HIDDEN GEMS: Dallas Cowboys SET SIGHTS on Senior Bowl Sleepers | 2026 NFL Draft

Summary

Locked On Cowboys Podcast – Hidden Gems: Dallas Cowboys Set Sights on Senior Bowl Sleepers | 2026 NFL Draft

Date: January 30, 2026
Hosts: Marcus Mosher & Landon McCool

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the "hidden gems" uncovered at the 2026 Senior Bowl practices. Marcus Mosher and Landon McCool highlight under-the-radar prospects who stood out throughout the week in Mobile, Alabama – particularly focusing on players who could intrigue the Dallas Cowboys come draft season and fit the team’s new defensive vision. The hosts also discuss the Cowboys’ new cornerbacks coach and how recent staff changes could impact draft strategy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Bud Clark, Safety, TCU [01:27–03:43]

• Communication and Leadership: Landon points out Clark’s consistent communication during practices – a crucial asset for a rebuilding secondary.

  "He was communicating a lot...in a secondary rebuild, you need guys that are good at speaking to the rest of the group." (Landon, 01:36)

• Competitive Play in Drills: Despite a physical mismatch, Clark held his own against LSU's Hilton in one-on-one red zone reps, winning two out of three.

• Ball Production: Recorded interceptions in both individual and team periods.

• Profile: 6’1”, 190 lbs, 6-year TCU veteran, 2,700 snaps – the only safety in the country with a PFF grade over 70 in run defense, pass rush, and coverage. Compared favorably to NFL starter Caleb Bullock.

  "He's just one of these guys that's always around the ball…he can do it all." (Marcus, 02:58)

• Draft Projection: Likely a late Day 2 pick.

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2. Davison Igbinosun, CB, Ohio State [04:06–07:44]

• Athleticism and Size: 6’2”, 192 lbs, 33" arms, 78" wingspan. Four-year starter (Ohio State/Ole Miss).
• Physical Style & Run Support: Praised for both man coverage “stickiness” and toughness in run defense (26 run stops over career).

  "Show me that you're...competitive in every single rep, that's a really good sign." (Landon, 04:28)

• Penalty Issues: 16 penalties in 2024, but cut down to 5 after adjustments.
• NFL Fit: Prototypical size/length for Dallas; viewed as a “ball of clay” who’s played at a high level and can be molded by new DC Christian Parker.

  “I think he's a guy that should certainly be on the Cowboys radar.” (Landon, 07:22)

• Draft Stock: Could ascend into late first/second round range after strong Senior Bowl performance.

Notable Quote

"I'd rather say woe than sic 'em." – Mike Tomlin quote invoked by Marcus to endorse Igbinosun’s aggressive style [06:29]

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3. Kyle Lewis, LB, [07:44–10:56]

• Instincts and Range: Showed sideline-to-sideline speed, playmaking with tackles, forced fumble, pass deflection, and interception at Senior Bowl.

  "If you were watching practice, you were watching Kyle Lewis...he just made so many tackles. He was at the ball every single time." (Landon, 07:58)

• Production: 24 TFLs, 6 INTs, 10 sacks in last two years.
• Profile: 5’11”, 224 lbs – “undersized” but compared to Levonte David due to elite instincts and play speed.
• NFL Fit: Suited to nickel linebacker/overhang roles, especially if paired with strong DTs in front. Landon emphasizes teams could steal value if they look beyond prototype size.

  “Find a way to get this guy onto your defense.” (Landon, 10:52)

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4. Bryson Boettcher, LB, Oregon [13:50–15:02]

• Versatility: Blends “will” linebacker coverage and physicality against the run.
• Production: Consistently in on tackles and pass plays during team drills; highlighted for a key interception/pass deflection in practice.
• Draft Range: Viewed as a steady mid-to-late round sleeper; warrants a deeper look at Oregon tape.

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5. Rayshaun Benny, DT, Michigan [15:02–15:47]

• Run Defense: Impressed during Thursday practice, splitting double teams, strong run stopping (PFF grades to prove it).
• Profile: 6’3”, 296 lbs, long 82" wingspan, shows mobility rare for his size.
• Projection: Likely a Day 3 pick but could offer great value as a rotation/run-stuffing DT.

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6. Samuel Hax, C, Kansas State [15:47–16:25]

• Consistency: Repeatedly strong practices, standing out even after the top-rated center, Connor Lou, went down.
• Draft Stock: Not a direct Cowboys need but worth note as center group showed “much more than expected.”

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7. Charles Demings, CB, Stephen F. Austin [16:28–17:15]

• Small School Standout: 3-year starter, measured 6’1”, 191 lbs, with over 9 INTs and 31 pass deflections.

  "With that length and with that athleticism and production, wouldn’t be surprised if that's somebody the Cowboys target." (Marcus, 17:09)

• NFL Fit: Prototype size/length; projected Day 3 pick.

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8. Grayson Halton, DL, Oklahoma [17:15–19:22]

• Athletic Profile: Undersized (for DT) but flashes unique movement and quickness; recorded a pass rush win rate and run stop rate over 10%.

  "Watching him move at that size was really impressive." (Landon, 18:13)

• NFL Fit: Possibly a fit as a penetrating DT, even if not a “need” for Dallas — team has prioritized similar skill sets at unexpected times.

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9. Thad Dixon, CB, North Carolina [19:40–20:02]

• Experience: Spent time at both Washington and UNC; 6’1”, 185 lbs, praised for fighting through one-on-one drills and fitting the Cowboys’ length/athleticism preferences.

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10. Others Briefly Mentioned [20:02–21:33]

• Chris Johnson (CB): Contender for Cowboys’ type, overall good week.
• Markel Bell, OT, Miami: Giant tackle (6’9", 358 lbs, 36" arms, 86" wingspan); raw, likely late Day 3/UDFA, but rare size/athleticism flashes.

  “He’s so big that you can’t ignore it.” (Marcus, 21:30)

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Coaching Staff News: Ryan Smith Hired as Cornerbacks Coach [23:37–28:02]

• Background: Smith joins from Arizona, notable connection with coaches “who are strong teachers and communicators.” Deep ties to quarters coverage schemes (e.g., working under Jonathan Gannon).

• Scheme Fit: Organizational clarity in coaching hires—staff all share schematic language and player development philosophy.

• Draft Connection: Smith recruited standout CB Mansour Delane (LSU, formerly Virginia Tech), a projected 1st-rounder, to his original school.

  “Smith recruited Delane to Virginia Tech…Actually, Delane’s talked about how he went and chose Virginia Tech because of Smith.” (Marcus, 26:38)

• Implications: Relationship could tip the scales in Delane’s favor on draft day; at minimum provides Dallas with first-hand insight into his makeup and fit with the secondary room.

  “It’s a little bit of extra insurance if you do draft him…this is a coach he would have chose.” (Landon, 27:28)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [06:29] Marcus: “I’d rather say woe than sic ‘em.” (referencing Tomlin’s coaching philosophy regarding aggressive corners)
• [10:52] Landon: “Find a way to get this guy onto your defense.” (on Kyle Lewis)
• [17:09] Marcus: “With that length and with that athleticism and production, wouldn’t be surprised if that's somebody the Cowboys target.” (on Charles Demings)
• [18:13] Landon: “Watching him move at that size was really impressive.” (on Grayson Halton)
• [26:38] Marcus: “Smith recruited Delane to Virginia Tech…Actually, Delane’s talked about how he went and chose Virginia Tech because of Smith.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Bud Clark (TCU, S): 01:27–03:43
• Davison Igbinosun (Ohio State, CB): 04:06–07:44
• Kyle Lewis (LB): 07:44–10:56
• Bryson Boettcher (Oregon, LB): 13:50–15:02
• Rayshaun Benny (Michigan, DT): 15:02–15:47
• Samuel Hax (Kansas State, C): 15:47–16:25
• Charles Demings (Stephen F. Austin, CB): 16:28–17:15
• Grayson Halton (Oklahoma, DL): 17:15–19:22
• Thad Dixon (North Carolina, CB): 19:40–20:02
• Coaching News – Ryan Smith: 23:37–28:02

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Summary & Outlook

This episode provides a comprehensive, insightful look at the 2026 Senior Bowl’s most intriguing under-the-radar prospects, especially those suited for Dallas’s evolving defense. The hosts highlight not only players’ on-field skills but also the off-field factors—like communication, scheme fit, and staff connections—that could play a decisive role in the Cowboys’ draft decisions. With coaching changes underlining a cohesive, teaching-first approach, Dallas appears poised to maximize both their development pipeline and the value of relationships in player acquisition.

Transcript

[A]

These Senior bowl practices have wrapped up and we've uncovered some hidden gems. We'll tell you about them 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 Lockdown 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. It's the last call for football on FanDuel, and if you're a new customer, just bet $5 and you'll get $200 in bonus bets if you win. Welcome back. I am your host, Marcus Mosher. He is Lana McCool and and today is one of my favorite shows of the year. We're going to talk about some sleepers from the Senior bowl in Mobile. You guys know the big names by now. TJ Parker, Caleb Banks, Garrett Nussmeier. Do I include my guy Jennings Dunker in there? Of course I do. But we're going to talk about some players that impressed us throughout the week that maybe you haven't heard about before or hadn't heard about, you know, until this week. So, Lynn, who are a couple, we're going to call them hidden gems that went under the radar this week.

[B]

So last night I was watching the previous day's practice or that day's practice and this safety from TCU kept on kind of sticking out and just his effort and the way he was. And honestly, what really got me is that he was communicating a lot. And I just feel like, you know, in a secondary rebuild, you need guys that are good at like speaking to the rest of the group, getting information across and anyone who could find a way to do that in this situation where you're kind of dealing with all these people that you don't know and a bunch of strangers and you're trying to form a team up in a week. It's always very impressive. And then Bud Clark came out and had the practice that he did today, which was really, really impressive. He just battles really hard. I mean, they gave him Hilton from LSU in A1 on one matchup at the goal line, which is absolutely just a, a complete mismatch. It's unfair, frankly, to put a safety on a guy as twitchy as Hilton in the slot. And they played, they had three snaps against each other and Bud Clark won two of those three. And so I just think that he, you just watch him and he battles through everything. He had an interception in team he just seems like a very smart player who communicates well. You know, obviously being from Texas, I think is going to put him on the Cowboys radar seemingly more than others do. Bud Clark was a guy that I thought that had really good day of practice, had a couple days of really.

[A]

Good practice and he's got good size as well. I think he measured in at 6 foot 1, 190 pounds. This is a guy that is a 6 year player from TCU. 2700 career snaps. He was the only safety in the country and again it's PFF grade, so take it with a grain of salt. But he was the only safety in the country with a PFF grade over 70 as a run defender, as a pass rusher and in coverage. He can do it all. And he's always around the football. He had an interception in one on one drills, I think it was on Wednesday and then he had one during the team period on Thursday. He's just one of these guys that's always around the ball and I think Landon, he's probably a middle day two pick, maybe end of day two. He reminds me a lot of Caleb Bullock who came out of USC a couple years ago. Now he's a starting safety for Houston, but a very good player, just a.

[B]

Very well balanced player. It seems like he's very well coached, understood exactly what he's doing. Yeah, just a good communicator. I'm excited to see what he does in the next level.

[A]

All right, let's keep going through some more names because we, we've got a bunch that we want to get to. Yeah, how about our Ohio State cornerback that we were trying to figure out why everybody is so low on him. But tell us about Davison and please pronounce the last name for me so I don't butcher it.

[B]

I think it's Igbos and I hope so because that's how we're going to say so.

[A]

Davis, Davison, Igboso, Ohio State.

[B]

He was a guy that I, I was, I was really impressed with his first day of practice. Right. And I just felt like he was, was really sticky and coverage. He didn't win every single rep. But the, the key to me again is be in competition, be in phase with the guys. Show me that you're, you know, we can figure out the last part of the rep. Sometimes that doesn't get figured out. But I think if you're, if you're winning, if you're part of every single rep, if you're competitive in every single rep, that's a really good sign that you've got the skills that are required to just to be qualified enough to play in the NFL as an NFL cornerback. I think that you look at this blend of athleticism and size that he has and it's pretty rare. He's played on some really, really, really good defenses. And look, I think you and I were talking about before the, for the show. How does this guy from Ohio State who's played on these great defenses, who has this kind of blend of athleticism and length and size, how does he not, you know, you know, get a lot more buzz? Especially I think, you know, considering how well it seems like he's been practicing it out here in Mobile. And I. Marcus, if you could reveal the answer to everyone.

[A]

Yeah, so he, he gets called for a lot of penalties. Sixteen penalties during the 2024 season. Cut those down to five, which again, five is a very manageable number. But this is somebody who has been a four year starter. Three at Ohio State or one at Ole Miss. He's played, I'm looking at the snap couch right now, 2800 career snaps between those two schools. He's only 21. And if you're looking for a type of cornerback that the Cowboys Love, it's him. 33 inch arms with a 78 inch wingspan. But the one thing, again, you don't see this too much in the drill practice, but something that shows up for me is he's an awesome player in the run game. Three straight years with a PFF run defense grade of at least 81 and 26 run stops, which is insane for a. This is something that you and I were talking about as soon as this season ended. We wanted to see them prioritize guys that are physical at the cornerback and safety position. I think he qualifies.

[B]

Yeah. I mean I, I can't remember the quote that you said with Tomlin about.

[A]

What I'd rather say woe than sic em.

[B]

I think that's, that's this guy, right? Is that. I think, you know, clearly there was some holding stuff that went on in 20. Look, and I also, I just think he fell victim to the fact that that 2024 Ohio State defense was so good that they had to call penalties on somebody. And when they called them, it must have been on these guys that weren't necessarily the all Americans on the team. So I think he just kind of got the brunt of that. But again, cut it down. Go ahead.

[A]

Would it be surprising if Christian Parker, the Cowboys new defensive coordinator, sees somebody like this? With his physical traits again, he's 6020, 6 foot 2, 192 pounds, with really long arms. He's going to run in the upper four fours. But you've got all this production and all these snaps and just thinks, hey, I can develop this guy into being a starting outside corner in the NFL.

[B]

I mean, 100%. Like, this is, this is a ball of clay that has experience playing at a lot of experience playing at the highest level as a champion. So yeah, I think, you know, he's, he's a guy that should certainly be on the Cowboys radar. I, I guess I'm still just surprised having watched him all week. We haven't been hearing his name in, in first round contention, second, like high.

[A]

Second round after, after the Senior bowl week. I wouldn't be surprised. I'm gonna ask you about another player here, Kyle Lewis, A linebacker, undersized linebacker, 5 11, 224. What did you see from him in practice?

[B]

I mean, if you were watching practice, you were watching Kyle Lewis basically, because he was doing everything on his side when he was practicing. Like he just made so many tackles. He was at the ball every single time. He forced a fumble, he had a pass deflection, he had an interception. I mean, he has this kind of production in college as well, and it's just all over the place. He's just constantly around the ball. He's the first person moving towards the ball. He's usually the first person to see where it's going. You know, clearly this is a classic situation of, this is an elite level football player with incredible instincts who gets to the ball and produces at a high level, but doesn't fit the natural archetype of the NFL defender at specific positions. He's, he's too short to play linebacker. He's too maybe a step slow to be a safety necessarily. I, I mean, you know, traditionally, I think you look at the, the production and you say, figure it out, man. This guy knows how to find the football. These guys can make it at the next level if you give them opportunity. I think we've seen it more. You know, I think of, I mean, Devin Bush is similarly sized in this guy, right? And it took him a little bit to kind of get around, but last year he was incredible. And so I, I, I think there are more and more opportunities for this kind of player. If you can find a role for him. I don't care. If I, if I was in the NFL, defender, defensive defensive coordinator, I would take advantage of the fact that the rest of the NFL doesn't look at this guy the way that they should draft him a little bit later and thrive because he's going to be a huge part of my defense.

[A]

I was talking to Lance Zierlein, who worked for NFL.com and he was saying if you have a good front and good defensive tackles up front, he would draft this guy really high because he can fly to the football. And he actually compared him. And again, this is lofty praise, but he compared him to Levante David, who is very similar in size. And, you know, David's always had good defensive tackles in front of him to keep him clean. He could run from sideline to sideline. Listen to these numbers from the last two years. 24 tackles for a loss, six interceptions and 10 sacks over the last two seasons. He just makes a bunch of plays. And I think the Cowboys, because of their investments at defensive tackle, I think they could be more open to players like this that need to be hidden a little bit more because he can ball.

[B]

Yeah. And at the very least, you're getting an elite level nickel linebacker, a guy that if you needed him to, I think, especially in Parker's defense, could step out and play some nickel for you in certain situations, in certain coverages. So, you know, and I. I certainly would trust him if you needed a safety to step down into the box in play in that kind of realm, any kind of overhang situ star position situation, he would be perfect for. So ye. Yeah, a guy that has great hands is good in coverage, especially for a linebacker. And, and I think, you know, is a.

[A]

Is a.

[B]

Is a bullet to the ball. Yeah. Find a way to get this guy onto your defense.

[A]

All right, let's talk about some more hidden gems from the Senior bowl week of practice. We'll get to that next. This episode is brought to you by TurboTax. Tax season doesn't have to take over your Life this year. TurboTax is making it easier than ever since to just hand things off and move on with your day. With TurboTax Full Service, you can have your taxes done for you by a trusted local expert, start to finish, without the stress or the guesswork. Instead of spending hours trying to figure out forms, you can meet with a local TurboTax expert in person or connect online. It's a huge time saver, and it gives you real peace of mind knowing that an expert is going to handle all of it. And for a limited time, you could have your taxes done by a local TurboTax expert for just $150. All in if a TurboTax expert didn't file for you last year, all you have to do is file by February 28th. So take taxes off your plate and get back to your life. Visit turbotax.com local to book your appointment today. This episode is brought to you by FanDuel. It's the last call for football on FanDuel. One final Sunday, one last kickoff, the final chance to get in on the action before the NFL season officially comes to a close. This is Super Bowl 60, and FanDuel is making sure that you are right in the middle of all the action with a special offer just in time for the biggest game of the year. Whether you're backing the favorite, riding with an underdog, or building one last same game parlay, this is the game that everyone has been waiting for. So if you're a new customer, all you have to do is bet $5 and get $200 in bonus bets if your bet wins. Make it count because after the super bowl, you guys know we're going into a long lull with what next seven months with no football? Make it count because we're going to be. We're going to be waiting for a long time. It's the last call for football on FanDuel, the official sportsbook partner of Super Bowl 60. Just visit FanDuel.com to get started. Welcome back to the Lock on Cowboys podcast. We'd like to thank you for making us your first listen every single day. If you haven't done so already, check out the new everyday club. You're going to get access to ad free audio of the Lockdown Cowboys podcast compatible with Apple Podcasts, Spotify and every other major podcast app. So go to locked on cowboys.supercast.com or tap the link in the show notes to learn more. All right, Lynn, let's run through some more players that caught our eye throughout the week of practice that maybe we haven't discussed enough. Who do you got?

[B]

Oh, man, there's. There's a couple of them. Let's see. Let's say Bryce and I still don't know how to say his name. Boucher. I B O E T T C H E R the linebacker from Oregon. Right. I just think that, you know, we're as we're looking through linebackers. There's, there's a lot of these guys who are physical. There's some of these guys that feel like they're a little bit more, you know, drop guys, maybe more closer to nickel linebackers or just strictly will guys. To me I, I just watched Bryce and I feel like I'm gonna call him Bryce because I don't want to say his last name because and I feel like he is a guy that is a little bit of both. He can give you a little bit of both and he's just another guy that in these team drills is just constantly making tackles, constantly around the ball and and, and reading things very quickly. So I, I, I, I, I again pointing to the drum beat aspect of this, this is where you, you've felt like you've seen him. Each one of these practices kind of continue to be a part of, of the, the, the tackles on in the run game, dropping into the routes. I think he had an interception in the second practice if I'm not mistaken or a pass deflection if I'm not mistaken. So yeah, he's just another guy that I'm keeping my eye on. I'm gonna go back and watch a little bit more Oregon tape. See, see what I see.

[A]

I'm gonna run through a couple guys and again I understand that not all of these players are going to be fit for fits for the Cowboys, but they're at least worth mentioning. Rayshon Benny, a defensive tackle from Michigan. This is a day three defensive tackle but he was awesome. During the third Thursday practice he made multiple plays in the run game, split a double team at the goal line to make a tackle for a loss. He's had back to back super good run stopping grades from Pro Football Focus 6030 so 6 foot 3, 296 pounds. It's going to run like the high four eights, low four nines which is moving 82 inch wingspan. So you're getting a guy that can move and has long arms and that makes a bunch of tackles in the run game. I was impressed by how he practiced.

[B]

Yeah. And just looked really, really dominant at times and just felt like he had a lot of answers. Really, really good player. I want to throw out a guy that we talked about on the first one of these practices, Samuel Hex. He's again a center from Kansas State. Just continues to have really good practices throughout the week. I thought he was really impressive. I think the center group overall really showed a lot more than I expected out of this class. Especially after they lost Connor Lou who was is the top rated guy to an ACL injury midway through this last season. I was, I mean not the Cowboys are looking for a center but you know, at the same point. Yeah, it's just interesting to see like that, that group kind of step up after that.

[A]

I got a corner for you.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, go ahead, please.

[A]

Charles Demings from Stephen F F Austin, his coach actually DM me today was telling me a little bit about how good of a kid he is, but this is somebody who has been a three year starter. I, I thought he's competed his tail off, you know, in the practices. Couple numbers for you. 32 inch arms, 32 and a quarter, which is again exactly what the Cowboys want. Six foot one, 191 pounds, nine career interceptions with 31 pass deflections. So you're talking about a guy that absolutely dominated and a lower level of competition which you have to, if you're going to be one of these small school players. I think he's a day three pick. But with that length and with that athleticism in production, wouldn't be surprised if that's somebody that the Cowboys target.

[B]

Yeah, and, and you know, it felt like at times that, that there were, the wide receivers were dominating the day, especially today. But his comp, his, his reps were always very competitive. Right. Like he was always the one that was kind of putting an end to the streak or at least showing up. And, and again like, like we said with Igbosin, like just a guy that's, that's, that's fighting at the point, that's, that's not getting burnt, that's fighting at the point of attack, especially these one on ones. To be able to pull that off when you have a natural disadvantage, that's always very impressive. I want to just mention real quick, Grayson Halton, right? Yeah. I mean a guy that just like, you know, he's undersized for a defensive tackle. The Cowboys aren't necessarily looking for another defensive tackle obviously, but just really impressive with his movement skills and his nimbleness and just be able to kind of get around guys. You know, you see some of these ridiculous like pass rush situations where guys are making five and six moves and obviously you're not gonna be able to pull that off in a real game. But what it does show you is what these guys are athletically capable of doing and that what watching him move at that size was really impressive.

[A]

And you know, we say the Cowboys don't need a defensive tackle and obviously that, that feels right. But we didn't necessarily think they needed a guard last year and they drafted one at 12. So you just, you never know. The Cowboys could trade Kenny Clark, they could move on from OSA to Gazua and suddenly they fall in love with Grayson Halton and he's there, you know, on day two on a trade back and he's your pick. So a couple notes on him just really quickly. He had a 10 pass rush win rate in three straight years that is very impressive for a defensive tackle but even More so a 10% run stop rate which is like off the charts. Like he makes a bunch of plays in the backfield. He's a really good athlete and he, he, his motor runs hot. Brett Venables has done a good job of finding talent on defense. He's a really good player.

[B]

Yeah. And, and I think that that's you know the kind of like if the Cowboys are looking for a defender, defensive tackle, it's probably this kind. Like I don't know that they're necessarily looking for the 320 pound guys.

[A]

No, probably not.

[B]

So I, I think that like you know, this is the kind of guy that they would potentially be interested in as a guy who could be a little bit of a penetrator, another penetrator if they wanted it. But yeah, I have imagine. I have a feeling that he'll be gone before the Cowboys. Not necessarily the first for first round pick.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

But before the Cowboys pick again. Unless the Cowboys trade back for one of their.

[A]

I'll give you one more quick one before we move on. Thad Dixon, a cornerback from North Carolina.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Played a couple years at Washington before transferring to North Carolina. Up and down day. I mean up a couple days here but this is somebody 61185 that has the length of the Cowboys need. I thought he did it. I, I thought he, he fought his tail off in a lot of these one on one drills.

[B]

Yeah. And I would throw Chris Johnson who we've talked about before in that category as well. I don't think he had a great day today necessarily. But I think. Yes, that's exactly what I was going to say. I think overall he still had a very good week and is the guy that again size kind of matches what the Cowboys typically like maybe that, that, that, that, that gets, that mold gets broken this year with the new defensive coordinator. We'll see. But traditionally they liked guys like Chris Johnson and obviously like Icmanos and like we talked about with their length and speed. So we'll see how that all plays out with the Cowboys start looking for cornerbacks.

[A]

Can I mention the Miami offensive tackle Markel Bell or.

[B]

No you can but I feel like he got his butt kicked at several different. I mean I think he was good. He was up and down but I think again there's like what, four guys on the planet that are his size. So yeah, I mean, well, I mean.

[A]

There'S, there's guys that are that big. There's none of them can play football because none of them can move like he can. Right?

[B]

Like, I mean, can he play football? I mean, I guess like that's, that's my question. I big, I beat facetious. He's much better than that.

[A]

He's. I'll give you a size 6086, so 69358, 36 inch arms with an 86 inch wingspan. Like that's like the longest offensive tackle we've ever seen. He needs a lot of work and I think he's going to be a late day three pick or high priority free agent. But we've seen teams take guys like Jordan Mylotta before late or sign him as undrafted free agents and turn them into decent tackles. He's so big that you can't ignore it.

[B]

That's all real quick. What's. What's more impressive being that size or watching somebody lift somebody that size off the ground in a pass? I think so too.

[A]

All right, let's talk about the new cornerback coach that the Cowboys hired on Thursday and his connection to a very high profile first round cornerback. We'll get to that next. This episode is brought to you by Indeed. If you've ever hired someone who looked good on paper but just wasn't the right fit, you know how important that is when you want candidates who truly match what you're looking for. Trust Indeed. Sponsored Jobs Hiring Indeed is all you need. Stop struggling to get your job post seen on other sites Indeed Sponsored Jobs. Put your post at the top of the page and help you reach the right candidates faster. If I ever needed to hire someone for this show, I would go straight to Indeed and be very specific about what I needed. Real experience and not just some resume buzzwords. And according to Indeed data, Sponsored Job posts directly on indeed are 90% more likely to report on hire than non sponsored jobs. So spend more time interviewing candidates who check all of your boxes with less stress, less time and more results using Indeed Sponsored Jobs and listeners of this Show Get a $75 sponsored job credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves@ Indeed.com lot NFL. Just go to Indeed.com lot NFL right now and and support the show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring do it the Right way with Indeed. Welcome back to the Laton Cowboys Podcast. We'd like to thank you. For making us your first listen of the day, Landon. The Cowboys have a new cornerback coach, and it is Ryan Smith from the Arizona Cardinals. What do you know about him?

[B]

Yeah, he came from the Cardinals. He has some interesting history, obviously, and the people that he's kind of been in the. In the coaching tree with. Right. The. The first name that kind of pops a little bit is Kurt Signetti. Obviously, the. For the current head coach of Indiana University, the super. The national college football championship winner. And, And I. I think, you know, his. Has a little bit more than just kind of a casual, uh, acquaintance. Right. Like he. He was with him at Elon, and then when. When Signetti moved from Elon to. To James Madison, that he brought him with him as this cornerback coach. And I think that that kind of speaks to exactly the kind of coach he is, because I think the one thing, I mean, we haven't really ever spoke about Signetti on this. On this show before, necessarily not read through, but Google one thing. The one thing I think that he really thrives in is evaluation. Like, I think he understands how to evaluate players and coaches, and I think this is a really good endorsement on what kind of coach this is. I think that, you know, we'll. We'll talk about some of the other associations in a second, but I think one of the things that I do want to point out here is his most recent job is that he came with. From Arizona, where he was under Jonathan Gannon. Right. We've talked about, or a little bit about Parker and about the scheme he came from with Fangio. They run a lot of COVID six. They run a lot of COVID eight, which is all kind of based in. In quarters, you know, match quarters kind of system. Right, Right. What does Jonathan Gannon run in Arizona? It's a lot of quarters. He runs more quarters, I think, than anybody. And I think again, to me, the reason I wanted to bring this up is because think back to when we were last year and we were making the offensive hires. Right. The thing that I pointed out about the organizational clarity back then was that we had the head coach saying what he wants, and then he's going out and doing things that line up with what he said. Right. And this is very much what it feels like is happening on the defensive side with their defensive coordinator coach and these position coaches is that they have a clear picture. They said what they want. They want teachers. They want people that are clear communicators that can speak to these guys. They're looking at a lot of young coaches who are all very strong teachers. They're going out and getting coaches from a scheme that very much is in the same family as what they are going to play. It's not Willy nilly that makes sense. There's relationships here. They even brought in Jonathan Gannon in for an interview. I bet you think that his name didn't potentially come up as a guy that Gannon maybe wanted to bring with him. So I think that it's. All of these things make a lot of sense. And every step along the way of this defensive staff hiring process reminds me of the process Schottenheimer went with when he was assembling his offensive staff. And it gives me positive vibes because of the. The process being sound.

[A]

It feels like the other part of this that is fascinating is that he has a very close relationship with Mansour Delaney, who is the cornerback from LSU who a lot of people are projecting not only in the first round but to Dallas at pick either 12 or 20. Smith recruited Delane to Virginia Tech, which is where Delaney before he went to lsu and actually the Lane's talked about how he went and chose Virginia Tech because of Smith. Now, does that mean the Cowboys automatically are going to draft the Lane? Of course not. Does it make it a little bit more likely? Probably. I mean, the NFL is a relationship business and believe it or not, a lot of draft picks are made because of who you know and you know, who you've known in the past or who you played for. I've got to believe given, you know, their relationship, that at least move him up maybe up a spot or two. Like, I would not be surprised at all.

[B]

Well, I think it does two things, right? It's another source, a reliable source for, for who this person is, you know, firsthand source of the personality. Right. And it's a little bit of extra insurance if you do draft him that, hey, this is a personality fit. This guy when he was 18, chose to come, what, work with this coach. That means that it's, you know, look, he's not getting a choice if he's getting drafted. But it's good to know that he. That this is the coach he would have chose because it feels like that, that there's not going to be a personality rub. They're potentially going to work together and that, you know, promotes the potential of having the best, best situation work out when you draft him.

[A]

All right, that is it for today's show. We'd like to thank you for making Laton Cowboys your first listen every single day. 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 lockon cowboys.supercast.com to join the club. And for those of you on video, we can send you the first ever 24. 7 national NBA YouTube channel. And on audio, make your second listen the locked on NFL podcast. Follow Landon on Twitter acoolbcb on I'm at Marcus Underscore Moser Enjoy your weekend. Enjoy the Senior Bowl. We'll see you right back here on Monday.