FALLING: Will Dallas Cowboys Land Caleb Downs After SHOCKING Injury News Drops at NFL Combine?

Summary

Locked On Cowboys Podcast Summary
Episode Title: FALLING: Will Dallas Cowboys Land Caleb Downs After SHOCKING Injury News Drops at NFL Combine?
Air Date: March 3, 2026
Hosts: Marcus Mosher & Landon McCool

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the fallout of shocking medical news from the NFL Combine, particularly surrounding top safety prospect Caleb Downs and how it might affect Dallas Cowboys’ draft plans. The hosts dissect the potential impact of medical red flags on Downs’ draft stock, analyze similar concerns around corner Jermad McCoy, and break down how surprise injuries—like Donovan Ezraku’s recent hip surgery—reshuffle the Cowboys’ offseason priorities. The episode explores team philosophy, draft scenarios, and possible free agency moves as Dallas faces crossroads on defense.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Caleb Downs’ Injury Fallout and Cowboys’ Draft Opportunity

• [00:56–04:28]
  • Marcus breaks the news: Highly regarded safety Caleb Downs was flagged at the Combine with a partially torn meniscus and a potentially degenerative ACL (source: Corey Kennan).
  • Landon characterizes this as “real mixed news”—neither an immediate problem nor an outright dismissal from teams' boards, but reason for pause.
    • Quote – Landon (02:44):

      “It’s obviously not great that he’s got these injury concerns and... being flagged... is a little frightening, right? But it’s not currently expected to be, you know, missing any time or, you know, be injured.”

  • The injury might cause Downs—a consensus top-10 prospect—to slide in the draft, possibly into Cowboys’ range at #12. However, it raises new “downside” risks.
    • Quote – Marcus (04:28):

      “Jerry Jones said he doesn’t want project players... I don’t think he wanted to take any more of like Savon Revel, Jalen Smith... I think he wants guys that can play right now.”

  • Medical particulars (extent of meniscus tear, need for surgery) could dramatically alter his value—two to three months versus a possible 12-month rehab.

Additional Factors Affecting Downs’ Stock

• Downs was already slipping pre-Combine; didn’t work out, has size/length concerns (wingspan notably short), and plays a position (safety) with perceived lower 1st-round value.
  • “Losing a little bit around the edges... enough to kind of add up to maybe taking a stock hit.” — Landon (06:21)
  • Marcus recalls a recent example: Malachi Starks, once a consensus top-12 pick, fell to 27th after combine/medical issues.

Would Downs Still Be a No-Brainer Pick for Dallas if Available?

• [07:22–09:43]
  • Landon: Still likely yes at #12—unless a more attractive prospect (e.g., Sonny Styles) is also on the board.
    • “In almost every other scenario, I just think he’s too talented to pass up at 12.”
  • However, if surgery sidelines Downs 6–7 months, Jerry Jones’ “no redshirt” edict could force Dallas to look elsewhere.
  • The hosts reflect on how medical findings are the marathon, not a sprint, of the NFL draft season.

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2. Jermad McCoy: Another Defensive Star Off Dallas’ Board?

• [11:44–14:25]
  • Report (Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram): Jermad McCoy, once touted as a potential 1st-round Cowboys target at corner, may not be under consideration due to lingering injury and discouraging pre-draft process.
  • Landon underscores the red flags: didn’t play last season, no Senior Bowl, didn’t run at Combine.
    • Quote – Landon (13:04):

      “The fact that he didn’t play football at all last year, then didn’t participate in the Senior Bowl, now isn’t participating at the Combine… if it takes all the way up to his Pro Day to recover from this ACL, that’s a red flag for me.”

  • Marcus draws a parallel to Caleb Farley, a former elite prospect who cratered due to medical uncertainty and never realized his potential.

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3. Draft Strategy: Depleted DB Pool and Navigating Uncertainty

• [16:06–19:07]

  • If McCoy is off the board, Dallas is realistically left with just two 1st-round "option" corners: Avion Terrell and Monsor Delane. Both often gone in mocks by #20, complicating trade-back or BPA scenarios.

    • Marcus: Maybe the right move is to take a DB at 12, then address other needs like linebacker or DE at 20.

  • Landon considers the practicality of signing a free-agent DB—such as Saints’ Alontae Taylor, who fits the "star" position Dallas covets.

    • "Maybe the route of going through free agency seems a little more enticing as we go on here."
    • Taylor praised for his toughness, versatility, and tackling—attributes crucial in new defensive schemes.

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4. Donovan Ezraku Hip Surgery: Implications for Cowboys’ Edge Plans

• [21:57–26:56]
  • Ezraku, a promising young edge rusher, underwent hip labrum surgery; out through offseason, expected back for training camp.
  • Landon: The edge rusher need was already paramount—this exacerbates the issue, but doesn’t radically change team plans.
    • Quote – Landon (22:02):

      “You have to have a need at pass rusher. Like, I think that doesn’t change and you could say maybe it’s heightened a little bit... But it was already very heightened.”

  • Marcus: Lack of offseason development time could slow Ezraku’s 2026 impact, especially given changes in defensive scheme and potential need for him to learn new responsibilities (e.g. playing from wider alignment, dropping into coverage).
  • Landon: Injury might answer why Ezraku’s numbers dropped late last year. The scheme change—away from demanding added weight—might help, but hip injuries are tricky for edge players’ mobility.
  • On depth chart reality (jokingly):
    • Marcus: “When I looked at our lads, and I saw Maris Lia Fowl and Isaiah Land are your starting edge rushers... told me they’re going to be active in free agency.” (27:19)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Downs’ Medical News and Draft Stock:
  • Marcus (04:28):

    “Do you need to have surgery on it? ...If it’s a full rebuild, that’s a 12-month injury. If it’s a, you know, trim, that’s something that’s like a, you know, two or three month injury. I, I honestly don’t know.”

• Draft Decision Under Uncertainty:
  • Landon (09:43):

    “You have to start asking yourself a bunch of tough questions, and unfortunately the results of the medical stuff is usually the kind of catalyst for those really difficult conversations.”

• Free Agency vs. Draft for DBs:
  • Landon (18:15):

    “He’s not like an elite, elite cover guy, but he’s exactly the kind of guy you want in this sort of star position that we were talking about.”

• Edge Rusher Emergency:
  • Marcus (27:19):

    “When I went and looked... and I saw Maris Leofow and Isaiah Land are your starting edge rushers. That’s what told me they’re going to be active in free agency.”

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Caleb Downs Medical News & Draft Impact: [00:56–09:43]
• Jermad McCoy’s Uncertain Draft Status: [11:44–15:22]
• Draft Board/Navigating DB/CB Needs: [16:06–19:07]
• Donovan Ezraku’s Hip Surgery/Edge Market: [21:57–27:19]

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Takeaways

• Injuries are upending pre-draft projections for the Cowboys’ defensive targets; Dallas may benefit by having elite talent fall to pick 12, but must weigh risk against immediate roster needs and Jerry Jones’ "no projects" stance.
• Free agency could play a bigger role in shoring up the secondary, as the once-rich CB/S pool gets thinned by medical red flags.
• Edge rusher remains a glaring need with little current depth and further uncertainty piled on by Ezraku’s injury.
• Flexibility and adaptability will be key for Dallas as medical rechecks and late-breaking news continue to shape the 2026 NFL Draft landscape.

Transcript

[Marcus Moser]

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[Marcus Moser]

It sure sounds like Caleb Downs might be available to the Cowboys at pick number 12. We'll tell you why next. You are Locked On Cowboys, your daily Dallas Cowboys podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast network. Your team every day. Welcome back to the Locked on Cowboys podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast network. Your team every day. We'd like to thank you for making us the number one sports podcast network. And today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. FanDuel is giving you a way to make an even bigger potential payout over on FanDuel during college basketball season. Use the college basketball parlay profit boost right now. So head over to FanDuel.com to get started. Welcome back. I am your host, Marcus Moser. He is Landon McCool. And on today's show, we're talking about some news that came out after the combine and landed. This happens every year, right? Yeah. Everybody leaves Indianapolis, the combine's over and then it's just like this steady stream of news that happens. And let's actually start with the news that came out. The latest, and that's Caleb Downs, the safety from Ohio State, who we've been putting in mean we've been dreaming of him at pick number 12. And it was an article by Corey Kennan who said who was out there, one of the better draft guys. He was told that Caleb Downs was flagged with a partially torn meniscus this week. He also didn't work out. That is not a serious concern according to Corey. But he was also flagged for a potentially degenerative acl. What do we do with this information?

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, just real quick Check out Daft on draft. That's Corey's site that he's part. So definitely check them out. I mean, it's real mixed news, right? It's like, it's, it's obviously not great that he's got these injury concerns and, and that this, that he's been flagged. I mean, you know, some of it is, even the news itself is kind of a mixed bag. I mean, it's, it's. He's got this current thing that he'll, he'll get over and then the, the degenerative ACL talk obviously is a little frightening, right? But it's not currently, you know, expected to be. Miss any time or, or, or, you know, be injured.

[Marcus Moser]

I think as of this podcast recording. That's not what we've heard, right?

[Landon McCool]

That's not what we heard. That is obviously subject to change. But yeah, I, I think in the sense that he's got some injury stuff to deal with, that's not necessarily great news. But in the sense that maybe concerns around his injury news combined with the fact that the, the safeties had an incredible set of workouts in the combine, maybe it just is enough for some of these teams that are above you to just think twice, right, about pulling the trigger on Caleb Downs and maybe, you know, give a little more deference to some of these guys who, that, that don't have those same kind of injury concerns. Or maybe they're looking for an excuse to draft a tackle above Caleb Downs despite Caleb Downs maybe being a higher rated player on their board. And this is enough to kind of push them over the edge. So I think for the Cowboys point of view, it certainly increases the chances that the Cowboys could potentially get him at 12. But, you know, obviously there's, there's more downside there now as well.

[Marcus Moser]

It's complicated too, because Jerry Jones said he doesn't want project players. And what, what I thought about that was like, guys that were injured, right? And I mean, you could take that as project guys that, like, you need a lot of development and sometimes it's really hard to decipher what Jerry Jones actually means to me. It's like, I don't think he wanted to take any more of like Savon Revel, Jalen Smith, these guys that have really big talent, but you've got to wait for them. I think he wants guys that can play right now. And again, does the meniscus need surgery? I, I don't know what a partially torn meniscus is. It's kind of, is a like Being pregnant or not being pregnant, you kind of have to be one or the other. Like, do you need to have surgery on it? And if it's a, if it's a full Rebuild, that's a 12 month injury. If it's a, you know, trim, that's something that's like a, you know, two or three month injury. I, I honestly don't know, but I was already starting to wonder, Landon, if Caleb Downs could potentially fall. You know, I do all this work with the consensus board and mock drafts. He was already starting to fall before the combine. And I looked at someone last year like Malachi Starks, who went into the combine, and as the 12th overall player, a week after the combine, he fell to, I think, or he, he ended up dropping in the consensus board, went 27th overall. Everybody thought Malachi Starks was a top 10 or 12 player in the draft. I wondered now, given the injury news with Downs, if he's somebody that could fall from a top five player to the teens.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, it's certainly possible. I mean, again, like, it's, it's not even just this news. It's. It's kind of all the other things that were already kind of pushing him near a cledge. You know, Cliff, it was the, it's the positional value argument. It's the depth of the position in this draft, the fact that he didn't work out, the fact he also came in five.

[Marcus Moser]

I think the wingspan was five inches smaller than Dylan Thieman. And Theemon's not a big safety by any means.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, and, and, and I think, you know, it's, it's just losing a little bit around the edges. Right. Like, and it's enough to kind of add up to maybe taking a stock hit. So I, I certainly think that, you know, it's another thing in a long line of, of just kind of small bad things that are working against downs that even stuff that aren't necessarily inside his control. Right. But, but I think that when you add it all up, it just makes it that much more difficult for someone to kind of push themselves into. I know the tapes elite, but, you know, he's. He's injured, he's potentially injured. He's playing a position that's not so valuable. It's, I just think it makes it a lot easier with another talking point to kind of talk yourself out of Caleb Downs if you're in the top five, top ten, and then talk yourself into, you know, maybe this tackle isn't a normal top 10 tackle, but I'll take him here. Right. Because I just feel like that's, that's where I feel like the value is

[Marcus Moser]

so well and I think having guys like Monroe Freeland and Spencer Fanu who both had awesome performances maybe just take it because an offensive tackle or even a guy that can play tackle and guard, it's just going to be more valuable than a safety. So my question for you is, again, we're still learning more about Caleb Downs, but knowing what we know now, if he's available at 12, is he still a no brainer pick for you?

[Landon McCool]

I think so. I mean, I think despite, I think it depends on who else is there. Like if somehow there's some, I mean, again, we just don't know what's gonna happen. If Sonny Styles and him were both there, I probably would go with Styles at this point. It's enough to maybe kind of push him over, especially with what Styles also did. But I think it's, I mean, in almost every other scenario, I just think he's too talented to pass up at 12, you know, and I think you're getting such a, a talented player that.

[Marcus Moser]

Well, that's hypothetical. Hypothetical that he, let's say he needs a meniscus surgery and he's out six to seven months. Does that change anything for you?

[Landon McCool]

Yes, of course it does. And I think that's, you know, we're just working on the information we've got. If he, if he does have to have a meniscus surgery, then I think regardless of what I think it, you know, Jerry has been basically, you stated, said that they're not looking to, you know, for a red shirt situation. That sounds like pretty much a red shirt situation. So I think it would change the angles a little bit. I, I think that's why all the particulars here really matter.

[Marcus Moser]

And this is the part that sucks about the NFL Combat. Like yesterday we did a show talking about all the great players that perform well and why it was a good combine for the Cowboys and why we're excited. This is the real reason why they have the NFL Combat is for all the medical checkups and it's going to be. There's going to be more players that trickle out or more news that trickles out over the next month of guys that are having to go back to Indianapolis for medical rechecks or guys that have banged up knees and shoulders. They're going to drop their draft value. And this is why it's a marathon and not a sprint. We, we put together these mock drafts starting in January and February and you say there's no way that Caleb Downs is going to follow you at 12. And now it's to the point of like, okay, if he's there, do you have to take him? It's part of the draft.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, exactly. And it's, it's, you have to start asking yourself a bunch of tough questions and unfortunately the, you know, the results of the medical stuff is usually the kind of catalyst for a lot of those really difficult conversations.

[Marcus Moser]

Caleb Downs, though, might not be the only round one defensive back that is off the Cowboys board, which is wild. Let's talk about a recent report on Jermad McCoy next. This episode is brought to you by TurboTax. It's tax time. But for a lot of us, the old way of doing taxes is. I know I always stress that about tax season. I'm so happy that I'm all done with it. But trying to book an appointment that's not the most convenient. Sitting in a waiter waiting room with stack of papers, emailing back and forth and wondering if they really get your situation. It's all exhausting. But this year you're getting a major update and an upgrade with Intuit turbotax because now they have in person locations available nationwide. You can meet face to face with a real tax expert and your documents get uploaded straight to your TurboTax app on the spot. And just like that, you're done. Your TurboTax expert works to get you every dollar that you deserve while you get real time notifications as you go about your day. It's the relief of walking in and meeting a real person and walking out knowing that your taxes are are being done right. So head over to turbotax.com local to find a store near you and book your appointment today. Oh joy.

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[Marcus Moser]

25 after with autopay price guarantee. Exceptions apply Cipher details. Welcome back to the Lockdown Cowboys podcast. We'd like to thank you for making us your first listen. Every single day. Free agency is here and so are we. Get one Month free of the everyday club with code free agency. No spaces now through March 15th. Go ad free and keep this conversation going on discord and join the club at locked on cowboys.supercast.com and use that coupon code free agency. All one word. All right, let's talk about Jermad McCoy. Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star Telegram had a nugget in his article saying something of the effect of coming out of Indianapolis. Jermod McCoy is somebody that I don't believe is going to be in consideration for the Cowboys in round one. What do you make of that report?

[Landon McCool]

I mean, it has to be related to the injury situation that we were kind of just speaking about. Right. Like, it just feels like, I mean, first of all, like, we'll see. Right? But to me, it's a pretty big red flag that he didn't run in the combine. You know, like.

[Marcus Moser]

Well, we talked about it going into the week. Like, if Jamal McCoy doesn't run, that is a red flag that goes right up.

[Landon McCool]

Enormous. Right? Because I mean, I think I'm cool with like hand waving the Senior bowl participation. Like, okay, I guess. I mean, the problem is, is that there was an expectation that he was actually going to play football last year. So the fact that he didn't play football at all last year, then didn't participate in the Senior bowl, now isn't participating at the combine. And the reason is that he's. He just didn't feel 100. Well, it's like, dude, at what point are you gonna feel 100? Like, I just feel like if it takes all the way up to his pro day to kind of recover from this acl, that's, that's a red flag for me. And I'm assuming that that's the issue with the Cowboys as well, because. And, and the other thing too, like I think you pointed out yesterday, he measured smaller too, than we expected him to be. I mean, part of the reason that, you know, he was of interest is that it felt like he was potentially the top corner in the draft and that he fit kind of or we thought that he would fit a lot of the size requirements that the Cowboys have. He doesn't necessarily fit the size requirements and he's still not healthy. It's just an unfortunate situation now that we're talking about it, that, you know, the Cowboys have such a strong need for defensive back in the top guy at safety and corner. Yeah. Are potentially, you know, dealing with kind of a mystery injury situation coming into their rookie years.

[Marcus Moser]

It reminds me a lot of Caleb Farley in the 2021 draft. I remember us talking about him a lot as well as a potential option for the Cowboys in that one and missed his whole, that was the whole junior year. Had this, you know, a couple different injuries, didn't work out at his pro day and ended up falling, I think to like later part of round one. And this is somebody that everybody agreed to be was a top five talent. And now Farley had a bunch of bad luck in the NFL, but he was never the same athlete. And you're hoping that's not the case with McCoy, but it's terrifying, right, to have to see a guy that tore his ACL 400 days ago not work out. We heard Jerry Jones say no more project players. And I wonder again, much like Caleb Downs, if this is true, if this is not going to be the same issue for McCoy, like maybe he's going to be 100% by 2027, but this team can't wait on another banged out cornerback.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah. And again, like, especially like with the news coming out about how much they liked Ravel, maybe this is, this is another indication that, hey, the risk is just not worth it at corner. Right. Like we've got two guys, one guy that we, I mean you don't really feel like on solid ground about either of your corners, which is why cornerback is a need. Yeah, but I mean, at least you have two corners which you don't necessarily have a second edge player or a second linebacker. So I think that, you know, it's, it could be an easy way of you just kind of looking at the situation, go, maybe we wait till 20 and see what's there at 20, you know, because. Or if there's so much uncertainty or a trade, you know, you know, or

[Marcus Moser]

you take monsour Delaine at 12 and I know that's not. He doesn't have the arm length that you love. He's not the biggest, he's certainly not the fastest.

[Landon McCool]

If he's there too. That's the other thing. More and more that's become the problem there. Right.

[Marcus Moser]

We're gonna do a couple match drafts at some point this week. But every time I do these mocks, I never love the cornerbacks that are available at 20. And if McCoy is not somebody that the Cowboys are going to consider in round one, to me that only means that there's two corners that are even options. It's Avion Terrell and Monsor Delane. And both those guys are almost outgone every single time I do a mock by 20. Maybe you just take them at 12 and then see what falls to you at 20 at linebacker, safety or defensive end.

[Landon McCool]

I mean, I know that I'm speaking out of both sides of my mouth here because I'm the one who's advocating for a free agent linebacker, but more and more I'm wondering if it isn't that you just go the route of going to get a defensive back in, in the free agent market. I mean, it's just you're. You're having to really thread the needle and you're only kind of like really targeting two of these guys. Like you said, like, it's just not a situation that, like, I feel comfortable going into the draft and feeling like, like not like linebacker, a defensive end, where I'm like, oh, I feel good that I'm going to come out of the first round with at least one. One solid player available to me at 12 or 20 that I could bring in here from one of those positions.

[Marcus Moser]

Well, and right before we, we jumped on, I was reading an article by this guy named Ross Jackson, who covers the Saints. Shout out to Ross, go check out Saints. He was talking about how he believes the Cowboys have interest in Saintsback Alante Taylor, who plays inside and outside. He's pretty good tackler, a little bit up and down. And this is somebody who plays the star position in their defense. We've heard from Christian Parker several times now that they're looking for a star defender. I wonder if a guy like Taylor, you just, maybe you have to pay a little bit more than you want, but you grab him rather than having to worry about Traman McCoy or Caleb Downs and you go right there.

[Landon McCool]

That's. I mean, it makes sense. I mean, this is a guy that I brought up, I mean, a month ago maybe, like, because I, I loved his play in this at the time. Same Saints. I think he really fits what you're looking for. A tough guy plays inside plays. He wasn't exclusively an inside guy. He could definitely play some outside, but he has like the, the requisite toughness. And he's a good tackler. He's not like an elite, elite cover guy, but he's exactly the kind of guy you want in this sort of star position that we were talking about. He's a solid tackler. He can do. He's a good communicator. He's smart, he can play inside. So, yeah, maybe, maybe the more and more of these kind of draft prospects as they, as they sort of drop a little bit or at least have, you know, more and more of their kind of scars revealed. Right? Yeah, I think maybe the route of going through free agency seems a little more enticing as as we go on here.

[Marcus Moser]

All right, let's talk about a surprise surgery that could have a big impact on the Cowboys offseason plans. We'll get to that next. This episode is brought to you by Indeed Workplace Chaos. Deadline stacking up, inbox overflowing. And the one position that you have to fill is still sitting open when the pressure's on and you need the right hire. This is a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs. Indeed Sponsored Jobs helps you reach the people who actually fit what you're looking for. Skills, experience, location. So you're not just hoping that the right candidate stumbles across your post. And here's a stat that says it all in the minute that I've been talking to you. Companies like yours have already made 27 hires on Indeed according to Indeed Data Worldwide. So if you're hiring, spend less time searching and more time interviewing candidates who check all of your boxes with Indeed Sponsored Jobs. And listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsors sponsored job credit. To help give your job the premium placement that it deserves at Indeed Sponsored Jobs, just go to indeed.com podcast that is indeed.com podcast terms and conditions apply. Need to hire. This is a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs. This episode is brought to you by Game Time we live in a world where we can stream anything, order food in minutes, and we carry supercomputers in our pockets. And yet, somehow buying tickets to a live event or game feels way too complicated. Hidden fees, jumping prices, endless steps. There has to be a better way. And that's why I use the gametime app. It gives the advantage back to the fans and it makes getting tickets simple, whether it's NFL games, concerts, comedy events, whatever you're into. My favorite part is that you're going to get the all in pricing so you're not shocked by any of the fees at checkout. You can even spot zone deals where you pick the section and Game Time picks the seat for extra savings. Two taps and you are locked into great seats. Fast, easy and done. Take the guesswork out of buying Tickets, download the GameTime app, create an account and use promo code locked on for $20 off your first purchase term supply. Again, create an account, redeem promo code locked on for $20 off and download the GameTime app today. Welcome back to the Locked on Cowboys podcast. We'd like to thank you for making us your first listen every single day Lane, let's talk about Donovan as a Rocco who had labrum surgery in his hip. The expectation is that he's going to miss all of the offseason workouts. He should be ready to go for training camp. Obviously, I want to ask you how. What this means for his development, but how does this change their off season plans as well?

[Landon McCool]

I think it mostly, I mean, you have a need a pass rusher. Like, I, I think that that's, that doesn't change and you could say that maybe it's heightened a little bit. And I, that's maybe true. But I think your expectation is that you're going to have Ezra Rocku back. He's going to be back in time for training camp. This shouldn't bleed into the regular season. So I, I think it, it maybe it heightens it a little bit, but I think it was already very heightened. You know, like, like I said before, you have two cornerbacks right now. You could, you could squint and kind of see your way through there. You could even squint, maybe see the linebacker situation with, with the people that are currently on the roster. I don't know how you do that at the edge position at this point at all. So the, the, the need was already turned up to a 9 or a 10. So I, I think, I don't know how much higher it could have gone.

[Marcus Moser]

I mean, I'm with you. We thought they were going to be active in the, the market for defensive ends, whether that's free agency, trades of the draft, like they're going to explore all three avenues. Right. And this doesn't change it. But I do wonder what this means for Ezraku in 2026. Right. Because this was a big off season for him. The, the Cowboys are really asking a lot of him and now without the ability to, you know, really refine his game. You do wonder if this is a situation where maybe he needs two months into the season to get back to the form that we saw him at last year. Or maybe this was really impacting him in the second half of last year. Maybe that's why the numbers started to go down. I, I don't know. Obviously it's not great, but the fact that he will or is expected to be ready for camp does make me feel a little bit better.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah. And I, I tend to think that, you know, it was one of those things where, yeah, he hurt himself in the season. And I mean, just based on the production, we've it, it certainly answers some questions. Right. On the way he finished the Year. I, I think, you know, it's interesting, right, because the change in defense, like, I think it helps. It hurts, right? It helps in the sense that you're not gonna, you know, if he had stayed in the same kind of defense or more of a four man front, he probably was gonna need to put on like 15 or 20 pounds. Yeah, I, I think, you know, that's not realistic for an off season. But 10 pounds of muscle, right? Like that's realistic.

[Marcus Moser]

Sure. As we hear every year that a person put on 15 pounds of muscle,

[Landon McCool]

zero fat, like 1% body fat. Right? Never the case. Yeah. So I, I don't think he needs to necessarily do that. Right. Because he's going to be playing from a more wide alignment and I think he's going to be able to use his speed a little bit more. However, the, the downside there is that you do have to kind of flip, flip your hips and drop into coverage a little bit. And that's something that if you don't have kind of muscle memory, doing it takes a little while to learn and he's not going to get very much opportunity to do that. Right. So add in the fact that it is a hip injury that he has. It doesn't.

[Marcus Moser]

Well, which is funny because we heard whispers about, you know, a surgery and when you hear labrum, you think of shoulder and then you hear that. But I'm like, I don't know if that's better or worse. Like, I haven't. I mean, I'm gonna assume probably not better, but who knows?

[Landon McCool]

I don't. Yeah, I don't know. It's like, I guess it depends on what he, like, I mean, he's probably gonna be able to work on that upper body a little bit, which, which is what we, what we were concerned about when we first heard that rumor. Now that we know that it's a hip, it's like, I, I don't. Yeah, you're right. It's like, it's just a different set of problems, you know, so. Yeah, we'll see. Yeah.

[Marcus Moser]

I fully expect the Cowboys to be in the edge Russia market. I don't think this changes anything. It's just a bummer for Ezraku because I thought, thought he showed a lot of flashes as a rookie, act way better as a run defender than I think any of us anticipated. You saw the flashes as a pass rusher really, in the second half of the year, and now it feels like many of the Cowboys defensive players that, that this has happened before. You have a good season, then it's stunted by injuries, whether that's the Marvin Overshone or the Ron Bland or Trayvon Diggs. It's just, it seems like they can't catch a break with some of these defensive players and injuries.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, I mean, you know, injuries are part of the game. They got to learn how to play through it. I mean, again, I do think that he is getting some benefit because of the defense change is going to match his style.

[Marcus Moser]

I do think that's going to help.

[Landon McCool]

So I do think that, yeah, that'll help kind of ease that curve a little bit. But, yeah, I mean, you know, it's, it's, it is unfortunate. It is another situation where a guy coming out of his rookie year in one of the most important off seasons is going to miss basically the entirety of the off season. So. But I, I think, you know, there's still a lot to work in through training camp. I still think he's, you know, he's developed enough last year as a player that it felt like he, you know, he was putting it all together by the end of the year. I wouldn't expect that to change too much at the beginning of the year next year for him when he starts back.

[Marcus Moser]

Yeah, I think he'll be fine. This is just a road bump. Again, he's a pretty young player. I think he'll be fine. It just, it's, it's another bummer and another obstacle that the Cowboys are going to have to overcome as they try to rebuild this defense into a respectable unit in one off season.

[Landon McCool]

Well, listen, they got Maris, Lia Fowl playing outside linebacker, buddy. It's, that's, that's the, that's your solution right there.

[Marcus Moser]

Well, when I went and looked at the, I went at our lads and looked at the depth chart and I saw Maris Leofow and Isaiah Land are your starting edge rushers. That's what told me that they're going to be active in free agencies.

[Landon McCool]

So that's audacious that they put Maris Leefow as a starter. Starting Tommy also, who else would be there?

[Marcus Moser]

But I guess kind of where we're at. All right, that is it for today's show. We'd like to thank you for making Locked on Cowboys your first listen every single day. Make sure you subscribe and follow the podcast so you get all of the latest episodes. And if you never miss an episode, the everyday club is built for you. Get locked on Cowboys ad free members only, discord access and so much more. Head over to locked on cowboys.supercast.com to join the club. And for those of you on video, we can send you the first ever 24.7national NBA YouTube channel and on audio, make your second listen the locked on NFL Draft podcast. Follow Landon on Twitter @McCool BCB. I'm @Marcus Underscore Moser. We'll see you right back here tomorrow.

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