NFL DRAFT: Did Sonny Styles Just TEST His Way Out Of Range For Dallas Cowboys | NFL Combine Updates!

Summary

Locked On Cowboys Podcast – Detailed Episode Summary

Episode Title: NFL DRAFT: Did Sonny Styles Just TEST His Way Out Of Range For Dallas Cowboys? | NFL Combine Updates!
Release Date: February 27, 2026
Hosts: Marcus Mosher & Landon McCool

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the aftermath of the NFL Combine, analyzing the explosive athletic testing results from top draft prospects—especially linebackers and edge rushers—and their potential fit and value for the Dallas Cowboys in the upcoming NFL Draft. The hosts debate whether top-rated linebacker Sonny Styles may have tested his way out of Dallas's range, unpack performances of other linebacker and edge prospects, and preview Friday's defensive backs. The show is lively, data-driven, and filled with both optimism and a touch of disappointment as the draft board continues to shift.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The NFL Combine: “Draft Nerds' Christmas”

• Hosts' excitement: Both Marcus and Landon express how the combine is their favorite evaluation time of year, likening it to Christmas for draft fans.
  • Quote [02:09] Landon: “It’s draft nerds’ Christmas. I took days off work. My wife knew—don’t talk to me. I’m busy. It’s combine week, you know?”
• Combine’s tricky reality: Fans want prospects to perform well, but not so well they become unrealistic for the Cowboys’ draft position.
  • Quote [02:56] Marcus: “You’re rooting for these players to perform well, but you don’t want them to perform too, too well.”

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2. Sonny Styles: From Cowboys’ Target to Top-7 Lock?

• Testing Results:
  • 6’5”, 243 lbs, ran 4.46 40-yard dash, 43.5” vertical—best RAS ever for off-ball linebacker.
• Pre-Combine Mock Range: Originally projected for Cowboys at #12.
• Post-Combine Concern: Stellar performance sparks debate about whether he now gets picked inside the top 7.
  • Quote [03:42] Landon: “I’d already seen mock drafts where he was going 6 and 7... After seeing this combine performance… I certainly wouldn’t feel bad about taking after seeing this combine.”
• Caution on Double Counting:
  • Both hosts underscore not to “double count” athletic tests when those traits were already evident on film and expected.
  • Quote [04:16] Marcus: “...don’t count it twice…. We knew Sonny Styles was athletic... Don’t double count it. And I don’t think the league will.”
• Final consensus:
  • Both hosts agree Styles is a “freak of nature” and Cowboys may not get him; but, his combine merely confirms what was shown on tape.
  • Quote [05:01] Landon: “I mean I still won’t be shocked if he goes top seven.”

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3. Linebacker Class Depth: Other Names After Styles

Jacob Rodriguez (Texas Tech)

• Surprised in workouts: 6’1”, 230 lbs, ran 4.57 40, led three cone and shuttle among LBs, 38.5” vertical, 10’1” broad.
  • Quote [05:29] Marcus: “He’s gonna test as a 95th, 96th percentile athlete, and I never saw that coming.”
• Production matches new athletic profile; stock rising into Day 2, maybe even late Round 1.
  • Quote [08:28] Landon: “Honestly, his stock may even go higher than that. I would not be shocked… first round consideration.”

Kyle Lewis (Pitt)

• Undersized but tested well: Just over 6’0”, 220lbs, 40” vertical, 10’9” broad, low 4.5s 40.
  • Quote [09:13] Marcus: “Now he’s always going to be undersized. But you’re talking about somebody who… is a perfect fit as a nickel linebacker in the NFL.”
• Shows versatility as hybrid linebacker/box safety, impressed at Senior Bowl.
  • Quote [09:39] Landon: “He could probably play a little bit of box safety if you need to… definitely the most active of the linebackers.”

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4. Edge Rusher Standouts & Combine Storylines

David Bailey (Stanford)

• Outstanding workout; cemented top-10 status by checking all “threshold” boxes.
  • Quote [12:41] Landon: “He sealed the deal as a top 10 pick. As soon as he hit that 4.51, I was like ‘oh yeah, he’s gonna be fine.’”
  • Quote [12:56] Marcus: “I think he might be the number two overall pick, to be honest.”

Cassius How

• Up-and-down day: 4.59 40, standout 10-yard split (1.58 sec, 95th percentile), short arms (30.25”).
• Dominant field drill stat: fastest pass rush curve in years (14.5 MPH).
  • Quote [13:37] Marcus: “He reached 14.5 mph… fastest since Will Anderson in the 2023 draft.”
• Fit for Dallas: Could fall due to arm length, but burst could be valuable.
  • Quote [15:04] Landon: “That combined with that 14 mph figure… really tells the tale. Like he’s an incredibly bursty guy who will beat you around the edge quickly.”

Reuben Bain

• Measured with extremely short arms (<31”), did not participate in drills; could scare teams but the tape is “dominant.”
  • Quote [16:16] Landon: “This is the ultimate ‘trust the tape’ guy… at points the best player in college football.”

Hakeem Mesidor (Miami)

• Older, injury history, did not test at combine, seen as a missed opportunity to address concerns.
  • Quote [17:46] Landon: “You’ve got a lot of negative things… and I love Mesidor, but not a good look to come out and not test. You’ve got a lot of people like Marcus out here being naysayers about you. Go out and prove them wrong.”

TJ Parker

• Good, not great day; measured well with 33” arms; has helped himself this offseason.
  • Quote [19:35] Landon: “He definitely had the best day of those three [How, Thomas, Parker]… having 33+ inch arms helps paint a picture of how you’ll play in the NFL.”

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Caleb Banks

• 6’6”, 327 lbs, 32” vertical, 5.04 40; massive, flashes great tools but left combine early with “cleat soreness.”
  • Quote [20:36] Marcus: “Typical Caleb Banks experience—awesome flashes, then he leaves mid-combine.”
  • Quote [21:27] Landon: “It’s the classic ‘I’ll let someone else draft that guy.’ I see incredible athleticism, but not a ton of incredible production yet.”

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5. Defensive Backs: Friday Combine Preview

• Many projected first-rounders sitting out (Gerard McCoy, Mansour Delaney, Caleb Downs).
• Focus: Get athletic and size data to help stack outside corners and slot/safety prospects.
• Explosive DB to watch: Sanoussi Thieneman (Purdue)
  • Hoping to run sub-4.4 or even in the 4.3s at 200lbs.
    • Quote [25:39] Marcus: “Did you see what he said—he thinks he can get into the four threes.”
    • Quote [25:48] Landon: “If you get a safety that can run in the four threes at 200 pounds... he’s like the dream pick at 20.”
• Other corners to monitor:
  • Emmanuel McNeil Warren (Toledo) — bigger corner (projected 6’2”, 210), thought to run high 4.4s/low 4.5s.
  • Mansour Delaney — key for him is proving length (arms, wingspan).
• Slot/Agility Emphasis: 3-Cone and Shuttle Drills matter for slot defenders and safeties.
  • Quote [27:37] Marcus: “Keep an eye on the three cone drill for slot guys… that’s the drill you want to watch.”
  • Landon: “Testing is super important for the defensive backs—maybe more than almost any other position.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “[Sonny Styles] has the best combine performance ever for an off-ball linebacker.” – Marcus [03:00]
• “Don’t count it twice. We knew Sonny Styles was athletic.” – Marcus [04:16]
• “His stock may even go higher than that. I would not be shocked to see him getting first round consideration at this point.” – Landon, on Jacob Rodriguez [08:29]
• “This is the ultimate trust the tape guy [Reuben Bain]... I don’t care what the testing says.” – Landon [16:16]
• “As soon as [David Bailey] hit that 4.51, I was like, oh yeah, he’s gonna be fine.” – Landon [12:54]
• “He reached 14.5 mph... fastest since Will Anderson in the 2023 draft.” – Marcus, on Cassius How [13:37]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Combine introduction & Sonny Styles begins: 00:57 – 03:42
• Discussion of “Don’t double-count” combine traits: 04:16 – 05:29
• Linebacker class depth - Rodriguez, Lewis: 05:29 – 10:00
• Edge rusher analysis starts: 12:07
• David Bailey discussion: 12:41 – 13:37
• Cassius How deep-dive: 13:37 – 15:54
• Short arms debate and Reuben Bain: 15:54 – 17:11
• Hakeem Mesidor evaluation: 17:11 – 18:54
• Caleb Banks segment: 20:36 – 22:09
• Friday’s DB preview: 24:18 – 28:36

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Tone, Style & Final Thoughts

The hosts maintain their classic mix of deep-dive analysis, banter, and Cowboys optimism. Their conversation is rapid, fun, and filled with technical football evaluation, leavened by “draft nerds’” enthusiasm and self-aware humor ("terrible radio," “don’t double count it,” “classic I’ll let somebody else draft that guy”).

Bottom Line:
This episode is a must-listen for Cowboys fans or draft fans who want an up-to-date, nuanced read on how combine testing is moving (or not moving) key prospects' stock—especially those in Dallas’s draft range. The linebacker and edge rush group is deep, and Dallas will have strong options even if Styles is off the board.

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For Further Listening:

• Next episode will break down how defensive backs fared in Friday’s combine.
• For more on NFL Draft, listen to “Locked On NFL Draft” (suggested at [28:36]).

Hosts:

• @Marcus_Mosher
• @mccoolbcb (Landon McCool)

Transcript

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[Marcus Mosher]

The NFL Combine is underway and now there are 15 players that are going inside the top 12 picks. It's not that bad, but we'll explain 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 Lockedon 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. Use your profit boost on an NBA future and get entered for a chance to win a trip to the NBA Finals. Play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Welcome back. I am your host, Marcus Mosher. He is Landon McCool. And I am so fired up for today's show later because we have the NFL combine. Drills have already happened in Indianapolis. We've got mock draftable charts. We've got RAZ scores. It's. It's the best time of the year, at least for me.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, it's. It's draft nerds Christmas. I mean, outside of obviously, the draft itself. I mean, but honestly, like, you know, it's. It's one of those things where it may be even more like when, when I was coming up and, and doing this early on, like the combine, I, I took days off work. Like, I, like, my wife told me, I told my wife not to talk to me. Like, I mean, it was. I'm busy. Like it's combine week, you know, and so it's, it's, it maybe has changed, you know, in the last decade or so plus more than that, but it certainly is still an event where Everybody in the NFL's got their eyes on Indianapolis and, and, you know, at Least cheering on the folks that are competing when they compete well.

[Marcus Mosher]

And it's also a really weird event in the sense that you're rooting for these players to perform well, but you don't want them to perform too, too well. And that might be the case here with Sonny Styles, the Ohio State linebacker, because a week ago, even two weeks ago, you were seeing him mock to the Cowboys at number 12 in every single mock draft. And then he goes out at the NFL combine at 6 foot 5, 243 pounds, running a 44640 yard dash with a 43 and a half inch vertical. He has, according to the relative athletic score, the best combine performance ever for an off ball linebacker. And now the talk on social media is not only is he not going to get to the Cowboys at 12, but does he even get out of the top seven top five picks?

[Landon McCool]

Landon, I've, I had already seen, you know, picks in, in Mac mock drafts where he was going 6 and 7 a lot to, to the Reds, to the Commanders at seven and you know it, at the time I was just like, man, is that, is that really, is that really a possibility? I mean I love him so much. I certainly wouldn't feel bad about taking after seeing this combine performance. I mean I had high expectations for his athleticism. Like there's no doubt.

[Marcus Mosher]

Yeah.

[Landon McCool]

But this, this was unbelievable. I mean obviously it's unlike anything we've ever seen and literally.

[Marcus Mosher]

Yeah. And this always happens, right. You get these guys that have big combine performances and now there's no way they're ever gonna fall to you. Right. It's not exactly the way it works. And this is where something that Josh Norris has talked about a lot over on Underdog is don't count it twice. We knew Sonny Styles was athletic. The expectation, and we talked about it on our show about a month ago when we were doing our profiles that we thought Sonny Styles was going to run in the mid four fours and jump 40 plus inches. That's exactly what he did. So you already knew he was a freak athlete on tape. Don't double count it. And I don't think the league will. I still think he's going to go somewhere in that 8 to 12 range. We'll just see if he makes it to the Cowboys at pick number 12.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, I just don't think 40 inch plus vertical men, 43 and a half inch vertical. That's crazy. Yeah. But still. No, of course, I think you're right. Like we, we knew this, that he was a freak of nature athlete that he was a converted safety. That was obviously a plus size converted safety. So you're, you know, obviously the athleticism was very, very confirmed. So, so we, we won't over count it. But I, I mean I still won't be shocked if he goes top seven.

[Marcus Mosher]

If the Cowboys don't get Sonny Styles. I, I, listen, I know it would be a lot of fun to have him in this defense, but the good news is he's not the only linebacker in this class that's worth drafting. C.J. allen did not work out in Indianapolis, but he's somebody that a lot of people like. And then there are a lot of guys on day two, including someone like Jacob Rodriguez. Rodriguez from Texas tech, who at 6 foot 1, 230 pounds ran a 4, 5 7, 40 yard dash which was way faster than I anticipated. He also led both groups in the three cone and the short shuttle which are very good drills for linebackers. And he also posted a 38 1/2 inch vertical with a 10:1 broad jump. Like he, he's gonna test as like a 95th, 96 percentile athlete. And I never saw that coming.

[Landon McCool]

I mean it's wild. Like honestly, I mean we, we knew the production and you watch the tape and the tape's incredible, but you also kind of watch it with the, with the idea in the back of your mind that you feel like this is going to be one of these guys who doesn't meet a key threshold and he's going to end up being a mid round pick. And you know, it just, we've seen this kind of play out before these highly productive linebackers that don't necessarily seem like super high end or elite athletes that, that kind of come into the league and are, you know, just not quite the, the pro player that they were in college. That's not the trajectory we're seeing with. We're seeing a guy that has come in and not only not tested like as an average athlete, he's a plus athlete. Like his athleticism is a, is a plus. He's not undersized. Like, like we were all like, like a lot of, many of us were concerned. He's, he meets the requisite height and weight and with that combined with that athleticism, I'm having a harder and harder time thinking that he isn't going to be a high day to pick. Oh, I'm with you.

[Marcus Mosher]

There was some, I think there was some concern when you look at like he was super productive at Texas Tech and you thought, well, is this like a Josie Jewel Situation where you're this awesome college linebacker, but you're gonna run, you know, in the four sevens, I think Jewel ran like a four, eight, two.

[Landon McCool]

You'll have a lot of these guys, right? Like, we've seen a lot of these. Yeah.

[Marcus Mosher]

Running in the four fives is different. Like, this is a very good athlete that has a nose for the football. He had 10 sacks, he had a bunch of force fumbles and interceptions. And I'm thinking, like, Styles is obviously amazing and if you draft him at 12, you're going to be very happy. But it's not a bad consolation prize if you move back from 20 and you get this guy at 35 or 40. Like, this is a day one starting linebacker. And I think between what he did at the Senior bowl where he was awesome in coverage, and then what he did on Thursday, his stock just keeps going up and up and up in a class that's already loaded at linebacker.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, I mean, I, I certainly thought when he got to the Senior bowl, man, I hope we just, I hope he just looks like he belongs amongst this group because, you know, you just don't know. I thought he was kind of more of a middling athlete. He's not anything like that. Like, I mean, he's a plus, above average, better than average athlete. And that was supposed to be the knock on this guy. It's like, why am I not taking this guy at the second round? I mean, honestly, his stock may even go higher than that. I would not be shocked to see him getting first round consideration at this point just because that production is ridiculous. And the weakness that he's supposed to have, he basically just evaporated with this combine.

[Marcus Mosher]

And I want to mention one more linebacker here, Kyle Lewis from Pittsburgh. We talked about him.

[Landon McCool]

We talked about him doing it yesterday, didn't we? Right.

[Marcus Mosher]

Yeah.

[Landon McCool]

It's crazy.

[Marcus Mosher]

6 foot 220. He actually came in above 5 foot

[Landon McCool]

11 like we said.

[Marcus Mosher]

Yeah. So he went and found that growth machine somewhere. A 40 inch vertical, a 10, 9 broad jump and runs in the low four fives. And now he's always going to be undersized. But you're talking about somebody who I think is a perfect fit as like a nickel linebacker in the NFL. And you probably don't need to spend a top 60 pick to get him.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, I mean, like a kind of hybrid overhang defender. He could probably play a little bit of box safety if you need to play him a little bit wide just because he has that skill set. He was super impressive at the Senior Bowl. I mean, immediately stuck out was definitely, definitely the most active of the linebackers. Even when a group of really good, active linebackers. Yeah, I think the fact that he cleared six foot, I, I honestly almost called you as soon as I saw that measurement because we had literally just talked about it and then he checked, he checked all the boxes everywhere else. It just, it's crazy now. Like after coming through this combine, how many of the concerns that we had that are actually being erased, you know, it more than concerns being added on to which I, you know, maybe that's a lesson to the guys who decided not to come out here and compete.

[Marcus Mosher]

Yeah, I've got some strong feelings on that. But let's talk about the edge rushers because they were really good on Thursday as well. At least the ones that participated. We'll get to that next. This episode is brought to you by fanduel. Have you ever wanted to experience the NBA Finals live and in person? And FanDuel is giving you the chance to turn that dream into reality with their NBA Sweepstakes. And here's how it works. Use your profit boost on any NBA future and you'll automatically be entered for a shot to win a trip to the NBA Finals. That's right, flights, tickets, the whole experience. If you're already looking at the board thinking about which teams might be able to make a deep run, this is the perfect time to lock in. So visit FanDuel.com to get started and. And use your profit boost on an NBA future such as, I don't know, the Lakers winning the NBA championship. Although that's a bad idea, don't do that. Pick something much better than that and get entered for your chance to win a trip to the NBA Finals, which the Lakers certainly will not be participating in. Play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA.

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[Marcus Mosher]

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[Marcus Mosher]

Chevrolet Together let's welcome back to the Laton Cowboys Podcast. We'd like to thank you for making us your first listen. Every single day, Land and I want to talk about the edge rushers here because for the ones that did participate, like I thought David Bailey was phenomenal. He checked all the boxes outside of the drills where he had to go sideways. They, they fell down times. But if you want a guy that can get up, you know, get up the field, get to the quarterback, posting the numbers that he did was pretty incredible.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, he sealed the deal as a top 10 pick. I think, you know, he had certain thresholds that you want to hit as a defensive end who's going to get picked that high. He met them all. As soon as he hit that 4, 5, 1, I was like, oh yeah, he's gonna be fine.

[Marcus Mosher]

I think he might be the number two overall pick, to be honest.

[Landon McCool]

I wouldn't be shocked, honestly. I mean, because of the whole situation. I think Reese, you know, well, we'll talk about him later. But, but I think Bailey really did a good job of just hitting all the key numbers that you needed to hit to kind of prove that you're, you're an upper echelon safety. I mean a deep pass rusher. I mean really, honestly, it's, it's like Rodriguez, right, where you have his teammate, where you have all this production, you've got all this tape. All you had to do was go out here and check boxes and, and he, and he more than cleared those boxes, he more than cleared those thresholds and did a really great job of kind of, you know, ensuring that he is worthy of a top five, top ten pick.

[Marcus Mosher]

I want to ask you about another guy cashes how. Because his numbers were up and down throughout the day. He, I think he was a 4, 5, 9, 40 yard dash. The big number was 30 and a quarter inch arms and we knew that he was going to have short arms. But one of the numbers from the drills I actually wanted to ask you about, there was a stat that NFL Next Gen Stats had where it was he reached 14.5 mph while rounding the corner in the pass rush drill, which was the fastest of any defensive lineman and it was the fastest since Will Anderson in the 2023 draft. And to me that's what matters with how, like he's got short arms. He's. He doesn't have the most lower body explosiveness, he's not the fastest edge rusher, but he's so good at getting the top speed and keeping it rounding the corner. And that's why I like him in Dallas so much.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, I think he tops out. That's the issue. Right. And like do you have his 10 yard split handy per chance? I'm sorry, this is terrible radio.

[Marcus Mosher]

I'll find it. Go ahead.

[Landon McCool]

Because I do think even watching him live, I don't remember what it is off the top of my head, but I remember watching live and I think I even tweeted out really good 10 yard split. Okay, 40 time. Right. I was expecting him just based on tape to be a, like a sub 455 guy. Not that sub, but you know, 4, 5, 4 kind of was what I was thinking. Right.

[Marcus Mosher]

158, which is in the 95th percentile among defensive end prospects.

[Landon McCool]

That's the story for you right there. Right? That combined with that 14 mile an hour figure that Marcus just mentioned, that really tells the tale. Like he's an incredibly bursty guy who will beat you around the edge quickly before you can have time to recover. He's to the quarterbacks. So yeah, I mean again, it's a tough evaluation because he does have, he's, he didn't meet the thresholds that you need. He didn't have the kind of overwhelming athletic performance that would, you know, seal his, his fate at a certain level of the draft. So I, I think it's, it's a little bit nuanced but, but for the Cowboys, what that means is that maybe you get a guy who could be a really good player that at a discount because a lot of teams are probably just going to be out on him because of arm length thresholds and because of maybe some of the other things.

[Marcus Mosher]

Speaking of arm length thresholds, Reuben Bain measured in under 31 inch arms, which again we knew they were short, maybe not that short. He also didn't do anything at the NFL combine. No 40, no broad jump, no on field drills. How much do you think this weekend could potentially hurt his stock?

[Landon McCool]

I mean, I hope it drops him all the way down to 12, you know as well, I mean look, I, I don't care. I've, I've seen enough of Reuben Baines tape. I'm like this is literally someone tweeted, I think it was Jeff Kavanaugh tweeted out and he nailed it. This is the ultimate trust the tape guy. Like I, I, I don't care what the testing says. I, I watched what he did against the very best in the country and he dominated. He's, he may have been at points the best player in college football, you know, at certain, as certain points of the season. So yeah, yeah, I, I think it was it disappointing? A little bit. But if teams can convince themselves that they've got a scout that's on their, that's on their squad, on their team that can fudge the, the arm length numbers enough to, to lie to Adam Schefter to tell him that they got a 32 inch measurement. Sure, that works for me. Let's, let's hire that scout and get him on our team because I want

[Marcus Mosher]

to draft Reuben Bain, a couple other guys I wanted to ask you about. Hakeem Mazador, Reuben Bain's teammate didn't do anything at the NFL combine. And it's, Listen, I understand why certain guys don't test, but at the same time, your Mezador is an older prospect with foot injuries. With an injury history, I feel like not testing. While Arvel Reese and why David Bailey and catch as hell and all these other guys, TJ Parker are all out there testing. To me, that's a pretty rough look.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah. Bane to me is a different story. I mean, I don't like it, but I get it. But Mesador, man, like, you've got a lot of negative things and I love Macedora. Right. And probably more than you. I think we, yes, definitely more than you. I, but I agree, I, I, I think it was not a good look to come out here and not test. You've got a lot of people like Marcus out here being naysayers about you. Go out and prove them wrong, you know, and it's hard, and listen, it's hard for me to defend this to, to guys like you because, you know, they, we need this proof. They need, hey, I'll show you what a 26 year old can do with these kids. Like, well, it's just we want to

[Marcus Mosher]

see guys check boxes and I think like Rodriguez, Jacob Rodriguez is the perfect example of We've got questions. You checked every box, right? And now. Yeah, now we were thinking him of him in a totally different light. If Messenger Messador goes out there and has a really good day or even a decent day, it's like, okay, well, now we don't worry about the athleticism. Now we're having to wait and we'll see what he does at Miami's pro day. If he does anything. It's just he, he's already a really tough eval. Don't make it harder.

[Landon McCool]

It just feels like you've already got a lot of things to hide and now you're already like, you're proving that these things are worthy of hiding.

[Marcus Mosher]

Yeah, right.

[Landon McCool]

That's what's scary. So. Yeah. And I also wondered, you know, how did those medical evals go? That's going to be a huge part of this too as well.

[Marcus Mosher]

I also wanted to mention TJ Parker. I don't think he had like the best day ever, but I think he ran was it in the four sixes which is fine. I, I actually think he's had a pretty good pre draft process between the Senior Bowl. I thought he was pretty good there, thought he was pretty good at the combine. I don't know if he's somebody the Cowboys would consider at 20, but I do think he's done a decent job of rebuilding some of his value after a really tough 2025 season.

[Landon McCool]

I kind of viewed him in the kind of grouping of Cassius how and and you know, our Mason Thomas and I think if you're grouping those three guys together, he definitely had the best day of those three. Right. Like I think coming in with 33 inch arms itself was probably, you know, a bigger and again arm length isn't everything that I'm more than willing to take Reuben Bane who has, depending on who you ask, 1 to 3, 2 inches, 3 inches shorter arms. But I think the fact that a guy like TJ Parker, who is a little bit of a shorter pass rusher, I mean he's probably 6,2ish. Right. Having 33 plus inch arms I think helps me paint a picture of how you're going to play in the NFL a little bit better because you see it on tape. I mean there certainly is, there's certainly a lot of positivity on tape and certainly the 2024 tape and a little bit on 2025. But I think he can use that length and it at least tells a tale a little bit easier for how you can get drafted and have success.

[Marcus Mosher]

One more guy and this one doesn't really pertain to Dallas. It's more of a guy that we would like to see get drafted high. Caleb Banks, who we talked about on Thursday's show measured your boy. Yeah. 666062. 327 pounds, 32 inch vertical, which is insane. A 96 broad jump and he also ran a 50440 yard dash. But this, it was a typical Caleb Banks experience. Like these awesome flashes and then he leaves mid combine because he's got cleat soreness. I'm guessing that's like blisters and then he's gone and we don't see him do any anything else. I have no idea what to expect but that Guy is massive and he's fast.

[Landon McCool]

I, well, he wasn't as fast as we thought because everyone was telling me that he was gonna run a four low, a high four eights, and I

[Marcus Mosher]

was like, I mean, 504. A 504 at three 30s.

[Landon McCool]

It's, it certainly is not bad at all. Listen, you know, and I, he, he can, you know, he didn't really need to do the jumps, honestly, because I've seen him, I've seen how high he can get just by standing straigh single time at the snap. So I, I, you know, I, I think, you know, get a guy that I, I think the reason, the reason that I, I'm not on is because it's the classic I'll let somebody else draft that guy kind of situation where, man, I, I think you see a ton of incredible athleticism, but I just haven't seen a ton of incredible production yet.

[Marcus Mosher]

And again, fully understand, I. With the Cowboys not needing a defensive tackle, we just hope somebody high takes it.

[Landon McCool]

Whether Kansas City and maybe like Kansas

[Marcus Mosher]

City is the perfect landing spot. You put them next to Chris Jones, you tell them how to figure it out, and you let him grow. We'll see.

[Landon McCool]

Go that way. Not that way.

[Marcus Mosher]

Yeah, that way. Yeah, exactly. All right, let's talk about some players that we are excited to watch on Friday with the defensive backs performing at the NFL Combine. We'll get to that next. This episode is brought to you by Five Hour Energy. Welcome to the Five Hour Energy flavor draft. With 18 different flavors to choose from, including new options like confetti craze, fruity rainbow or cotton candy. There's something for everyone. The board is set, the flavors are ready, and I've got my number one pick for the five Hour Energy flavor draft. My number one pick's cherry, but I'm actually going to switch it up because I've talked to you guys about cherry before. Grape is a really good prospect as well. It's a concord grape flavor, similar to like the grape juice that you get in stores or the candy. It's got a really good sweetness, but my favorite part of it, it tastes like syrup. Like really, really good grape syrup. I can't even describe it. It's. It's just, it's so, so good. I take five Hour Energy before I get up in the morning, so gets me ready for the podcast, Gets me ready for my day. It has zero sugar and I have no crash, so I can get through my day uninterrupted. So find your new favorite flavor of Five Hour Energy Shots available online at Five Hour Energy.com or on Amazon.

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[Marcus Mosher]

Welcome back to the Locked on Cowboys podcast. We'd like to thank you for making us your first listen every single day. The off season never stops around here so join the everyday club so you can talk cowboys all year long. Just go to lockdown cowboys.supercast.com to join the club. Landon, let's talk about some defensive backs that we are excited to see on Friday because there's going to be quite a few of these guys who aren't working out. But which ones are you excited to see?

[Landon McCool]

Well, and, and I'm gonna go ahead and pre apologize if if breaking news that I haven't learned. But I mean it seems like we're learning more and more as this is going. So apologies if I, if I misname or if between the time that you're watching this and when they actually supposed to compete somebody else drops out which happens all the time. But yeah, I, I think at this point, you know, with no Gerard McCoy, no no man Sword Delaney, I, I think you're looking at Brandon Sissy. Like I, I think the, some of the top end guys just to see where the athleticism is. I mean you're getting, you're trying to get numbers on all these guys right? And, and I think that you want us, you want to see how some of the outside corners do that are going to be in the range of where you're picking obviously some of the other guys that we've mentioned before Thienaman is, is someone who I think it's been talked about as being a sub. Well, good.

[Marcus Mosher]

Did you see what he said he

[Landon McCool]

wanted to run sub four three.

[Marcus Mosher]

Well, well sub four four. He said he thinks he can get into the four threes.

[Landon McCool]

Okay, I was gonna say that. I think I, I think he's gonna make that easy. Like.

[Marcus Mosher]

Well if you get a, if you. It's pretty rare to get these safeties that can run in the four threes at 200 pounds. If he does that then we're, you and I are having a conversation about it. He's like the dream Pickett 20.

[Landon McCool]

I mean he's not, I think he's, that's why I don't think he's a safety. I think he's a nickel, but all right. Yeah, I, I think again I, I wouldn't be, I mean obviously I think higher of him because I was like, I thought he would say something outrageous like sub 4 3.

[Marcus Mosher]

I think he feels very confident he's going to run in the four threes. We'll see.

[Landon McCool]

I, I, I feel very confident about that too. Honestly. I, I think your guy too emw like I want to see exactly what he runs and what his speed is. Like. It's, I, I mean he looks easy like mid four fours.

[Marcus Mosher]

Emmanuel McNeil Warren from Toledo, in case you guys have not seen him. Yeah, yeah, I, he's gonna, I want to see what he measured it in that because he should come in at like 6:2,210 pounds and I would think he's gonna run in the high four fours, low four fives and you know,

[Landon McCool]

we haven't, we haven't I think we're not going to see everybody compete. But just some of the, just kind of since you touched on just some of the measurement stuff I think is really important as well. Right. Like getting measurements on Mansour Delaney is going to be really, really important. Right.

[Marcus Mosher]

And probably the biggest thing for him. Right.

[Landon McCool]

Like more than anything else, I mean because I, I have questions about his 40 but not that many questions. Not, not like I need to see it questions with his speed. It's more about what, what is his height, what is his length. That's, that's where I'm like a little bit holding my breath. So yeah, I think those are the guys who I, I, I, I mostly I think are going to be focusing on especially with this. Caleb Downs doesn't appear to be working out. Not that the Cowboys were in, in, you know, the Caleb Downs shopping business, but at least wanted to see what those numbers potentially looked like.

[Marcus Mosher]

Keep an eye on the three cone drill for these cornerbacks that we think could be slot guys like Keonte, Scott d' Angelo Pounds from Indiana. There's a bunch of them. That's kind of the drill you want to and I know they don't televise it, but keep an eye on it like throughout the weekend because that is, you need guys that can change direction and, and that's a position that really needs it. I think the Cowboys are going to be hunting that slot defender. It might not be at 12, it might not be at 20 but maybe on day two, day three of the draft, I think they can find a quality player and it'll probably be somebody who tests well in that area.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah. And look for, if you're looking for safeties, look at shuttle scores as well. Right. Because it's about long, long agility changes, long speed as well and turning and running. So the lots of good testing. The testing is super important for the defensive backs, maybe more so than almost any other position. So definitely close attention during the Friday combine events because they will be important and the speed turns as well on the field stuff. All very important.

[Marcus Mosher]

All right, that is it for today's show. We'd like to thank you for making Locon Cowboys your first listen every single day. If you never miss an episode, the everyday or club is built for you. You're going to get discord access plus ad free audio of this show. Just go to lockon cowboys supercast.com to join the club. And 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 Draft podcast. Follow Landon on Twitter @mccoolbcb I'm @marcus Moser. Enjoy the weekend. Enjoy the combine. We'll see you right back here on Monday.

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[Landon McCool]

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[Marcus Mosher]

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[Ross Jackson]

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 for the Everydayer 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 Everydayer Club link in the show notes.