COWBOYS SQUAD SHOW: Is a BLOCKBUSTER trade for Myles Garrett now off the table?

Summary

Locked On Cowboys: COWBOYS SQUAD SHOW — Is a Blockbuster Trade for Myles Garrett Now Off the Table?

Date: March 31, 2026
Hosts: Marcus Mosher, Aisha Morrison, Glenn "Stretch" Smith
Moderator: Jeff Bigs

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Episode Overview

This week’s Cowboys Squad Show delivers an in-depth discussion on blockbuster trade rumors involving defensive superstar Myles Garrett and the evolving landscape of the Dallas Cowboys’ offseason strategy. The conversation analyzes updates from GM Andrew Berry, explores shifting NFL draft pick policies, and breaks down the Cowboys’ ongoing needs at edge rusher and linebacker. The panel also highlights recent personnel moves, the reality of George Pickens' contract situation, and how the Cowboys might handle the 2026 NFL Draft to address their defensive shortcomings.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Is a Myles Garrett Blockbuster Trade Truly “Off the Table”?

• Rumor Origins: The Cowboys were recently linked to reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett in speculative trade talks after it appeared the Cleveland Browns might be willing to move him.
• Official Word vs. Reality: Browns GM Andrew Berry publicly closed the door on a Garrett trade, but Marcus Mosher isn’t buying it:

  "No way... If you're Andrew Barry, of course you're gonna say he's not on the table because you want the best offers possible... I don't think this is the last we've heard of Myles Garrett."
  (04:44 – Marcus Mosher)

• Browns' Internal Strategy:
  Aisha Morrison notes Cleveland’s recent draft pick proposal:

  "One of their requests was in regard to the draft...trying to extend [pick trades] to five years out. I think they're positioning for future quarterback moves."
  (05:33 – Aisha Morrison)

• Timeline for Possible Trades: The team agrees that if Cleveland is set on maximizing future draft returns, any potential Garrett deal likely waits until after the draft, when teams can trade picks further out.

2. League Draft Policy Developments

• Proposal Withdrawn: The Browns attempted to push the NFL to allow first-round picks to be traded up to five years in advance, but withdrew after lack of support. Marcus and Aisha agree this reflects Cleveland’s long-term uncertainty—possibly eyeing future quarterback prospects.
• Potential Consequences:

  "You get some irresponsible owners in there that'll just trade away these draft picks for nothing. It can really damage the long term outlook of these franchises."
  (08:36 – Marcus Mosher)

3. Cowboys’ Interest in Other Big-Name Moves

• Maxx Crosby Talk Stalls: Cowboys unlikely to pursue Raider Maxx Crosby due to recently surfaced medical concerns.

  "When there are medical questions...guys are going to do the pushback every single time."
  (10:45 – Glenn Stretch Smith)

• Linebacker Search Intensifies: The panel discusses possible trades for other defensive help, including a reported inquiry into Miami LB Jordan Brooks.

  "Cowboys have called Brooks...I do expect them to continue to be aggressive going after some veterans probably at the edge spot and linebacker."
  (12:35 – Marcus Mosher)

4. Current State of the Cowboys’ Defense

• Personnel Losses: The team has moved on from multiple key D-linemen, including Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas. Recent addition Jonathan Bullard is described as a “fine backup” for run defense (21:36–22:26).
• Scheme and Fit: Glenn Stretch Smith breaks down the need for “squared stance, big-bodied” defenders to anchor their 3-4 style, referencing the challenge of run fits and freeing up linebackers as a priority.
  (23:08–25:14)
• Linebacker & Edge Depth:

  "They have a bottom three linebacker room in the NFL, a bottom six edge rush room, and a bottom 10 cornerback room...They didn’t do a good enough job [in free agency], which will have massive ripple effects on draft day.”
  (42:12 & 41:19 – Marcus Mosher)

5. Draft Philosophy: BPA vs. Need

• Concerns About Reaching:

  "The worst mistake they could make is panicking and reaching on the linebacker...Let the draft play out and draft their best players available."
  (15:10 – Marcus Mosher)

• Danger of Rigid Thinking:

  “Where you get in trouble is passing on people you have great grades on. That’s when it bites you in the ass.”
  (40:47 – Glenn Stretch Smith)

• Edge & LB “Musts”: The hosts agree: unless they solve one major need (EDGE/LB) before the draft, flexibility is limited.

6. George Pickens’ Contract Situation

• Pickens Tag Status:
  He’s been tagged; Dallas and Pickens have until July 15th for a deal.
• Team Approach:

  "Schottenheimer said he's not pushing him to be there. He wants to see the situation play out. We have plans for GP to be here a long time."
  (31:09–31:58 – Jeff Bigs and summary)

• Likelihood of Trade/Leverage:

  "I don’t think he has the leverage that Micah Parsons had...Maybe somebody gives you a third round pick, but it’s pick 80...Is pick 80 suddenly going to address your defense? No."
  (34:34 & 37:38 – Marcus Mosher)

7. Draft Strategy: Trading Up

• Possible Trades:
  Marcus Mosher floats combining picks 12 & 20 to move up as high as 6, especially if the right defensive target is there (Arvel Reese, Sonny Styles, etc.).

  "If you go up to pick 6, 7, you guarantee yourself one of the top defenders."

• Stretch’s Take on Trade Cost:

  "It’ll be a lot more expensive than that for a non-quarterback...12 and 20 maybe to get 6 and a late-third, early-four." (47:26–47:54 – Stretch Smith)

8. Free Agency & Remaining Options

• Jadeveon Clowney Still in Play?:

  “He can play in any scheme…He’s still on my radar. If the Cowboys don’t go out and draft an edge rusher early, you know, that guy can come in here, stop the run, and give you a little juice on the edge. Still holding out hope that it’s for Dallas."
  (53:46–54:38 – Marcus Mosher)

• QB2 Competition:
  Rookie Sam Howell to compete with last year’s backup Joe Milton. Both hosts and coach agree it’s needed competition for a key spot.
  (51:41–53:15)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Cleveland’s Motives:

  "This is an organization that is all over...I don't know that you can put a lot of stock in anything that any of them say."
  (06:35 – Glenn Stretch Smith)

• On the risk of not filling defensive needs before the draft:

  "If they come out of round one and draft an offensive tackle at 12 and a linebacker at 20, they have no chance to be a top 25 defense next year. None."
  (42:12 – Marcus Mosher)

• On best player available/balancing value and need:

  “You better take the best guy that's there. I don't care if he's a kicker. If you've got him ranked as one of the top guys, you better pull the trigger on that guy."
  (40:47 – Glenn Stretch Smith)

• Light-hearted local banter:

  "We got issues in North Texas, and I'm gonna tell you what's not one of them. Food is not."
  (61:22 – Glenn Stretch Smith, arguing with Marcus Mosher’s cuisine joke)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 04:13 – Is the Myles Garrett trade door closed?
• 05:33 – Cleveland’s draft strategy and implications
• 08:36 – Risks of extended first-round pick trading (comparison to NBA trends)
• 09:33 – Maxx Crosby rumors and Cowboys’ stance
• 12:35 – Cowboys inquire about LB Jordan Brooks
• 21:36 – Analysis of D-lineman signing (Jonathan Bullard)
• 31:58 – George Pickens contract and offseason plans
• 42:12 – Cowboys’ current defensive depth chart holes
• 47:10 – Draft trade-up scenarios and cost
• 51:41 – QB2 debate: Sam Howell vs. Joe Milton
• 53:46 – Jadavian Clowney’s free agency status and fit
• 61:22 – Humorous endnote: Texas food/Metroplex banter

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Summary

This episode blends insider speculation, hard criticism, and strategic wish-casting on the futures of Myles Garrett, George Pickens, and the Cowboys’ battered defense. The overarching theme is the franchise’s precarious position: lacking flexibility due to an insufficient free agency, the Cowboys’ draft needs are glaringly defensive, and creative trade-up scenarios or late-stage veteran signings may be required. As Marcus Mosher puts it, “They have not put themselves in a position where they can draft the best player available and have a realistic shot of competition.” The squad leaves listeners with a sense of urgency—a belief the Cowboys must move, and move soon, to set themselves up for meaningful contention in 2026.

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Next Episode Tease:

Marcus and Landon break down their top cornerback targets for pick #20 and beyond. Tune in for deep-dive draft analysis.

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This summary covers the core discussion and major moments, with context and commentary for those who didn’t catch the episode.

Transcript

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

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[Marcus Moer]

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[Jeff Bigs]

Hello, I am Jeff Bigs. And when is AT and T gonna get another Super Bowl?

[Marcus Moer]

I am Marcus Moer and I might not show up to offseason workouts. We'll see.

[Aisha Morrison]

My name is Aisha Morrison and I'm shocked by Marcus's comment just now.

[Jeff Bigs]

That's okay, Gwen.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Stretch Smith and I am not going to training camp. Out.

[Aisha Morrison]

How about them Cowboys?

[Marcus Moer]

It's the Cowboy Squad.

[Aisha Morrison]

Everything.

[Marcus Moer]

Dallas Cowboys every week covering all the

[Aisha Morrison]

big hits and game changing plays from

[Marcus Moer]

America's team the way only the Locked

[Aisha Morrison]

on podcast network can get ready and squat up. It's the Cowboy Squad show.

[Marcus Moer]

So starting now.

[Jeff Bigs]

Well, Coach, if you were at training camp, I would ask for your autograph. I would wait for you.

[Aisha Morrison]

Guys. Guys, did I miss something? Are we on like a strike? No, I want in.

[Marcus Moer]

It's just George Pickett said today he might. Or they said that he might not go to offseason workouts, but we'll see.

[Jeff Bigs]

Well, technically, see that. Technically he can't until he signs. Is tag right? Is that how it works? He's correct. Yeah, not with the team until he gets that done. So unless they can hold his. Hold his hand to the paper. Nope. Nope.

[Marcus Moer]

Yeah, he'll be good.

[Aisha Morrison]

I don't know. Are we? Well, Jeff, go ahead. Do your hosty thing.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Okay.

[Jeff Bigs]

All right, we'll get into that. We we got a lot of George, a lot of GP to get into tonight. All right, the count, the countdown for the Cowboys continuing. As you know, we are now less than a month away from the NFL draft. Can't wait. Right now we have another edition of the Cowboys squad show. Great to be with you on this Monday night. Happy Holy Week. Happy final day of final couple days of March. We get into April. Looking forward to that as always. We start with a welcome to the co host of the daily Lockdown Cowboys podcast. That would be Marcus Moer. We've got Aisha Morrison, two eyes back in the house. Multiple Morrison with all of the shows that she is doing right now. And former Cowboys coach Glenn Stretch Smith. All right, coming up, the very latest on the Cowboys including a lottie from Shoddy. He said a lot today. Meeting with the media. I gotta, I got, you know, gotta try to make it like.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Thank you, thank you.

[Jeff Bigs]

Brian Schottenheimer spoke with the media from the NFL annual meeting which got underway today in Phoenix. So we'll get into that. Lots a lot of different things there to address. By the way, is it okay to mock mock drafts? No. Is that bad?

[Marcus Moer]

100%. Yes. Absolutely. Yes.

[Jeff Bigs]

All right. But in all seriousness, Marcus, let's start with you. We were all over this last week when it broke the opening door for a trade, a possible trade for Miles Garrett. Could the Cowboys acquire the reigning defensive player of the year? But now the Browns GM Andrew Barry is trying to close the door. My question is, even if the door is closed, is it locked?

[Marcus Moer]

Absolutely not. I mean, no way that Andrew Barry at this time last year was talking about what kind of unicorn Travis Hunter was and that he was comparing him to Shohei Otani the, the Dodgers pitcher. Right. And that he's an all world, all generational talent. And then what did the Browns do? They traded away from Travis Hunter from 2 to 5. Right. Like he actually even called Miles Garrett a unicorn today. Used the same exact language that he did with Travis Hunter a year ago. No, I think if you're Andrew Barry, of course you're gonna say that he's, you know, he's not on the table because you want the best offers possible. I don't know that a deal is going to get done between now and the draft. I think they're leaving their options open. But I don't think this is the last that we've heard of Miles Garrett.

[Aisha Morrison]

So on my earlier show today, Girls talk, Boys Talk, Christy Scales. Shout out to Christy. She made a really good point about, you know, as with these league meetings that we're going to get into, there's also, you know, the proposals of rule changes and stuff like that. And one of the things she pointed out was that Cleveland, they, one of their requests was in regard to the draft. Well, draft picks and how far out, you know, you can, you know, ask for a draft pick. So I think they're trying to extend it to five years, if I'm not mistaken.

[Marcus Moer]

They did withdraw that today, though, unfortunately.

[Aisha Morrison]

Okay. Okay. So that, well, the fact that they even were attacking that was something that we thought was relevant in the conversation. As you talk about a Miles Garrett and you know, them saying, like, you would think they would never give up on Miles Garrett, but behind the scenes, it does seem like there's some things, as you gentlemen talked about last week that are happening that make you be like, okay, is this, this could still happen? You know what I'm saying? Like, yeah, yeah.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

I mean, this is a Browns organization who Jimmy Haslam said:1 year ago with Deshaun Watson was a big swing and a miss. Today. He stepped up and said, we're going to hit the reset and in fact, we're going to give him the opportunity to be the starter of this football team. So this is, this is an organization that is all over. You know, you can, I, I don't know that you can put a lot of stock in anything that any of them say.

[Aisha Morrison]

It's not real. It's not real. It's not real. There's no way. Like what?

[Marcus Moer]

Well, I mean, Deshaun Watson gives you the best chance to draft Arch Manning, so that does make sense to me. I get it.

[Aisha Morrison]

You're going to. You.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

So does trading Miles Garrett gives you the best. Exactly.

[Marcus Moer]

Yeah.

[Aisha Morrison]

You're going to jail. Mark.

[Marcus Moer]

Well, can I. I do want to mention some of the. With the being able to trade first round picks from five years out, the Browns withdrew that. But I am still of the belief that the Browns want draft picks in 20, 27, 28 and 29 because they're going to be trying to get a quarterback in one of those years and we just know that they're not going to get one this year. So first round picks this year aren't going to be particularly valuable. So.

[Aisha Morrison]

Right.

[Marcus Moer]

Maybe they will wait until after the draft when teams can open up the 20, 29, you know, avenue to go out and get picks. I would not be surprised if they're waiting until the summer to maybe make a deal.

[Aisha Morrison]

Marcus, any clarity on why it was withdrawn?

[Marcus Moer]

I think they just wanted to get the proposal out there to get people talking about it. Obviously they didn't get the support.

[Aisha Morrison]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, they didn't get the support. Okay, okay. Because I, I just, I don't know. That was interesting to me.

[Jeff Bigs]

So, yeah, I think it's something to think about and chew on and there's, there's pros and cons, I think, to both sides, so we'll see for sure.

[Marcus Moer]

Yeah. And the, the NBA has struggled with this for a while as well, where teams are trading first round picks in like 2032. And the issue is that you get some irresponsible owners in there that'll just trade away these draft picks for nothing. Right. And they can really damage the long term outlook of these franchises. And I'm sure that's what the NFL is trying to avoid. But at the same time, I think when you have the avenue to maybe trade four first round picks, maybe we see more quarterbacks getting traded, which is always a lot of fun.

[Jeff Bigs]

That's a good point. That, that, that is, that's a, a pro way to look at that for sure. Well, let me, let me stay on that topic for a minute because we've been saying the last couple of weeks that it's been very quiet on the Max Crosby rumor front. Right. But then Max, he's back in Vegas. Landon McCool was there over the weekend, right? Is he still there? Do we know?

[Marcus Moer]

He's still living it up in Vegas. He'll be back for Wednesday's show. Don't you guys worry.

[Jeff Bigs]

Nice. Okay. Well, there was a new report though, in all seriousness over the weekend that the Raiders may lower the price a little bit on Crosby and maybe that come draft night, the Cowboys with like the number 20 pick and maybe a future pick might be able to get him for that. What do you think of that? And would you do that? Even with the medical condition that surfaced,

[Marcus Moer]

I feel pretty confident that the Cowboys are not trading from X Crosby before the season because I, if they aren't interested in him now because of the medical, I don't think anything between now and week one is going to change. Now if we get into the season, he's playing and he's playing well and maybe the Raiders aren't doing well, maybe that's when we see a trade open up. But I, I just think across the league, we aren't going to get any new news on Max Crosby until he is back on the field. I think we could probably table a lot of these trade discussions until then.

[Jeff Bigs]

Okay.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

No, until, until the medical side until you. Again, I don't care if you're talking about a draft pick. I don't care if you're talking about an NFL vet. I don't care who it is that you're talking about. When there is, when you have medical issues or medical questions. I'm telling you, you're, you're going to see guys are going to do the pushback every single time because you start talking about first round picks, another round pick, another player, and, and, and, and you don't know where he's at from a health standpoint. I, I think that's just, that's when you really are, I mean, you really are drawing at straws at that point. I don't, I just don't see this being something that the Cowboys are going to go down the road right now. Especially when I think it was Dr. Fowler or Cooper, one of them was the one that did. Finding on, on what was going on with him. So I, I just, I don't, I don't see the, I don't see this being a topic right now. I really don't.

[Jeff Bigs]

Very alarming.

[Aisha Morrison]

Okay, Jeff, you, you got jokes today.

[Jeff Bigs]

Slept good last night.

[Aisha Morrison]

That was another good one, man.

[Jeff Bigs]

Okay, so we'll just leave it at that. And I, I would agree with you. I think it, it just, it, it's just not, not now. Not now. We'll see what happens. But there's bigger things going on and, and Stephen Jones himself even kind of hinted when he spoke with the media today that, you know, even Miles Garrett aside or Max Crosby that they're looking into other potential big name moves that we don't know about yet. So that was encouraging.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Yeah.

[Marcus Moer]

And, and honestly we got one just the other or just a couple hours ago that Jordan Brooks, the linebacker from the Miami. It was reported in the, I believe it was the Sentinel. The Cowboys have called Brooks. He was an all pro player last year. He's on the final. Yeah. Final year of his contract. It doesn't sound like the Cowboys have had an offer that's particularly close, but we heard last week they were shopping around for potential linebackers. So I do expect them to continue to be aggressive going after some veterans probably at the edge spot and linebacker. It's just, Yeah, I don't think it's going to be a Miles Gear or Max Crosby type of name.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Stephen Jones stepped to the mic today and said that, I mean acquiring players is a365 scenario for where they're at right now. So I mean, you know that, that makes you think maybe they do have some sort of card up their sleeve to, to make a play at somebody? I, you know, I don't think unless you're in the building, you have any clue of what they're doing. But I do believe that they are, that there are certain people that they have targeted.

[Aisha Morrison]

Well, I think the card also too is, I would think that maybe if they're trying about talking about trading things, like part of the card is the third round pick that you just were able to get as well for also Diggy Zoo. I think that is a part of this search as well and why it made sense for the team. And to your point, coach, you know, like they did, they don't have, they didn't have a second round pick, you know, so it's that third round pick, whether it be for trade or for a draft, a draft pick that you need to come in and have immediate impact matters. So that's a part of the card. But I, I, I'm kind of in a place too where I'm like, I'm not gonna say that Dallas has been just far better about keeping stuff in house, but I do think that over the like last year and a half there has been, it has been a little bit more difficult to get a beat on some of the stuff that they are doing. And I mean from the George Pickett pick and straight the Quentin Williams thing was like right that night people started hearing like some real rumblings about it. So I think maybe two is like they're trying to keep things a little bit more closer to the best in past years because I, it's it, we're not getting much, I'm not getting much of anything from anything that they're saying out loud.

[Jeff Bigs]

And Marcus, as you and coach have both said repeatedly that, I mean the Cowboys are in a good spot. I mean they have, they have picks, they're in a good spot and they have, they have some room to wait for their phone to ring if need be.

[Marcus Moer]

Yeah. And I just think the, the linebacker spot is a spot that you can address in a lot of different ways. And I think if you wanted to wait until after the draft to go out and trade for somebody, they're going to be some names available. These guys usually don't cost a lot, especially as they get into their late 20s and early 30s. I, the worst mistake they could make is panicking and reaching on the linebacker. And that's, that's my fear is that they're going to get into this draft and feel like they need to leave round one with a starting caliber linebacker. And when you do that, that's how you draft poorly and that's how you build bad football teams. So I'm really hoping that the front office, Stephen Jones and Will McClay, they exercise some patience here. They don't reach and then they evaluate their options like they did last year when once Tenerel McMillan was off the board at eight, they didn't reach on a receiver because they had a need. They let the draft play out, they drafted their best players available and then they made a trade for George Pickett's. I, I hope they follow that path again because it worked last year.

[Aisha Morrison]

Yeah, I hope that they do as well. But I also am just like from a, a defensive standpoint, you don't, I don't know. I feel like you don't for that, for that mic spot in particular. I mean, they have already said that they, they need someone that is a good communicator, a good processor, all those things. And when you look into this draft, there are maybe like two guys, as we talked about, you know, the other week, Coach Marcus, like there's only a few guys even in this draft that you think can handle that low. So I would hope that they, if those guys are gone, like reaching would be out of. It would be so out of. Not even just in context of the draf. It would be outside of the realm of what you've been saying that you want to be as a football team on that side of the ball.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Yeah, we, we talk about, I mean, everybody talks about it being a mic. I don't know that, you know, with, with this scheme. Is, is it going to be, is there going to be a true guy that they're going to want to, you know, call. That's going to be a green dot guy that's going to call all this.

[Aisha Morrison]

He traditionally does have a guy and it's always, it's typically his.

[Marcus Moer]

Right.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

But I don't know, I don't know if it's too, I don't know if going to line up with two bubble backers. I don't know if they're, you know, they're two overhang guys. I don't know how they're. It'll be interesting to see how they, yeah. How they formulate what they're doing. But either way they've got to have, I mean, other way, they've got to have multiple linebackers. They're going to have to get themselves in position, whether it's trading, late season evaluation, late season acquisition or draft and they're going to have to get a couple linebackers.

[Aisha Morrison]

Coach, do you think that a safety, a safety could also be in play with the green dot? I know that some coaches don't like, you know, the guy that's at the like third of the field to be, you know, be like man in the defense. But if we do have a guy that's going to be coming and doing some nickel stuff or in the box and stuff, do you think that a safety might be in play too?

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

I mean, I, I really don't know. I don't know. I wouldn't take it. I wouldn't say no. Yes, but I don't think that, I mean, I don't think really fits with where you are because you got to have somebody that's Uber plugged in just to be making the checks to shifts and motions and what they're doing. From a receiver standpoint, I think that's an awful lot to put on a guy's plate. But I wouldn't say no. I just think that they're still, at the end of the day, I think they want a veteran guy. I really do. I think they'd like to get a young guy, A young guy and then a veteran guy in that position and then see who fits best as they go through training camp.

[Jeff Bigs]

All right, well, when we, when we come back, the Cowboys did add a member to their defense since we did our last show. We'll get into that. And we've got the very latest on George Pickens and what head coach Brian Schottenheimer had to say. We'll get into that and a whole lot more. Great to be with you. This is the Cowboys squad show.

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[Marcus Moer]

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[Jeff Bigs]

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[Marcus Moer]

I actually watched a lot of his tape on Sunday and it's, it's a fine signing because they desperately needed another veteran body. They've moved on from a lot of defensive tackle talent this off season, including obviously OSA Dzua. They also traded Solomon Thomas and they released Perry on Winfrey. So that went, I mean all their depth is basically gone. They had their three starters up front but nobody behind them. Bullard is a average to good run defender who gives you nothing as a pass rusher and that's okay. They just needed another guy that could come in, give you 15, 20 snaps a game and that's what I think he's gonna do. I think he's going to be the backup probably to Quinn and Williams. Maybe we'll see him play it in a little bit of that four eye but he's a, I find backup.

[Aisha Morrison]

Yeah, I thought it was a smart signing for all the reasons that Marcus said and then also too I, I wanted to ask coach specifically because from the run stop in perspective, he's not obviously he's not as a slim as a, I mean he's kind of, you know, but I thought Solomon Thomas, you know, quiet as kept did some good things in a run last year, really sifting through trash and a lot of those short yardage situations and stuff. His body type's different than, than, than the gentleman that they just grabbed. Like coach, this is, is Solomon Thomas not like a fit? I thought he would be a fit for this but obviously Dallas decided to trade him or how these guys roles would be different or similar.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Yeah, I mean again, you got to think of more in this defense from what I understand. And you got to keep in mind now, I mean, I think there's very little out there about exactly what they want from a defensive line standpoint. But I can see more squared stance guys, guys that are more, that are more, you know, instead of that, they're going to be more that with their feet, which means that they're going to, they're, they're going to be more. Hey, we're going to play, we're going to play this double team and we're not going to let this. If I'm, if I'm playing over, if I'm shaded over the center, I'm not going to let this guard get into my hip and be able to get to a second level. I'm going to be more of, I'm going to fight this double team off and I'm going to allow my linebackers, my safety, my nickel, the free flow and get to, and get to the play. Do you want somebody that's very, you know, that's real agile? Yeah. I mean I can remember when, I mean when, when, when Philadelphia was really good back, you know, back in the early 2000s, they had a Hollis Thomas, the kid we had at Northern Illinois and he was a squared stance, big thick body guy. And I can remember Larry Allen saying he had the most trouble with him because guys that are thicker and have those squared stance are harder to move off the football. So my gut feeling is they need, they're going to need some of those guys who are just down in there really just fighting the double team block. And that's your job. I mean just get in this gap right here, fight this double team block. Don't get turned, don't get, don't get to where your shoulders are turned, your hips are turned. Get in here and stay square. And I think that's what you're looking at when you see these bigger bodied guys get into a 34 defense. They're going to want guys that don't allow guards or uncovered centers to get second level blocks.

[Aisha Morrison]

Tracky tracking.

[Jeff Bigs]

Very good. That was a great breakdown, coach. Love that. Thank you. Love it. When you give us those nuggets, it's outstanding. So let me stay with the D line here, Marcus, real quick because I know you guys have been all over it every day. You too, Aisha. So looking at different mocks and so we're looking at this week and number 12 and saw something that there's thought that maybe Reuben Bain of Miami might be there at number 12 would be available. Number 12 would drop down. Do you agree with that? Is that, is he somebody that would be a good fit?

[Marcus Moer]

It's, it's tricky because like I like Reuben Bain. I think he's an awesome player. I think he's a phenomenal pass rusher. He plays with power. But I don't know because I think they're going to ask their, their edge rushers to drop more in coverage and to play in space more. And I, I love Bane, but he's not the most athletic guy sideline to sideline. I, I, I truly, I don't know. Like when I think of like what the, the Eagles have had over the last couple years or what Denver's had, you know, they're running a similar style defense. It's the 245, the 250 pound edge rushers that can play in space, that can win with speed, that don't mind dropping into, you know, into the flats and in coverage. I, I would hope that they would look at Bane as somebody who is too good of a talent to pass up, but I also could see them feeling like he's just not a strong fit in our defense.

[Jeff Bigs]

Okay.

[Aisha Morrison]

I mean I think that he's a good, I mean obviously he, we saw what he did in the playoffs and in the championship. He's so disruptive and just as a peer pass rusher like Marcus was talking about. He's definitely one of the best in this class, one of the more versatile in this class. I would love to see him in that wide nine really giving some of those taller tackle some issues with his band. But I, I will say I agree his change of direction is not the best. And, and, but I will say also guys, it's like how much are they going to really be asking those guys to do that? I know that it is a part of the scheme and it is a part of being, you know, trying to have some ambiguity in what you're doing. But like how often are they really going to ask these defensive ends to do that and how many defensive ends in real life can do that, even the best?

[Jeff Bigs]

Yeah, that's a great point.

[Marcus Moer]

Well, I mean it's hard to say for sure because they're going to be a different defense than Philadelphia. They're going to be a different defense than like what we've seen in, in Denver. I mean, but we've seen before like it could be up to where it's upwards of 120, 130 snaps a season. And I know that's not a huge amount, but you still need guys that are going to be able to do it. And we've, we've seen. The Rams are a good example. They have their guys dropping coverage about 150 snaps a season. It's not the most important thing, but you also have to be able to do it

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

and you got to have a feel, I mean, that, that, that's the other thing is you've got to be able to understand, you know, concepts and, and where guys are coming from and where you're dropping to. And it's, it really is, it's, it's something that you, you gotta, you have to have a feel for. You asked about Reuben Bain. I mean, in my mind that's, that is too rich for Reuben Bain at 12. Doesn't mean that Kansas City, who's. What do they sit at? 10?

[Marcus Moer]

9. 9.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Yeah, yeah, I've seen where, I mean there's, I could see if the corner's not there, which they, they've got to have corner. I mean, I, I could see that. I, I don't, I don't see him particular as a fit at 12 for the Cowboys. I, I think that's a little bit too rich.

[Marcus Moer]

And we should mention, I think the Bengals are going to have a pretty high grade on Reuben Baines. So I don't think it's likely he gets to them at 12 because of the Chiefs who stretch mention and the Bengals at 10. But I will be fascinated if he's there at 12. Do the Cowboys take what I think a lot of people believe would be easily the best player on the board or do they have a different grade on the, on him than the consensus does? We've seen over the last couple years that they're not, they're, they're willing to be bold. I think Tyler Booker is a great example. Last year nobody had Tyler Booker as a top 12, top 15 player in the draft. They took him at 12 anyways because that's what their board told them to do. I want to be fascinated here.

[Jeff Bigs]

I like that. Okay. All right. Real super short time out. When we come back, George Pickens and what did Brian Schottenheimer have to say about him? We'll do that when we come back. This is the Cowboys squad show. Want to remind you as well about to. Don't forget to check out the Everydayer Club for ad free episodes and access to a group chat with Marcus and listeners of the show and Landon. The whole package Tap in the link in the show notes or go to again. It's the everydayer club here on Locked on.

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[Marcus Moer]

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[Jeff Bigs]

All right, we're back. I love that technologies. Beautiful thing. All right, so as we mentioned kind of quickly at the beginning of the show, George Pickens has been tagged. They have until July 15th to get a deal done. But as far as voluntary team activities that start next month, head coach Brian Schottenheimer said he's not, he's been in contact with Pickens, but he's not pushing him to be there at this point. He wants to see the situation play out. Schottenheimer does with Pickins, but he made a couple of points. He said, we have plans for GP to be here a long time. So what do you guys make of that? And what do you, what do you, what do you think we'll see happen with GP as we head into April?

[Marcus Moer]

I was, was George Pickens part of the offseason workouts last year in April in Dallas?

[Aisha Morrison]

I think so. Wasn't he here? Was he here?

[Marcus Moer]

No, he came in May. I was, I was joking. He came in, he came in May, right?

[Aisha Morrison]

He wasn't here yet. Yeah.

[Marcus Moer]

Yeah, but he was a training, yeah, he was a training camp, but he missed all the off season workouts because he was in Pittsburgh. Right.

[Aisha Morrison]

Still. Yeah.

[Marcus Moer]

Did it have any, did it have any big impact on his ability to play in Dallas in 2025? No, no, I think he's going to be okay. I think if he misses mini camps and OTAs, I don't think it's that big of a deal now if he's missing training camp practices out in Oxnard in late July, August, that's when I will be concerned. But I'm not worried about George Pickens running around in a T shirt and shorts in the, you know, April and May, it's just not a big deal.

[Aisha Morrison]

I don't think it's a big deal either. But I also, I, I, I'm also of the mindset that, you know, as you said, Marcus Plenty of times. Plenty of times is that he is in a unique situation where, you know, this is a pivotal time for him. You know, like how he handles this and how well he does this season could have ramifications on him even getting, you know, being a part of Reset in the market in a couple years, as you gentlemen have talked about. So I do feel like, whereas, like, I think how some people would think he would normally. How he should handle it or how he normally would handle it, we might see something different because again, this season is pivotal for him in his future, whether here in Dallas or wherever else he decides to go.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Again, I think he's already shown that he has, he has the ability to connect with the quarterback. I think he's, he understands the timing of the offense. I mean, I, I don't think it's that big of a deal. I do think if it, if it starts to linger, though, if this thing starts to feel like he's, he's not going to sign this and there's pushback, I could absolutely see a scenario here where, guess what? Dallas. Dallas could look at options with him. I mean, I, I, if they looked at options with Micah Parsons, they're, they're going to, they're going to look at options with George Pickens. If he decides that, you know, he's, he's, he's going to be, you know, he's, he's going to, he's going to play hardball in this situation, I think

[Marcus Moer]

that's possible, but I don't think he has the leverage that Micah Parsons had because I'm going to keep hammering this point home. He was available at this time last year.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Nobody else wanted him for a third round pick. I mean, I'm with you. I'm just saying that now he has shown that he, he can, he will and is able to. And, and I mean that that tide has shifted. So I do think, and this is not me saying that, you know, I, that I think he's in outer or, or, or whatever the scenario is, but I think the, the farther you go into this, that the Cowboys have not addressed their need defensively, which is a rush in a linebacker. And the farther you go into this, he becomes an asset to possibly addressing that he's going to make himself available in those situations by what he's, by his actions or what he's doing.

[Marcus Moer]

So I, I agree with you that I think the Cowboys might look at him as an asset that they could use to fix the defense. I think the only thing that I would push Back stretch on is. I just don't see a team giving up anything of real value for George Pickens. I think the best case.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Let me just throw this out there. What, what if Cleveland said we'll take 20, Nick, this year you're one next year in George Pickens. You doing the deal for Miles Garrett?

[Marcus Moer]

Oh, yeah, but I. Yes, absolutely.

[Aisha Morrison]

Okay.

[Marcus Moer]

But I don't think.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Just pull the trigger one way or the other.

[Marcus Moer]

Yeah, I. Yes, I, I would. I just, I don't think that any team.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Let me ask you this. Is that enough to get Miles Garrett?

[Marcus Moer]

No, probably not. Probably.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

All right. What if it's. What if it's. What if it's the 20, next year's one and Smith the guard?

[Marcus Moer]

No, I'm not doing that.

[Aisha Morrison]

Absolutely not.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

You're not doing that?

[Marcus Moer]

Probably not.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Okay.

[Marcus Moer]

And. But just to go back on the pickets part of it really quickly, I think there would be teams willing to give up a day two pick for Pickens. I don't see a team willing to give up a day two pick for Pickens and, and pay him 34, 35 million dollars a year. It's the combination of the two. And from everybody that has been whispered about this thing for a while now is there's just no way that they're going to Give this guy 34, $35 million a year without having him in the building first. And that makes it really, really hard to trade him. I just, I just don't see a realistic trade for Dallas where it makes sense because, yes, maybe somebody gives you a third round pick, but it's pick 80, and I'm making this up. Is pick 80 gonna suddenly address your defense? No, you might find a starter there.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Again, I'm talking about. I'm talking about a package deal. I'm not talking about a one for one.

[Marcus Moer]

And that's. I agree with you.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

That's a one for one. I said take in this scenario, right? That's being a one.

[Marcus Moer]

I mean, that's the best way, right? That's if you're going to get the value out of Pickets. It's part of a package that you're trading for another player. But outside of Miles Garrett, I don't know how many options are out there like that.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Well, I mean, here. And then here's where I'm gonna go. What, what if one of these receivers, what if the Arizona State kid you've got ranked high and he's. He's really high and he's sitting there at 12, you're gonna pull you gonna pull the trigger on him? Are you gonna reach in another position?

[Marcus Moer]

Probably reach that case, because that guy can't stay healthy at all.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

What guy?

[Aisha Morrison]

Well, he probably wouldn't beat Tyson, right?

[Marcus Moer]

Tyson? No.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

I mean, anyway, never mind the guy.

[Marcus Moer]

If it's, if it's, if it's

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

whoever, the top, whoever the second best receiver is.

[Marcus Moer]

Yeah, let's say.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

And we could sit here and speculate till the cows come home. Whoever they have as the second best guy on their board, if he's there at 12. And are they going to pull the trigger on that guy? And they've already shown you that they will.

[Aisha Morrison]

I feel like a lot of people are gonna say, excuse me, go BPA and and all that stuff, but I, I, I wholeheartedly believe that if Dallas walked out of the first round with a offensive and a defensive player and not like too deep, like, if the first player that they take in this draft is an offensive player, regardless of. I'm, I'm not, I'm talking as someone that is like in the fan world, on the side, on that side of sometimes, like with people. That's not something that's going to be well received. I'm sorry. It's not.

[Marcus Moer]

And it comes back to your off season.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

It's well received.

[Aisha Morrison]

I'm sure they don't care. I'm just telling. We got a job to do and we just talking, we just.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

With you. I'm just, I'm just saying that, yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm with you. I'm, I'm saying I, I don't think at the end of the day, I, I don't believe that, that like, that's taken into consideration. I'm not sure. I'm saying that, that if, where you get in trouble is when you pass on people that you have great grades on, that you have an opportunity to pull the trigger on that. That, that's when you get, that's, that really is. That's when it, that's when it bites you in the ass. So you can't. I guess what I'm saying is it has to be an open mind on all fronts. And if I don't know again, I don't. I look at, at 12 again, I'm looking at maybe four guys defensively that I would say are worth the 12 pick. Delane Stiles, Downs, Arvell Reese. If those four guys are not there and you're, and you. And nobody's calling you at 12, I don't know who's Falling off the board. I don't know. We don't know. We sit here and speculate, but if one of those four guys is not there and the phone's not ringing for somebody to get up into 12, you better take the best guy that's there. I, I don't give a damn if he's a kicker. If you've got him ranked as one of the, one of the top guys, you better, you better pull the trigger on that guy.

[Aisha Morrison]

All right, well, I guess it's just going to be score all the damn points, but here, that's what it's gonna be.

[Marcus Moer]

Stretch, I don't necessarily disagree, but this is why I have been so furious with how they've handled their off season. Because they have not put themselves in a position where they can draft the best player available and have a realistic shot of competition.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

No, no question. They, they, they, they, they've taken flexibility because of their lack of what they've done. Flexibility is out of the question.

[Aisha Morrison]

The only way that they could even establish any flexibility is if they do handle linebacker or defensive end. They gotta handle. To me, at least one of them makes you a little bit better off going into this draft. Like I, in getting a starter there will make you one of those positions. That's how I feel. And I, because I just real. I think realistically getting both is just not going to happen. But at least one, getting a starter there before the draft, I would feel far better about their positioning.

[Marcus Moer]

Here's the way that I look at it. Aisha is, I think, going into the draft right now. They have a bottom three linebacker room in the NFL. I think they have a bottom six edge rush room in the red in the NFL and a bottom 10 cornerback room in the NFL. You only have two picks inside the top 90. Right. Like you can. If everything works out, if you hit on corner and edge, you're still going to have a massive hole at linebacker. They've done. I know Stephen Jones said that they, they thought they did a good job of improving their football team this offseason. Maybe they did. They didn't do a good enough job because otherwise you wouldn't have these massive holes going into the draft and it would allow you to draft the best players available. But if we, if they come out of round one and they draft an offensive tackle at 12 and a linebacker at 20, they have no chance to be a top 25 defense next year. None. Like they just, they. And I know Christian Parker. A lot of people think he's going to walk on Water and solve all their issues on defense.

[Aisha Morrison]

You still gonna be good though.

[Marcus Moer]

He's gonna be good. He still needs talent. He can't get bad players to suddenly be elite players. This is a bottom five, bottom six roster in terms of talent. You're hoping that he can give them to be the 25 or 25th best defense in the NFL. And that's just a huge stretch.

[Aisha Morrison]

I mean, I disagree. I think your secondary did get better. I thought your safety room improved. I think from a corner, the corner spot, you have more. As we're going to get into. I'm sure you just have more different types of guys in there. You got some more guys that can take the ball away as well. I, I do think on the, the defensive line front as well, you did some of the heavy lift last year. The end room is kind of mammoth to me.

[Marcus Moer]

I look at like you. I think you exchanged out OSA for Rashawn Gary, which, fine. Maybe Gary's a better scheme fit.

[Aisha Morrison]

Fine.

[Marcus Moer]

But you also lost Solomon Thomas, you lost Perry on Winfrey. You really haven't added anybody else of value to me. Your, your front seven is, is basically to me the exact same as it was coming out of last year. In fact, it might be worse because Jadavian Clowney's not on the roster right now.

[Aisha Morrison]

I don't think it's.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

I mean, I'm gonna say this, disagreeing with the fact that maybe they, they've upgraded in the secondary, but if you can't get somebody to get to the quarterback.

[Aisha Morrison]

I agree.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

You could have four Deion Sanders out there. At some point they're going to get

[Marcus Moer]

open and asking a rookie, especially one that you're not drafting at 12, it's just way too much pressure to put on that player's plate. Right. And that's, that's my issue is that they're going into the season knowing that they're going to have to manufacture pressure because they don't have that guy that you can rely on to beat blocks one on one consistently. And to me, if you're, if you didn't find that guy this off season, or at least you didn't go out and try to get somebody, you know, in free agency. You whiffed on the linebackers. That's why I think they're. The really bad free agent period is going to have, is going to have massive, massive ripple effects when they get to the draft. Because, hey, if, if a defensive guy is not there and you have to take a running back or receiver, offensive tackle, that's great. You're going to take the best player available. It's not going to help your football team this year.

[Aisha Morrison]

What can they do, gentlemen? What can they do prior to the draft that is going to, that you think would better set them up? If you, if you had your way, what could they do right now?

[Marcus Moer]

Two things I, I think number one. Yeah, yeah. You go out and you try to be aggressive in making a trade for a starting caliber linebacker or edge rusher. Now I think linebacker is way more realistic because those guys can be had. We've mentioned names before. I would also if I was Dallas. Explore trading up in round one to go kind of guarantee yourself that you're going to get one of those top four players that stretch mentioned. Arvel Reese, Sonny Styles, David Bailey, Monsor Delane, Caleb Downs. That's technically five, right. Go up to pick six, go up to pick seven, make a trade to. Because otherwise you're, you're just leaving it up to chance and I, I don't think you want to be there and

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

you don't, you don't, you don't care what the, what the cost is to move up.

[Marcus Moer]

No, I do. I, I think the best way for Dallas to do this and I, I've done a lot of these different scenarios is to try to trade 12 and 20 to get let's again hypothetically 6 and something else where maybe you're not, you're not getting back another first round pick but you're not necessarily losing a, a top 100 pick because you're going to need those picks. One of the trades that I suggested was 6 and 39 for 12, 20 and pick 112 and it seems like there's maybe more momentum there but something like that. Cleveland I think wants to bail out of that six spot. We'll see if they're, if they're willing to take 95 cents on the dollar.

[Aisha Morrison]

Yeah, there's a, we've done a couple simulators as well and it was, it was about the same as you as you were saying the doing the trade, trading up and then and getting something back early in, in the second round or like mid second round. I would be okay with that as well.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

It'll be a lot more expensive than that.

[Marcus Moer]

Do you think it will be for a non quarterback?

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

It'll be a lot more. I'm telling you it's gonna be a lot more expensive than that. I'm telling you.

[Marcus Moer]

I, I got another trade and I'm

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

not disagreeing what you're saying but I'm Telling it's gonna be more expensive. Another team you're gonna be, you're gonna be 12 and 20 maybe to get six and

[Aisha Morrison]

yeah. And I a late three.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Late three, maybe early four. That's how expensive it's okay.

[Marcus Moer]

Another trade that's. I'll run through this quick, Jeff, because I know we got to get to a break. The commanders I don't believe have a second round pick. So maybe you could do something with them, you know, to pick up a couple first round picks. You go 12 and 20 for seven and the third rounder which is very early, something like that where you're not losing picks but you're getting up to go get the guy that you need to fix this defense.

[Jeff Bigs]

All right, well, we'll leave it at that. Great ideas. You think the commanders would do a trade with the Cowboys? I know it was hypothetical.

[Marcus Moer]

Yeah. Dallas traded with Philadelphia during the 2021 draft where they came up to go get Devontae Smith. Dallas traded back selected Micah Parsons. Worked out pretty well.

[Jeff Bigs]

Yeah, it did. No doubt. Okay, final timeout. Final segment when we come back real quick, timeout. This is the Cowboys squad show.

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[Marcus Moer]

out plus our five year price guarantee.

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[Jeff Bigs]

We are back. Marcus, you made the comment the Cowboys have a bottom three linebacker room. I would say they have an only three linebacker room.

[Marcus Moer]

It's true. They only have three linebackers on their roster right now. It's the Marvin over Sean Jamar James and Justin Barron who I think only played a couple snaps at the end of the year. And yeah, go go to our lats. Great resource. Look at all of the linebacker depth charts. Pretty easy to see where the Cowboys ranked there.

[Jeff Bigs]

Ouch. Well, Shoddy was asked about that today and he said that drafting a rookie linebacker or trading for a veteran one are both options. And he said that the Cowboys are not done yet. So hopefully he's right. That would give the Cowboys a little stretch before the draft if they can make one of those moves.

[Marcus Moer]

That's a way better answer than saying yeah, we don't have a plan at linebacker we're all done.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

So flying by the seat of her ass out here, hanging out in Phoenix. Yeah,

[Marcus Moer]

I hate to be that way, Jeff, but whenever I listen to any of these coaches or GMs talk, it's always like, okay, what else are you gonna say? Yeah, of course you had a great off season. You had it was you in charge. Of course you thought you improved your roster. Nobody's gonna go out there and be like, you know, we got a lot worse this off season. I think our chances are this year we got none.

[Jeff Bigs]

You know, that would be a great answer.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Well, my golf game's better. I mean, we ain't worth a tinker's ass. But let me tell you, my wedge game is for real right now.

[Jeff Bigs]

Good courses there in the desert got those. Those courses with the stand around it. And you got a golf. So Jadevian Clowney. Oh, wait, one other thing. One other shoddy note. This is a big deal, but kind of a minor deal. He did say that newly acquired quarterback Sam Howell with the good hair, will compete with Joe Milton for the backup job. So it's not etched in stone for jam. Does that surprise you at all?

[Marcus Moer]

Okay, no.

[Jeff Bigs]

Because during dax, you know, I think considering Dax, you know, potential for injury, I think you have to at least address it because it could be. Could be reality.

[Marcus Moer]

This is why it doesn't surprise me, Jeff, because I remember last year during the preseason, about seven or eight phone calls as a preseason game was going on from Stretch yelling about how bad the backup quarterback was. And to be fair, he's not wrong. Like, they had a really hard time even evaluating the down roster, offensive linemen, receivers and tight ends because Milton was that bad in preseason. Now, whenever he got into the game during the regular season, he actually was much better. But I think you need a quarterback that is way more steady and accurate than Milton. I think this at least puts some pressure on Milton to get better in a hurry.

[Jeff Bigs]

Okay.

[Aisha Morrison]

I don't think it's. I mean, I mean, yeah, are we talking about the Sam Howell thing and then like in quarterback maybe being an option and something that they do decide to grab or. I mean, yeah, sure, I think that that's an important part of things. I mean, Dak is getting older and also, too, backup quarterback has become a position that matters. Like, I mean, I don't know if it was last year, the year before that, but we. We saw almost every team in the NFL had a backup quarterback play at some point in time this season. It's just not a position. I feel like you can just not take seriously anymore because the seasons are longer and.

[Jeff Bigs]

Yeah, Amen.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

All right.

[Jeff Bigs]

Well, Jadevian Clowney spoke with the media. They, I think they caught up with it in Houston and he. In a. In a good way, he issued a warning to all the teams that have passed on him. And he says that he still has something left in the tank and that he can play in any scheme and that he loved playing for the Cowboys for whatever that.

[Marcus Moer]

I believe it. He talks about how he really enjoyed playing on Thanksgiving and having all of his family there and watching. He thought that was really cool. I. I do believe that he can play in any scheme because we've seen it. He's played in basically every single defense that you could ever imagine as he's bounced around the NFL. I also, I don't think Jadavian is in a big hurry to sign. He's never been one of these guys that I think enjoys the rigors of the off season. Like, if he could sign in late August after training camp is done, I think he would do that. He's somebody that I'm still having on my radar. If the Cowboys don't go out and draft an edge rusher early, at least, you know, that guy can come in here, stop the run and give you a little juice on the edge. He's going to get a deal. He's going to play this year. I'm still holding out hope that it's for Dallas.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

He's shown he can play in the 34 defense. He did in Houston. He's shown he can drop, showing he's got an understanding of knowing where the curl route's going to run, how to play the flat, knowing how to get in position to make a play in a hot situation. So, yeah, I think what he's saying is correct. I mean, he doesn't bother him at 34, 43, whatever the defense is. So I think he's absolutely could be still in play and he should be still in play. He was productive enough this year. We have eight and a half sacks. He's productive enough to continue to, I think, be a value even if you got another guy, even if you drafted one. I think he's, you know, I think absolutely there's some value to bring in Jadevion Clowney, back him here.

[Aisha Morrison]

Yeah, I know physically, like, dropping into coverage is probably something that he wouldn't want to do a whole bunch anymore. But like you were mentioning earlier, coaches having a feel and, you know, just having the awareness. I think he does absolutely still have that even in the latter part of

[Jeff Bigs]

his age, did I see that he was ranked by PFF, the number 7 edge rusher? Is that right?

[Marcus Moer]

Yeah, he was awesome last year. He was one of the best run defending edges. The win rates, all that, the pressure rates were all really good down the stretch. Now, he didn't play a ton of snaps. It was under 500 snaps. So you do kind of have to remember that in the grades. But yeah, on a per snap basis, he was awesome last year.

[Aisha Morrison]

Yeah, it would have been awesome to pair him with, you know, another really good pass rusher and to do it like that. But yeah, he stood out and I think he earned another opportunity to be here and in the locker room. Loves him as well. Absolutely loves him.

[Jeff Bigs]

So what you were talking about earlier, Marcus, about the Cowboys making a move to try to get back some flexibility before the draft. I know, I feel like I, I ask this or say this a lot, but I just, I feel like I need to repeat it. I mean, we're assuming that obviously if we're kicking this around, the Cowboys privately know what predicament that they're in and they know where they're at and what they need to do.

[Marcus Moer]

Yeah. And I think I wouldn't be surprised if they're already setting some trades up depending on, hey, this guy's available at the spot. You know, what if we, what if we make this offer and hey, if our guys aren't available at 12, Minnesota, do you want to come up and grab this guy? I think they are laying the groundwork for these deals. I, I doubt that they make any trade before draft day because you just never know who might be available at a certain spot.

[Jeff Bigs]

You're like, you almost have to wait.

[Marcus Moer]

You, you do have to wait at least a couple picks and then I could think you could start moving around. But yeah, I think I, my belief is they're not going to wait around here. They're either going to move up and go get a guy that can help them on defense or they're going to try to bail out of that 12 picks so they don't have to draft an offensive guy. And if they got to take 70 cents on the dollar to get out of that spot and drop back to 18, 19, that'll just open them up to a new range of players where I think guys that maybe are a little bit too expensive at 12, but you feel more comfortable at 18. I, I just don't see them getting into a situation where they are forced to draft an offensive player at 12 because I think they know they can't really do that with the state of their defense.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Okay, again, I'm not disagreeing with you, but you got to have a suitor. You got to have somebody that's going to want that. And, And. And there will be. I mean, somebody. Somebody will want. Somebody will want to get up in there for who. Whoever that is that, you know is. Is. Is. There'll be somebody that's going to fall

[Marcus Moer]

down this board, probably a receiver That's. That's probably in a couple things. You've got The Rams at 13, who actually, we just heard today from Sean McVeigh that they tried to trade Devonte Adams this offseason. You've got The Ravens at 14 who need another receiver. So if a guy like Makai Lemon is there at 12, I would not be surprised at all if you get these teams from the teens to the early 20s trying to jump up to that spot.

[Aisha Morrison]

Yeah, we talked about it like this tackle class isn't that amazing? But there are a couple guys that are in the first round. Maybe one of those guys falls. Maybe somebody is really in need of won that bad, and they're able to come up, too. But I agree with Marcus is that wide receiver is probably going to be your best bet for someone having to come up and get a guy. All right.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

All right.

[Jeff Bigs]

With that said, Marcus, what do you. And are. Are you solo right now, or is Landon still with you from Vegas?

[Marcus Moer]

So Landon will be with you for our Tuesday show. We're looking at some cornerbacks that could potentially be options at 20 or maybe on day two. We're also going to talk about my second favorite cornerback in the entire class, who I would be thrilled if the Cowboys drafted at 20. We'll tell you who that is in our next episode.

[Jeff Bigs]

Nice. Nice tease there, buddy. Well done.

[Marcus Moer]

Appreciate it.

[Jeff Bigs]

Well, speaking of corners, one more before we go. And I. I hate to say this. I'm not. I don't do this with any malice, but I. I have to kind of keep. Keep throwing whatever's out there. And I just saw this new report from. From Bleacher Report, and you know who they have as the NFL's most overpaid player?

[Marcus Moer]

Yes, Dak Prescott.

[Jeff Bigs]

No, no. Daron Bland.

[Marcus Moer]

That's not fair. He got banged up. I hate doing that on guys that are injured.

[Jeff Bigs]

Right, I'm with you. I'm with you. So I'm just. Just throwing it.

[Marcus Moer]

There's a couple other guys in offense that I think are a little overpaid that are. I would put on that list ahead of the Ron Bland.

[Jeff Bigs]

I. I said this at the beginning. You know, Vegas gets Super bowl. What is it, 63 for 20, 29. But when is. When is AT T gonna get another one? It feels like it's been a long time. It seems like they've kind of shrunk the rotation a little bit. What's up with that? A couple years ago. Come on, now.

[Marcus Moer]

Maybe they don't like the food down there near AT T. They want a city with better cuisine. I'm doing my best to draw Stretch outside, but he's just. He's standing firm in that stance right there.

[Aisha Morrison]

He ignore your foolishness today?

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Yep.

[Aisha Morrison]

Look at Stretch. I won't be bothered with you.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

We got. We got issues in North Texas, and I'm gonna tell you what's not one of them. Food is not right.

[Aisha Morrison]

Right.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

We got traffic problems. We got traffic problems. We got some. You know, maybe. Maybe you don't like. You want to stay right next to AT T. I get that food. You can exit that off of your list. How many times you been to the Metroplex, Marcus?

[Marcus Moer]

It's been a while.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

How many total times have you been to the Metroplex?

[Aisha Morrison]

You just talking mess over there. You just talking.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Never been here.

[Marcus Moer]

I have not. I'm waiting for you to invite me down.

[Aisha Morrison]

You gonna gain five pounds and your weight.

[Marcus Moer]

Commenting on the.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

You've never been here, and you've commenting on the food? That's. That's. That is. That is one. I mean. I mean, somebody down here take a pair of them rusty boots and kick you right in your ass for saying that.

[Aisha Morrison]

I'm telling you, he tripping. I'm serious. Like, some of the food down here is fantastic. You tripping.

[Marcus Moer]

I'm just waiting for him to invite me down.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

So I got an open door, dude. You want me to show it to you? It's open over there right now.

[Aisha Morrison]

Yeah. And y' all know why y' all acting like this. Go, Marcus, with your little bag and go have a Spend the night.

[Marcus Moer]

I see that. He sends me pictures of that pool every day.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

I'm jealousy guppy into a great white shark.

[Aisha Morrison]

No, I know y' all a mess.

[Jeff Bigs]

All right, guys, on that note, great working with you. Huge blessing as always. Enjoy the rest of your week, Marcus. Have a great week. Aisha, you got some shows coming up this week.

[Aisha Morrison]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll be recording the stack with Brian Brodison's at. Both of those will drop on the Thursday and Saturday, so check us out.

[Jeff Bigs]

All right, Check her out. Aisha with two eyes. Coach, thank you. We'll do it again on Thursday.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

All right, Have a great one.

[Jeff Bigs]

Okay, this has been the Cowboys squad show.

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[Marcus Moer]

Hey everyone, this is Ross Jackson, one of the hosts of the Locked On Podcast network. If your group chat's been a little quiet lately, I want to invite you to come and join ours. If you sign up for the Everyday Air Club, you get access to the members only group chats for your favorite teams, plus national chats for every sport. Personally, I love watching folks talk a little smack in the NFC South Trash talk chat. You also get an ad free version of your favorite Locked on show and a whole lot more. You can check it out by tapping the Everyday or Club link in the show notes.