because I felt like he was right at that event horizon in his development where he could become your QB two. Look at what he did in that final game preseason, and
he showed you what he can do. When he came back and he re signed in November of last year, he didn't get a shot off of the practice squad because of the Trey Lance Cooper Rush deal situation, how they were trying to work that out. But Will Grill is still here, still here, so I would like to see Grill get a solid shot.
How do you feel?
I liked the little greer and I think we've talked about this going back to when we were in the middle of the preseason battle, and I've always.
Liked his skill set.
I like his mindset, and I think he did learn a little bit from his venture outside of the Cowboys and then working back to the practice squad last year as a true backup.
I still think I want a little bit more, which.
Is why we're seasoning.
Huh Yeah, and not even just seasoning just either one or the other. More seasoning as a guy that's like a perennial backup, a guy like Brissette or a Bridgewater, would be a great addition in that regard. Those guys would be phenomenal because I feel confident giving them the football, giving them the offense, and that there's going.
To be a little bit of a drop off.
Because that's what happens when your starter goes down, but still able to write the ship, kind of like what we've seen from Cooper Rush.
I'm starting to look at.
This position a little bit more so as the Cowboys need to take this seriously. And if you're going to take it seriously, I think you either need to sign one of those guys, or you need to get there are gonna be so many people that hate or you need to spend one of your first first three round picks on him. It's not gonna be the first round pick. No, it's probably not going to be the second round pick. But in the third round. I wouldn't be shocked unless
you get your fourth back. That's my one caveat. If you get your fourth back, you can maybe go get a I mean, we've seen it before.
Your current starter was a fourth round pick.
You can maybe get a guy like a Kyle McCord or somebody that's in that middle part of this draft that I don't think will last until the fifth Quinn Youwers is in that conversation out of Texas McCord out of Syracuse, I think you have to spend one of those three round picks, first three round picks on those guys. And I don't want to spend a first or a second, nor do I want to spend a third.
But that's where we're at, right, That's where we're at, and most likely you're looking at your comp picks to try and.
Get one current and that.
If we're talking about that, let's go to the handy dandy Sarramont draft Cowboys fit.
I think he was my top eight.
So my Cowboys fits are guys that are outside of the topic.
Still have ten picks after you made those trades.
Oh no, he was my Cowboys fit. Oh yeah, so there he was.
Yeah, I would probably move him up now now that I've kind of seen him a little bit more and seen him.
Throw a little bit better.
Yeah, i'd probably put him at like eight or seven. I think I would move it around a little bit, But yes, he is my Cowboys fit.
Is that a guy that might be there in the fifth, sixth round.
I don't think so.
No, I think he would probably go in the fourth, and I could be wrong. These quarterbacks tend to go a little bit higher than their actual draft grade because of the vision, the position value, because of where they sit. I don't want to be sitting here in round six and seven saying yeah, you know, Seth Henigan out of Michigan's doing his thing, Like, I don't want to have that conversation.
I would rather get a guy like a.
Kyle McCord or a Quinn you were in the third, and make make it that your backup quarterback, because neither one of those guys right now have the stuff to start, but they're in the NFL and they can play at a high level.
Do you absolutely have viewers going before round five?
Yeah? Yeah, I think he's gone. I just you could maybe get like Riley Leonard.
I agree, Will Howard. I agree with you, and really not liking using a third round pick on I really don't want to, really don't want to.
I would rather if you want to trade your guys, trade your comps. You have enough capital, you still don't have to fix. You still got three comps, package them, get back.
Into the fourth, get into the fourth, and then then I'm gone with a fourth. I'm good if you handle the first three rounds.
That was a fourth kind of worked out. Yeah, that worked out great.
Joshua Dobbs was a fourth round pick the next year in the exact spot.
He's still in the league as a backup quarterback.
I mean, there's there's a lot of value you can get at the quarterback position or fourth row.
Not an exact science science.
That third would kill me, though, because you have it all have needs to fill. Yeah, and we know how important QB two is going to be. However, it's not as important as RB one or O T one or one wide receiver two.
If you're the third, if you're in the third, I don't feel but I don't feel confident you're getting any of those things in the third round.
You just you just named it. You said running back one.
You're telling me you're going to draft a running back in the third round and he's going to be your starter.
No, that's not happening.
You've drafted a wide receiver in the in the third round recently. His name was Jalen Tolbert. How's that working out so far? Not as much as you wanted to.
There's some context.
There's some context there, sure, small program, that's okay.
You want to go draft a guy out of the mid major programs and get it done group of five guys. So yeah, I think you would find your value in the third round, but I don't want to.
I would rather.
Take a stab at a guy that could turn into those things rather than it.
Would hurt though. Yeah, like I would be noticeably.
Angry, noticeably noticeably angry at a QB in the third round.
Yeah, speaking of some of these these voids and some of these needs that the Cowboys have, when.
We come back, play a little little rank them. How about that?
Oh, line them up is what I'm gonna call this segment. Line them up. If the Cowboys had to play today against let's say the Philadelphia Eagles, just cuz you got to be at your best. It's a divisional matchup. I need the best out of you. Who are you lining up in some of these positions of need? How would the Cowboys.
Look and fair in those matchups?
We'll talk about it when we come back with more of Talking Cowboys right after this. If you're looking for fresh American roasted coffee that gives back, you need to head to your local grocery store and pick up a bag of Black Rifle Coffee. That's right, America's coffee is now available in the coffee aisle of a grocery store near you. Black Rifle Coffee Company is veteran founded with a mission to give back to those brave men and women who have served our nation. Every bag box or
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He went, He went with Dan Quinn Bigatuinn got him him again.
Dan got it again. Uh.
By the way, quick correction, I didn't realize I misspoke and I said Michigan instead of Memphis for Seth Hennigan. Just so you know, I've watched every single college game of Seth Hannigan before I do a podcast with the American and so yeah, I've seen Sethn Memphis the same we know. But yeah, I just wanted to make sure that nobody in the chat that that thought I didn't know where Seth is speaking well, speaking of the chat, So I have a new segment, guys, I want to
talk about it. I have a favorite Comment Award to give out, and this is after the first segment. So I want the ogs, the ones that are tuning in live, let's go top of the show. They're ready to rock. Whether it's every Tuesday in the off season or every Monday through Friday in season.
I'm gonna just give a quick.
Little bit of love to whoever has the best comment that either makes me laugh or it's informative or it's just downright wild. I don't even know. We'll figure it out along the way. I'm gonna make up the rules as we go. My favorite comment, you said the broccoli haircut from Mason Graham in the first first segment of the show. Yes, and I was like, yeah, broccoli is gonna look good. Melvin wins our best comment of the day. It made me chuckle.
He said, broccoli is just awesome. It is. That's it.
That's so other context.
So yeah, but that's gonna be something.
I'm gonna do this at the beginning of the second segment every show from here on, Allen, because I'm trying to promote the YouTube channel. You guys are great, trying to get every buddy going.
And someone else is stoked about Draft Guide season.
Draft Guide season. That's a great one, all Caps. That's a great one like that one. Yeah, maybe that'll be in the run running next week.
Yeah soon on Tuesday.
That Yeah, watch live on YouTube, Twitter, Dallas Cowboys dot com. But the comment section is a lot of fun, and you guys are doing a great job on there.
All right.
I want to line them up, gentlemen, line them up. Cowboys have a night game tonight. They're playing the Philadelphia Eagles seven on NBC Sunday Night or what is it, Tuesday Night football?
Tuesday night football in.
The middle of the off season.
That might be a thing Tuesday. It might be like ten years from now.
Yeah, don't wish that upon any of us.
Please, all right, I'll be retired by that'll be Oh yeah.
Man, you must be making the U Is that the only day in the NFL is not taking place this Tuesday? So far?
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
Wasn't there Wednesday Monday?
Maybe there's been a Tuesday, there has been.
A they wait be scheduled from like a panning.
Probably, I think it.
Yeah, I think that was just a thing that might have been a weather thing. Yeah, I think yeah, Monday night football got pushed because of I think it was a.
Buffalo Buffalo or Baltimore one or the other something.
But either way that none of that matters at all. So if the Cowboys had to play this afternoon, who would be your starters at corner, linebacker, and wide receiver.
I'm gonna start at corner, Okay, caveat though, Yes, are injuries existing?
Yes?
Okay, Sara, if you are injured, right, darn it, because we don't know when these guys are heard of. Back Trayvon Jiggs, Trayvon Jags is a question mark whether he's going to be available in training camp and beyond uh, you've got of course to marve and overshown is going to be out for the first parts of the season, so yes, injuries do matter. I have three starting spots. We have the two outside spots, in the nickel spot at cornerback.
Patrick, I'll start with you. Are you starting in corner?
Oh?
Travon Lion's not ready, So I'm going mean Deron Bland outside, I'm going is he at nickel and I guess I'm going Kayling Carson on the other on the other boundary.
That's the thing abou Kailn Carson though? Is he's back from his shoulder surgery.
At the Yeah, so that's a borderline because we don't know anything.
Can I let's just have some can I get funky?
Yeah, get funky.
Let's get funky.
So is he and Doron or your outside corners and I'm dropping one ye Thomas down into the nickel.
Wow, okay, let's get funky.
That is getting funky. I mean, you signed him to a re signed deal. He's your depth at safety.
But how to work him in?
Yeah, he's physical, he's cerebral. Yeah, you're gonna have to get funky, of course, no doubt.
Dron Bland is your outside on the opposite side a f C championship game not permitting. Okay, let's exclude that. Give me Kier on the outside.
Okay.
And and then if he is healthy, Klin Carson at Nicol Okay.
But but if he's not, he's.
Not and Booth, Oh your pretty agent down there, notign yet?
Uh? Is he?
There? You go?
Okay, there you go. I'm gonna go.
I would do that three, I would do especially if Carson is not available.
I would have Easy in the slot.
I'd have Elam on the outside, and I would have Deron Blant on the outside as well.
So Jeremy answer your question. Yes, Jeremy was asking if Bland healthy. Yes he is.
He is healthy currently, Yes, so good good stuff there. Now moving to linebacker, and there's a reason I'm I'm.
Asking these questions.
Well we'll get to that at the.
End of the segment. But linebacker.
Two starters at linebacker? Who you going with? Marys le and Nodmarvin Overshown.
No demo.
I know, I know you have love for Murray. I want to see it. I'm going to Jackson, Samborne, Okay, Sanborne and Mail. Yeah, I do have love for Kenneth Murray.
I'm going to go. I'm going to go Leah Fallon and Murray. I think a lot of same here.
I think they kind of shadow each other a little bit, which I'm okay with because it is kind of a break glass of in case of emergency type of deal right now. But yeah, that's part of the problem is it's break glass of in case of emergency.
But I feel confident with Murray starting.
I feel better with Murray than I do Sanborn at this very moment.
I think Sanborne is a damn good rotation option, and I think he's a guy that's going to play a lot.
He just may not be my starter, doesn't Sanborne looks.
Like he would knock the frame out of a Chevy if he tackled it.
I don't doubt that. But does he not see more of a special teams and rotational linebacker.
I think he and Murray will have their special teams shares, Yeah, I probably. I think I'm fifty one forty nine Sanborne to Murray. So it's not like I'm standing on the table.
For yeah, Murray and I see I would probably say sixty five thirty.
I mean, even that's not standing on the table. It's just you know, personal preference based upon what you saw last from them, and what did you just say the AFC Championship game notwithstanding, Well, that's what all.
That's a factor. So, by the way, Andrew Booth is under contract next year?
Oh is he? Yeah? Yeah, he's Oh I'm thinking I'm thinking AO, not know. I was thinking overall, Yeah, Booth, is you said free agent?
I was like, no, I was thinking that a new edition.
I was thinking a something.
I was sitting ever thinking like I got update the website.
Hey, Michigan Memphis AO, Andrew Booth, Yeah, you figured out.
We're just trying here, fellas. Yeah, we're doing all right.
Now, what about the wide receiver position?
Mmm?
How about that moving forward wide receiver? Give me three wide outs? We're going with eleven personnel, all right.
Let me go ceedee Lamb okay obviously maybe yeah easy? Uh Jent Tolbert on the outside, Wow, okay. And then for your slot receiver, give me Cavante Turpin mm hmm okay, not bad. You can't pick any of the same players.
Good lord, tough crowd City, Lamb, and I do love your choice. That's slot. I'm going Cavante. I think Cavante needs to get more burned. I can't say that enough times on this podcast and everywhere that I am.
You know, even if.
You don't feel great about him as like receiving a catching just give him a slot down the middle, give him something. I get the ball in his hands, however you need to hand it off shovel pass. I don't give a damn your.
W R two upsite Cede Lamb.
I like the strides from Tobert, I like the strides from Brooks, but I swear to you you have.
To justify this fourth round pick.
So I'm going Jonathan Mingle because I saw Jonathan Mingle with a backup quarterback. I saw Jonathan Mingle in McCarthy's offense that didn't necessarily utilize him correctly, much the same way it didn't utilize Brandon Cooks.
It's a point of.
I want to see.
Jonathan Mingo with QB one, with Brian Schottenheimer and Clayton Adams and Connor Riley cooking it up on offense, so you can at least try to justify why the hell you gave up a fourth round pick for this guy. So that's me. I'm going Mingo. Well, not in dis order, but Lamb Vonte in the slot and give me Mingo opposite Lamb.
I'm a little surprised to hear you not say.
I'm getting Obert, I'm getting funky.
You are getting That's totally the case.
But I am surprised Tolbert Listen, Tolbert as a wide receiver.
Three, I'm totally I.
Said he made he did. I said he. I need that fourth round pick that was given away to be a wide receiver.
Two.
I need it justified.
I need That's That's where I am with it. That's why I'm choosing Mingo for Tobert because I need it justified. That's it. It's I need it just it's funky.
But I'll roll.
I'll roll with the chunky.
No, no Paris Campbell, no Ryan Flinoy, Jalen Brooks.
Are as we have this conversation, just throwing it not as we have this.
I agree with you.
Nothing there, all right, bonus round? Okay, name of starting running back right now? Who's your starter at tailback?
Between? Is it Javante Miles Sanders?
Is it?
Well we hit the draft, you're asking me this question, I'm going Javonte Williams.
Okay, what would be the pick you needed.
Do you need a first round pick or a second round pick utilized to jump Javonte Williams or can you be yes?
Anybody?
Third?
Probably what a third? I don't know. I don't think that this class is deep. I think a third.
If you've read the draft guide, you would know that.
It just came out.
A little bit.
It was literally your hands buddy yesterday, right. I don't know that the third would do it immediately.
Right, So if you use a first or second round pick on a running back, I think immediately you're thinking, oh, well, this has to be your starter.
Yeah, minute one.
If it's a third round pick, I think that it's such Avante Williams situation that maybe the third round pick can beat out as the season rolls along, but certainly, come twenty twenty six, that's going to be your guy.
I like that, and I wouldn't be against that at all, especially with this deep of a class in terms of running back.
I think you're looking at here most of this page. If you get any guys in the in the third, I think you're fine.
Most of that most there's what fifty names on that forty seven names?
That's a lot.
Hey, listen, you could you could make it a tar heel backfield. Marion Hampton, Marian Hampton, with some Javonte Williams.
I'd be okay, that would be the second round pick. That would be forty four if you get lucky.
Yeah, and that would be a damn good backfield.
There's a chance you might see Jamir Gibbs happen with Amaron Hampton. Where in that draft it was Bjean Robinson is like the name that was the guy. He was the can't miss running back prospect. He goes early and Atlanta snags him in the top five picks or whatever wherever they ended up selecting him in the top ten, he's off the board. But Jamiir Gibbs was like that second guy. It's he goes at twelve to the Detroit Lions. You could see that same thing happening this year. It's
gent as the can't miss prospect. He's going to go in the top ten, top twelve picks, might go at twelve, who knows where the situation, but you know, gent's that guy Hampton's there's a.
Good chance he goes in the first and he slips in there.
So I love the current conversation because a lot of people are saying Miles Sanders. So I want to be clear on something. Somebody said Miles Sanders. Hook whose said Miles Sanders has something to prove. You're absolutely correct. I believe he does. I feel there's a chip on the shoulder there. But you know what, everybody in this building has something to prove right now. Javonta Williams is also
one you deal he has something to prove as well. Yeah, but if we're talking about Hunter recent see Hunter Lofkey has something produced, Vahn has something prove.
Everybody has something to prove.
So if you assume that everybody has something to prove in that running backs room right now, then the question becomes who more recently was more impactful on their respective team, And for me, it's Devonte Williams.
He was, So that's that's.
He was far more impactful in Denver than Miles Sanders was in Carolina last year. Now, over the course of their career, Miles that's more impactful.
And no doubt, Spots.
Also been in the league longer than.
I've been in the league for six years compared to four for Javonte Williams. So it's it's a little bit of a difference. But I think when you look at the the body of work between the two, there's respect for both guys in the building. There's respect for them to possibly come in and be the starter. They would
be either guy. It could be either guy. Does it deter them from taking a running back in the first round if it is Ashton Genty or the second round if it's a Marion Hampton or one of these other guys that they certainly do like, No, it does not deter them from doing so. And I would anticipate still seeing your running back early same season in this draft. All right, when we come back, we've got a little extra time here. I want to take a couple of
phone calls. How about that. We haven't had some phone calls over the last couple of days. Eight eight, eight, eight, five five two two nine seven. Give us a call. Let's talk about this off season and what grade would you give the off season for the Cowboys so far?
That'll be the question we ask you and our panel and our phone call.
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To Talking Cowboys. Back here on Talking Cowboys. This segment of the show is brought to you by in Visi Line, the official smile of the Dallas Cowboys.
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Patrick Nocy, Walker, Josh Rodriguez, Chris Beam in the back.
Eye, Am Kylemens. Glad you're with us.
I want to ask the question here in a minute, what grade would you give the Cowboys off season? But before we get to that, I want to answer some phone calls. We got Larry and can say, Larry, you're on Talking Cowboy.
What's going on? Cowboys?
Hey, guys, good to here, get on the show, listen to it all the time.
Love the show.
You're the man, Larry, Thank you? What you got?
Uh?
Well, I want to talk about first round running backs.
Okay, I know.
There's a lot of talk about it this year because of the guys that are available in our spot. But here's the thing. You don't get to pick this low very often, or you certainly don't hope to right now. There's a reason they call these certain positions money five positions. Okay, you've got to stick to those.
You just have to.
And especially when it comes to running backs, linebackers and even safeties, okay, but especially running backs. Look what we did the last time. It's not how great your pick is and how great the player is. Zeke was a huge hit. Yeah, but when you get to the second contract, that killed you. Unless you're getting Saquon, which you thought you were, but you you know's there's only a few of those guys that are successful through their second contract.
Yeah.
And that's the problem with running backs. It's not what it does for your team now, it's what it does for your team four or five years from now. Okay. And this is about the difference between coaching and GMing. When you're GMing, you're GMing for the future with an eye on today. When you're coaching and you're coaching for today with an eye on the future, it's opposite to some degree.
No, I love it, Larry, great phone call.
You got a lot of insight there, and I agree with part of what you're saying because I've always been in that same mindset of running backs. It's not the position of value in the first round. However, there are a case by case basis. This is the NFL is a case by case basis in its own right, and the case only unfolds on one night out of the year.
And that's the first night of the NFL Draft.
When you get on the clock at twelve, there's a good chance you're not going to see Ashton gent there. And the reason being is because he's a special prospect who can immediately help your football team. And if you're a football team that is in a certain position to immediately be helped, then take.
A running back and you have the offensive line there for him already.
You feel pretty good about your offensive line, you feel good about your health outside of him, you have a quarterback. All of these things add up, plus you add the draft class itself. This draft class is riddled with red flags. Playing it simple, there's about seven to eight, maybe seven or eight prospects that are completely clean bills of health at the early parts of this or completely clean scouting reports of where they fit in a system, in an offense,
in a defense, wherever they may be. Ashton genty is one of those guys. So, despite what you're saying, which I completely agree with, second contracts are a nightmare for some team at the running backs position because it only happens every once in a while. You can get you can strike gold with Saquon Barkley. I think Ezekiel Elliott was a success for this organization, except you didn't get
to the mountaintop. That's just playing and simple. I mean, he was the leading rusher in twenty sixteen, leading rusher in twenty eighteen. He was a successful pick. Did he pan out for a long period of time?
Not really. He kind of died off after that second contract.
So I'm normally of that mindset of stay away from running backs. This is not one of those occasions because it's a case by case basis, and I think Ashton Gent fits the bill in this draft class, in this situation, and with a team that, of course Cowboys fans are going to say right now, is still trying to win now. They're still in that moment unless you're trying to rebuild, unless you're trying to scrap this whole thing and start it over.
I still think Ashton Gent would fill a void that you need to win now.
And That's where I'm with it.
So first, let me just kudos to Larry because fantastic football, high football like conversation that I would. I would watch a game and drink some beer with Larry. Larry knowsball.
Larry.
I don't necessarily agree with the second contract portion of it, but I see his point.
Agree because I don't care.
I don't care about I don't want to talk about second contracts coming off of seven and ten season, wherein you just saw the Eagles get another Super Bowl in this century, Like, I don't care, right, I will worry about the second contract five years from now because if it's a first round pick, you have a fifth year op.
Totally totally fair.
Half a decade from now, I'm worried about that. Half a decade, I don't care.
The salary cap will be exponentially higher, Attrition will have happened, your your salary cap structure. As far as who you owe money to who you don't owe money to, that'll be a different situation. You'll be having the post Dak Prescott conversation at that point, you'll be not the post ced Lamb conversation. But your offense will start to kind of reshape itself. The entire organization, as far as roster is concerned, will look markedly different in half a decade
from now, Okay, so I don't care about that. What I care about is this window that's rapidly closing, the Dak Prescott window that's rapidly closing.
You have all those elements right.
You haven't re signed extended Mike Coad just yet. It seems a full going conclusion. It's going to happen, but it has. Deron Bland is coming up, Jake Ferguson, all these things are coming up. What you need to do is start winning games right now and not today, not just regular season games, postseason game. Okay, So if an Ashton Gent is there at number twelve, you don't think twice,
you pull the trigger. You don't hold reservation and say, well, we're gonna have to pay this guy in half a decade from now.
You gotta be kidding me, right.
That's the thing is, there's a lot of critique around the front office right now about pushing the can down the road and trying to win five or six years from now, and is trying to stay relevant. I don't Ashton Gent would help you win right now. And that's the difference now. So I'm not spending a first round pick on any running back. Amarion Hampton is a great running back. But if the Cowboys selected him at twelve,
I would have something to say about it. If he's there at forty four, let's ride, let's get it done. You know, that's the type of thing. But Ashton gent is a clean bill of health, he's a great football player. He's going to be an immediate hit here in Dallas. And I think all of those things and all of those sure things that you can find in the NFL draft, which is hard to come by, right.
You do it. You draft good football players.
And I can see Isaiah mouthing through the Good Morning Football set to us right now.
He's saying, scared money, don't make money.
Yeah, And if you're not drafting a guy just because of the possibility that his second contract is going to be a failure, that's scared money.
Right it is.
And it's also it's kind of oxymoronic in the aspect of if you draft a guy at any position at any level one through seven in the draft because you expect that they will excel. Okay, you expect that more of a first round or second round or third round. Obviously, of course you're spending a first round pick or second round pick on a guy or third round pick. It's because you're hoping that they ball out, right, So how do you hope they ball out?
Wild ball play?
Also being concerned about them balling out and what that'll cost you take five years from I don't care about you.
Gotta take the sure thing when it's there right now, and most likely he won't be there. I don't want to what a chance. There's a really good chance, all sides of pointing to him not.
Being lit a second contract concern, But don't let that in the way turn a thirty year drought into a thirty five year drought exactly.
Now.
I love the phone call, Larry, really, it's a great call. Everybody's entitled to their opinion one way or the other, and you had a great one there. All right, let's go back out to Kansas. But this is Kansas City where Brian is on the line. What's up Brian?
Good morning, gentlemen, Good morning, Bryan, doing great? Thank you. Hey. So I've got an unusual proposition. Just if the first couple of you know, the first eleven picks obviously don't go as plan because I think everybody thinks Mason Graham is going to go in that in that first group, right, because he's.
The number one defensive tackle. Yeah.
Yeah, So what happens for in your opinion? And then what do you think the Cowboys would do if he falls to twelve? No one, you just keave Osa twenty million a year. I don't know what happens because I think it's a weak draft class based on everything I've heard, meaning a lot of the media scouts have said, hey, I've only got thirteen or fourteen or fifteen first round picks. There's not going to be a ton of people beating
your door down to trade back. What happens both in your opinion and what do you think the Cowboys are doing? I'll hang up and listen, thank you.
Can I ask you a question real quick, Brian, before you hang out? Sure if in this scenario, is Ashton Gent on the board, No, we'll.
Say Ashley, We'll just clean it up and say Gent's already been taken. But Graham is still sitting there in the milliking light.
Ted McMillan here.
Yeah, I would have to say, I don't think Ted's going to go probably in the first ten. I think you would still be there.
Okay, So now the conversation becomes space and Graham or Tet.
McMillan, Brian, thank you for the call.
I would pick one of those two guys and be totally fine with it in all sorts of it on my board right now as we sit, and I am a huge fan of Tat McMillan, let me first say that Mason Graham is higher on my board.
He is a higher prospect grade wise on my board.
So yes, if he falls, I'm gonna hurt by turning in the car. But I'm not gonna window dress my board, even if we've already paid O City. I'm gonna get Mason Graham to be a monster in the middle.
Of your defense.
But another Michigan pro I don't give.
A flying where they went to school.
I don't give a flying wolverine if they went to Michigan or not.
Mason Graham would be the pick, and I'm I'm riding with it.
He's which one, which one doesn't have the broccoli aircut.
You're going You're.
Oh, I thought you were talking about Michigan defensive tackles. I was like, why are you picking Grant there now? And that's the thing is either one of those guys would be totally fine. And if Tech McMillan is a Dallas Cowboy on whatever the second day of the draft is April twenty sixth or seventh or whatever it.
Is, I'm I'm all in. That would be awesome.
However, if that moment and that guy falls in, Mason Graham, I think you have a chance to shure up your defense and really do something you haven't done in quite some time, and that's dominate the line of scrimmage from a running game standpoint and from an edge rusher standpoint, because it helps your linebackers, helps your ed rudgers, helps your secondary, which is a problem in its own right. I think you could show up your entire defense with one pick and that guy.
That's fair.
Or you know, if Gent is going give me Tech McMillan and then circle back in the second round and give me Alfred Collins.
Which this is a deep he said. The draft class in general is not very great. It's a deep class and running back and defensive tackles. So you can do that and yeah, be totally fine.
I would be very happy with them.
Yeah, So either one of those would be fine. But if it's Graham, I'm probably gonna I'm probably a stick and pick. Try not the window address the board.
All right.
When we teased going into this segment, I wanted to give a grade of the Cowboys offseason so far.
We got to be kind of quick here so far. What would you give it a through.
F Let me give it a strong C plus. You've added some depth and that's about keeping crucial components to your defense and special teams. Is great. You brought Osa back, you got Wandie back, you got Marquise Brian Anger, and you like the rotational signings of Solomon Thomas and Dante Fowler Junior. The running back situation is fine. It's not solved.
It's like one of those like memes with the dog in the middle of the house. That's fine, as this is fine.
That's the running back position.
The linebacker spot is good, but not better than you were at the beginning of last season. I wish the wide receiver and quarterback situations were a little more shirt up heading into the draft, so you weren't so desperate for both of those positions. I think signing guys like Cooper cup signed, re signing a guy like Jordan Lewis would have kept you from the desperation that you now are facing with both of those positions, it would have
lessened that. I just wish there was a way that we could have freed up some cap space before free agency.
But oh, I guess.
There's a way to make that happen.
Solid C plus, well, no C will give the C. You found one and I found a C. It's an even C.
You did.
You did a thing in keeping osa O Diggizu the building. Fine, you did not do a thing by letting Joy Lewis walk. So the running backs room, you added some quality talent there, especially proven talent in Miles Sanders, former Pro bowler. But like you said, Josh, it's not solved a running back. I like what you did at linebacker san Borne Murray. I love what Marris is going to be, but the questions are still who's going to start alongside Marrist cornerback?
You're you're real hoping on Elam. Yeah, you're really. That's a lot of hope, and that's a nervous hope for me.
You know what I say about hope, it's not a strategy.
It's not it's not and it's a why I'm saying. So just when you look at free agency. I think as far as all things considered, all things considered, they broke even I love that they were wildly more active this time around than last year.
So they at least gave us that much.
Yeah, at this time last year we were talking.
Like, yeah, they at least gave us that much. They have some free agent signings. They have at least one top re signing, and they did. They struck some trades. Yeah, right, however you feel about it. They made some moves, but it's there's more work to be done, and I don't just meet in the draft. I think that there's still some free agency questions that have to be answered. What do we talk about top of the show QB two. Yeah,
there's still some questions that need to be answered. I land right out of Sea.
I want to first say they're not done yet. The draft is coming up. You could still sign a couple guys in free agency if you wanted to shore up some of those questions. So still work to do, and I think they'll they'll, they'll make some things happen overall. But I'm gonna say a C minus here, and the reason being is because I don't know. I think a Sea would say you're a better or you're the same football team as.
You were going into last year.
I don't know if I can sit here and say this is a football team that, without this draft class and without them hitting right now, would be a better football team.
I think there may be.
A slight bit behind the eight ball, a little bit because you don't have de Marvey and you don't have Treyvon Diggs.
You don't have all those guys.
Plus you lost Jordan Lewis, who's a leader on your defense. That's a big, big loss that has not been replaced yet. Cooper Rush gave you some security blanket behind Dak Prescott at quarterback. You haven't replaced that yet. In your running back room, you say it's fine. I think you're looking for a fresh start from Williams and from Sanders, and you don't really have a guide to rely on out.
Of those two. So you need a guy there.
And so I don't think if we're lining up week one of twenty twenty five, yeah, twenty five, and we're putting it up against week one of twenty twenty four, and we're looking at the compared and comparing the two rosters, I don't think this is a.
Better football team right now.
Still a lot you can do, and you're gonna have a draft class to try and address that. But as we sit right now in the middle of March, I'm giving them a C minus at the moment, and we'll see what can happen. I like the Murray addition. I think that's a solid crab. Dante Fowler is a solid edition on the edge. They've done some things and they've been more active because at this point last year I would have given them a D minus or an F at this point in time, but they're at a C minus.
Chance to get up to a B or get up to a B minus, at.
Least they're not getting to them.
We have to go.
I don't know about that one, all right. We got to get aside.
Draft show coming up here in a little bit for Patrick Noci Walker, Josh Rodriguez, Chrispiam in the back of Kyle Yeoman saying so long from Talking Cowboys.
We'll see you next week.
This has been a production of Dallascowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.
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