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Kyle Yeomans
The following is a production of Dallas Cowboys.com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. This is Talking Cowboys streaming live from the Dallas Cowboys world headquarters at the Star in Frisco.
Patrick Walker
CD Lamb.
Josh Rodriguez
Touchdown.
Patrick Walker
It's on. Jake Ferguson. Touchdown. Keeps it and he bangs it in for the touchdown.
Kyle Yeomans
And now your hosts, Isaiah Stanback, Patrick Walker, Josh Rodriguez and Kyle Yeomans. It's an OTA edition of Talking Cowboys presented by Black Rifle Coffee Company live from the Star in Frisco, Texas in the SWBC studios. Welcome in, everybody, alongside Josh Rodriguez, Patrick Dosi, Walker, Chris Beam in the back. I'm Kyle Yeoman. So glad you're with us. Welcome in because guess what?
Patrick Walker
Guess what.
Kyle Yeomans
The Cowboys back on the practice field, baby.
Josh Rodriguez
I like those words.
Kyle Yeomans
We get to watch the veterans and the rookies together.
Patrick Walker
Together, together.
Kyle Yeomans
In at once. Maybe. Maybe once or twice. We'll see, man. But I can't wait. It's one of my favorite times of the year. We've got. We had media days on Monday and Tuesday. The the players were all in. Get to see some friendly faces again and get to talk to them for a little bit and just kind of catch up on how their summer's been. Then the OTAs come around. Starts to feel like football again. It's a little hot in the air down here in Frisco. You know, it's hot and humid. So it's perfect weather to try and maybe shed a couple pounds for those that are trying to do so by standing outside watching practice, AKA me. And then today we've got the rookie premiere a little bit later on after practice. So we get to talk to the rookies and go Q and A session to me and Isaiah. Stand back. He decided he didn't want to show up for the podcast, but he will
Patrick Walker
show up for the rookie.
Kyle Yeomans
But he'll be here for the rookie.
Josh Rodriguez
I mean, yeah, he's. He's where he's deserved to be. I mean, I guess he's. He screw this show, right? He just wants. Wants to get the.
Patrick Walker
The audacity.
Josh Rodriguez
He's watching the rookies speak to us.
Patrick Walker
The audaciousness. Isaiah stick.
Kyle Yeomans
Do you blame him, though?
Josh Rodriguez
No, I wouldn't either. I don't want to talk to you guys either.
Patrick Walker
What's Isaiah.
Josh Rodriguez
They just didn't ask me to.
Patrick Walker
Isaiah's middle name. I'm going to start addressing him by his middle Bartholomew when he starts.
Josh Rodriguez
Ramon, Ramon.
Patrick Walker
Ramon. Oh, he's the bad guy.
Josh Rodriguez
Get a roll R there.
Patrick Walker
Have some fun with that. Oh, Chico, we gotta have some fun.
Kyle Yeomans
I'll introduce him as that next week. Ramon alongside Josh Rodriguez. Patrick no see Walker, Isaiah.
Josh Rodriguez
Ramon.
Kyle Yeomans
Stand back.
Patrick Walker
I'm high key mad that I was going to use his middle name to shade him. And it's. It's a badass middle name. It is completely badass and everything.
Josh Rodriguez
He throws it at you.
Kyle Yeomans
It is pretty.
Patrick Walker
Sweet mama stand like you. You win. You did it.
Kyle Yeomans
Got it.
Patrick Walker
Got it.
Kyle Yeomans
Done. She knew it.
Patrick Walker
She knew ahead of time. She knew.
Kyle Yeomans
All right, let's get into some news and notes. Patrick, we got to catch up on.
Patrick Walker
Yeah.
Josh Rodriguez
NBA Finals, guys.
Patrick Walker
We had a feud, right? And. Hell of a game.
Kyle Yeomans
It was a great game.
Josh Rodriguez
It was great.
Patrick Walker
Hell of a game.
Kyle Yeomans
So it was game one of the Stanley cup final game, too.
Josh Rodriguez
Oh, yeah.
Kyle Yeomans
That was crazy, too.
Josh Rodriguez
Who are you going for? Golden Knights.
Patrick Walker
No.
Josh Rodriguez
Oh, okay.
Patrick Walker
No.
Kyle Yeomans
Go Carolina.
Josh Rodriguez
Oh, all right. Carolina.
Kyle Yeomans
Yeah. I want somebody different.
Patrick Walker
Okay.
Kyle Yeomans
That's all. They haven't won it since, like, 06.
Josh Rodriguez
About the finals, who are you going for?
Patrick Walker
There's a.
Kyle Yeomans
There's probably some crossover Spurs, Cowboys fans. I'm a Mavs guy, and I married into a New York family. Go, Nicks. That's where I'm at.
Patrick Walker
I don't have a horse in the race. All I can tell you is the former Mav did a thing.
Josh Rodriguez
Yeah, he did. Jalen Brunson.
Kyle Yeomans
It does make me sad watching.
Patrick Walker
Of course it does. It's a. It's another reminder.
Josh Rodriguez
You had Luca and Jalen Brunson.
Patrick Walker
Incompetence of. You know.
Josh Rodriguez
Anyway.
Patrick Walker
All right, Cowboys news and notes. Quite a few. Let's start with what occurred shortly after our last Talking Cowboys episode. We sat here and we talked about how not everyone in the wide receiver room was going to make it to training camp. Well, by golly, by george, somebody decided to make the decision for the Cowboys. And that is one Paris Campbell. Paris Campbell has decided to hang up the cleats. He is going to retire. The Cowboys have placed him on the reserve retired list. A couple weeks ago, they already had one available roster spot. That created another. Cowboys then flipped and got two receivers in the process. They signed both Romeo Brinson.
Kyle Yeomans
Romello.
Patrick Walker
Romello. Brinson. Sorry. And Jaden Smith. And those are two guys that are going to come in and. And compete for a camp spot. I mean, basically, they're going to go through OTAs, they're going to go through mandatory minicamp. They're both going to hope that they're on the plane to Oxnard, and when they get to Oxnard, they're going to hope that they have a chance to prove something so that they can maybe stick in some capacity, even if it's just a practice squad. So the Cowboys Add those two guys, that brings them to 90 men, not counting the IPP International Pathway Program exemption. I'm going to butcher this name. Od. Did I pronounce that correctly? If I did not, feel free to correct me when you see me at practice today, my friend. But the Cowboys have a full roster right now. The that is interesting and you'd like to see that going in. I would like to see one spot have remained free for a possible trade. But you know, that's a conversation for another day. We'll see how that goes. But yeah. So now Cowboys OTAs are underway. Love seeing Tyron Smith in the building coaching up not only the the offensive line big, giving some pointers to the defensive line as well. Saw him working off to the side with Sam Williams and some of these young defensive ends and slash outside linebackers in Christian Parker scheme. Love to see. And that pretty much rounds up the Cowboys news. And then comes the NFL News.
Kyle Yeomans
Before we get into the NFL News, I do want to kind of hit some of those points.
Patrick Walker
Come on.
Kyle Yeomans
Odalay, by the way, Odalay Odalite is
Patrick Walker
how you say it.
Kyle Yeomans
So yeah, you were very close. Very close.
Patrick Walker
Yes.
Kyle Yeomans
I wanted not. Not it. So one the Paris Campbell News. That's disappointing to me because he was a veteran presence last year that you never really got to utilize. I just mentioned how media day was the other day. I caught up with him at media day last year and he was awesome. Just a good down to earth dude who of course played in Philadelphia. You hate seeing him on the opposite side every once in a while. He was never really the top guy, but he was always a contributor.
Patrick Walker
Right.
Kyle Yeomans
And I thought that would be what his role would be in 2025. And it didn't end up that way because of the injury because he never really had a chance to get on the field. And then I thought maybe he could rebound at 26. I think the emergence of Ryan Flournoy and the addition of some of those guys in in the depth part of the wide receiver room probably hindered his chances to make the roster this year, even if he would have given him given it a shot. But I'm bummed that it came to the end the way that it did because I really liked Paris. He did tell me at one point that he wants to go into broadcasting when he's done. Oh wow. Paris hit me up. Let me know. We'll see what happens because he's got the personality to do it. So. But Romello Brinson and Jaden Smith are two guys that I saw play in college. Brinson, of course, at SMU and then Smith played at Nevada. I didn't have him at Nevada, but I had him when he was at Tarleton State because I do a lot of their games too. And both of which are very different in the way in the skill set that they're going to bring. Jaden Smith's that big bodied 6 foot 6,210 pound receiver who's going to go up and get it. Contested catch guys, great navigating on the sideline and using using his body to his advantage with a catch radius and like I said, the contested catch ability. Brinson's a smaller guy, but still not small. I don't think he's a slot guy. He's 6 to 190.
Patrick Walker
Okay.
Kyle Yeomans
And I worked over the middle of the field. Well, they used him in a number of different ways. Sometimes in the screen game. Not really. He was more of a downfield guy at smu. So a couple notes on those guys from seeing them in the past.
Patrick Walker
As you're talking about your scouting reports on those guys, you've spoken about what you love about them. What would you like to see them improve that would give them the best possible shot at, you know, somehow carving their way onto this?
Kyle Yeomans
I wouldn't classify either one of them as overly explosive.
Patrick Walker
Okay.
Kyle Yeomans
Smith, it's because he's a big body guy. He's a little slow off the line of scrimmage when it comes to Brinson, he's got a little more burst, but I don't know if he's a polished route runner. And forgive me because I need to go back and watch the film. I'm just going based off of the notes that I had from play by play. But I don't know if he was necessarily an explosive player. But when I go back and look at it again, I'll do that this week. I'll talk about it again next week. But I think it's going to be tough to make this roster just because of what I just outlined for Paris Campbell. Because you have the addition of Anthony Smith in the room, they still like Trayshawn Holden in the room. They still like some of these guys at the back end of the roster. Fonte Turpin is going to fight for some possible offensive reps and then you've got three solidified receivers probably for the first time since it Was Gallup, Cooper and Lamb. Right. And that's probably the first time you've had three solidified guys at that position going into a season since those three were all healthy and good.
Patrick Walker
So put it to you this way. Thirteen. That's how many wide receivers are currently
Kyle Yeomans
on this roster and how many spots are they fighting for?
Patrick Walker
Probably four or five. Yeah.
Josh Rodriguez
And you also have to consider who's going to be contributing most in special teams.
Kyle Yeomans
Special teams.
Josh Rodriguez
Granted you do have a Valdez scantling who has the, the, the rapport or the, the, the length in the league to be able to, you know, he has the career, obviously he has more games behind him the, the experience there. But in terms of helping on special teams, I think that is the biggest takeaway from this group here. It's like, how are they going to contribute? And if those guys aren't explosive, you know, that may hinder them in, in terms of special teams.
Kyle Yeomans
I'm glad you bring that up because I'm, I'm talking about from an offensive standpoint. There's a reason they brought in Brinson and Smith. Special teams.
Patrick Walker
Yeah.
Kyle Yeomans
But a 6 foot 6, 210 pound receiver that can run down the field on special teams, it gives you a little bit of option to work with. So I, I think that you bring up a phenomenal point there. I'm thinking offense, that's, that's why they're here.
Josh Rodriguez
Yeah. You know, of course the depth for
Kyle Yeomans
the wide receiver room and it's the
Josh Rodriguez
special teams element and also going to camp too. You need to have a lot of bodies at those skill positions that are able to, I mean, give you get reps all over the place because it's going to be a lot of practicing. I guess my concern is, you know, people listening that are like, you know, how are they going to contribute on, you know, against the New York Giants, Week one, It's like, okay, let's, let's back tap the brakes a little bit.
Patrick Walker
There is little chance that they will.
Josh Rodriguez
Exactly. So just consider special teams. Look at preseason. That's kind of where they're going to make their bones.
Kyle Yeomans
And if they achieve more than that,
Josh Rodriguez
great, excellent and awesome.
Patrick Walker
Excellent.
Josh Rodriguez
It is definitely possible.
Kyle Yeomans
All right, let's go to your second piece of.
Patrick Walker
Yeah. Two bombshells landed over these past couple of days or so. First and foremost, Miles Garrett, the reigning and two time NFL defensive player of the year.
Kyle Yeomans
Is he getting ready to play in Cleveland?
Patrick Walker
No, not anymore. He's, he's departed Cleveland. He's waving, he's retired Cloth. He's retiring from Cleveland.
Kyle Yeomans
What?
Patrick Walker
Yeah, he's headed to the Los Angeles Rams. And of course the Cowboys face the rams on week 15.
Kyle Yeomans
So at least it's late. You got some time to prepare.
Patrick Walker
Okay, so there's a lot, there's a lot to unpack there. But for the most part, I mean, obviously it takes a Super bowl contender in the Rams as they were structured last season with the reigning MVP and Matthew Stafford. Can I say it? Can I say it? Go Dogs. And now you add last one of the year and now you add the best pass rusher in the entire NFL to the defensive side of the ball. And it's has that organization so excited that Aaron Donald has not officially shut down any rumors or speculation.
Kyle Yeomans
Yeah, that was pretty wild.
Patrick Walker
He's not shutting it down. He's entertaining it. So there is a very realistic chance that the Cowboys could be facing the Los Angeles Rams defense that features both Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald. Which just goes back to what we talk about time and time again. Outside of Tyron Smith and Tyler Booker, we like the strides he's making. This offensive line better have their sugar honey together. You know the rest of that. Yeah, they better have it together to start the season going against the Giants. Yeah. And that defensive front. But they most certainly better have their chemistry and everything gel together by then. Second move actually takes a one of the best position players in the game out of the Cowboys way for now. And that would be one. A.J. brown has been traded from the Philadelphia Eagles. A.J. brown is now with the New England Patriots. Kind of interesting to see him reunite with Mike Vrabel who was the coach with the Tennessee Titans that traded away A.J. brown to the Eagles Eagles in the first place. But NFL. Go NFL. So now the Cowboys don't contend with A.J. brown at least two times a season, but of course they are going to be looking at Makai Lemon and Devonte Smith. But I also said this in in my write up on the impact piece after those two moves happened. Makai and Devonte are pretty much the same archetype when it comes to build. Right. AJ Brown is much more difficult to out physical, so to speak. So when A.J. brown is really on his game and really locked in, he actually like his quarterback. He's difficult task and matchup for smaller defensive backs. And there's not a lot, a lot of large defensive backs or lengthy tall defensive backs over the span of the NFL. Right. You know what I mean? Cowboys have a couple. We'll see how they can develop. But so AJ Brown no longer an Eagle, no longer the NFC East. Cowboys to meet AJ Brown, it would have to be in the playoffs at some point. He's in the afc, coming over to the nfc. Miles Garrett bombshell there. Cowboys better be ready for week 50.
Kyle Yeomans
Do you think that the Eagles took a hit with the trade by AJ Brown? Are they worse than they were in 2025 because of it?
Josh Rodriguez
I think so, but I think it's an amalgam of things. I don't think it's just A.J. brown. I think it's also losing Christian Barker. I mean, you know, I'm being honest here, where it's like a solidified part of their defense that made their defense better, especially that secondary, particularly losing that aspect while also trying to, I guess, manage the cap within their office and then also play to the same level that they have been the last two years. Granted, they won the NFC east the last two years. They won a Super Bowl. I mean, you know, all the credit to them, I guess. But I do think they're a worse team than they were.
Patrick Walker
There's no way that anyone can logically, reasonably and objectively say that a team that's losing a receiver that racked up over 5,000 yards over the past four or five seasons and is still very much in their prime, you lose that player, you become worse by default. Now they're going to try to figure out how to regain that production. Kamakai Lemon step up and be an impact player of that magnitude in Year one. I don't know that he can, especially given the quarterback struggles of Jalen Hurts. That's why the offense runs through Saquon Barkley. So I don't. I think it's going to take them a while, and it might take them a couple of years to try to
Josh Rodriguez
regain that with a new offensive coordinator.
Patrick Walker
With a new offensive coordinator. So there's a lot of moving pieces there. But. But. Easy answer. The Eagles got worse when AJ Brown
Josh Rodriguez
got shipped to the new does that make them bad?
Patrick Walker
Patrick it doesn't make them bad. It just made them worse.
Kyle Yeomans
They're not bad.
Josh Rodriguez
They're not bad. They're not bad.
Patrick Walker
They're just worse than they were before A.J. brown got traded.
Josh Rodriguez
And that was the question.
Kyle Yeomans
And Makai Lemon could end up being a superstar. We don't know that yet. We haven't seen it yet. But that's kind of the point that you're making is in 2026, for him to come in and immediately fill in the void of A.J. brown when he's not that type of Receiver, first off, and you have a guy on the opposite side that's now your de facto number one. And devonte Smith, who's never been a number one for the most part, he has the ability, but he's. He's always been kind of second on that list behind A.J.
Josh Rodriguez
brown.
Kyle Yeomans
You. You have the ability now to see a window of growth for them, which is great for them. Cool. Sounds good. But if you're the Cowboys, you have to capitalize on it. Yeah, you got to capitalize on. Okay, Kyle Lemon's a rookie. We got to, we got to find a way to make him pay at certain points in the season, and you get them kind of early. I mean, you get him week seven on the road, and playing October football in Philadelphia is a lot better than playing December football or January football in Philadelphia, and then you get them on Thanksgiving and you're done. So they have 12 weeks to figure it out, at least against the Cowboys specifically, if Makai Lemon can be that elite level wide receiver that they hope him to be as a first round pick.
Patrick Walker
Well, what you also have to love is that, you know, your current and newly hired defensive coordinator came from where I. Philadelphia. Philadelphia.
Josh Rodriguez
Right. Yeah.
Patrick Walker
So while Christian Parker won't have any inside information on Makai Lemon, he has all the inside information on devontae Smith and some of those other guys. Dallas Goddard, for example. Jalen Hurts, obviously. So, I mean, that also works in the Cowboys favor in a, in a massive way. But bottom line, AJ Brown no longer being in the Eagles uniform absolutely made them a worst team. It does not make them a bad team. Yeah. But it most certainly drops them down a couple notches and makes them a little bit easier for the Cowboys to beat up on. From a defensive standpoint, if, if, if, if, if, if this defense can do what we want them to do and hope they can do, if.
Josh Rodriguez
I will say the writing was sort of on the wall for A.J. brown leaving Philadelphia in the offseason, obviously for the first. They were waiting for draft first. Yeah, yeah.
Kyle Yeomans
They're waiting for post junior worst kept secret in football.
Josh Rodriguez
And if you're the Cowboys, if the Cowboys organization, you're, you're, you're excited. The fact that, you know the Eagles are probably going to get just a little bit worse, that gives you some sort of edge in off season where you feel like you've built the right way and you've got the coaching staff where you want them to be, you have certain depth players that you feel like, all right, we can actually make a run at this thing and do what the Seahawks did a year ago and really turn things around. And then on the opposite end of the spectrum, where the Los Angeles Rams decide to go all in again, figuratively and quite literally again, to getting Miles Garrett and solidifying.
Kyle Yeomans
What is. What do they say about those picks?
Patrick Walker
F those.
Kyle Yeomans
Yeah, that's what they say.
Patrick Walker
That's what they say.
Josh Rodriguez
That has to be disheartening in a way, but it's like there's no. There's no way to go but through.
Kyle Yeomans
Nope. You got to find a way to do it regardless. And like Patrick said, you're going to play them in week 15, so you better be ready. Got a little bit of time. You get a bye week going into it. Maybe. Maybe that'll help.
Patrick Walker
I think it can. Especially considering you might need some guys to kind of heal up a little bit before you go in. So that's the game. You, you know, you definitely want to go in that game. Fre.
Kyle Yeomans
What was the stat against Cleveland in week one of 24 where the last time that Dallas played Miles Garrett, it's like didn't. Didn't give up a sack. That's great. But then it was like that.
Patrick Walker
What.
Kyle Yeomans
What was it, like 16 pressures or something like that?
Josh Rodriguez
Well, last time we played Miles Garrett, there was one left tackle that kind of shut him down, if you know what I mean. Week 15, the rematch, baby.
Patrick Walker
Yeah, we will see.
Kyle Yeomans
I like it.
Josh Rodriguez
Come on, Tyler.
Patrick Walker
Let's go real quick before we go to the break. It's just funny to me that they're talking Cowboys is such a great show that. That Eagles fans are watching. And I'm not going to say that.
Kyle Yeomans
Are they really?
Patrick Walker
Yeah, yeah, there's an Eagles fan in for them. But yeah, we're not some real cow because you're a nobody. But thanks for watching.
Josh Rodriguez
I don't think about you at all.
Patrick Walker
Yeah, your. Your hate is not real because you're here. I'm nowhere that I hate.
Kyle Yeomans
It's like the one time we've ever talked Eagles, specifically, it's because they made a big move and they traded away their best wide receiver.
Patrick Walker
But that's it.
Kyle Yeomans
When we take a break or after we take a break, we're going to talk some OTAs. We've got some OTA activity out on the field, and we're going to talk about what's going on, what we can expect, and then what we want to see from both the players and the coaches from this. This week's OTAs. More talking cowboys coming up right after
Patrick Walker
this Every day begins with a promise. A promise to work hard and to build a future. That's why we're here, providing the tools to expertise and John Deere equipment you have relied on for generations to help
Kyle Yeomans
you get the job done right.
Patrick Walker
We're with you. That's our promise to you. Because no matter the project or the challenge you're facing, we're with you. We're united.
Kyle Yeomans
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Josh Rodriguez
If you shout how about them Cowboys? You have that undeniable passion that's the heart of Cowboys Nation. And if you like to drink Dr. Pepper, you'll love the unique blend of its 23 flavors together. Your one of a kind fandom paired with the one of a kind taste of a delicious ice cold Dr. Pepper is the game day lineup that can't be beat. Better yet, gather Your Cowboys and Dr. Pepper fan friends to watch the next game and crack open a delicious ice cold Dr. Pepper for everyone. The wins will be even tastier. It's a pepper thing.
Patrick Walker
I'm home. Hey mom, before you ask, I've done my homework and the dishwasher's unloaded. Nice. Hey, can you. Hey hon.
Kyle Yeomans
Yes, I've got the finale ready to play.
Patrick Walker
Here's your wine.
Kyle Yeomans
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Patrick Walker
Restrictions and exclusions apply.
Kyle Yeomans
See att.com guaranty for details. Back to talking Cowboys Hey Cowboys fans, 2026 schedule is here. Don't miss your chance to see the Cowboys live at AT and T Stadium with matchups against NFC rivals and lesser than the Eagles, the Giants and the Commanders. Plus the jags, Titans, Cardinals, 49ers and Buccaneers. Limited single game tickets are available now@seatgeek.com the official primary ticketing partner of the Dallas Cowboys. Welcome Back in to Talking Cowboys, presented by Black Rifle Coffee Company. The official copy of the Dallas Cowboys. This wasn't on the read, and I'm not being told to say this extra, but I did see that you can now get. It's like very close either this week or next week that you can buy single game tickets for that Brazil game.
Josh Rodriguez
Oh, yeah, I think it's together today.
Kyle Yeomans
Is it today that it's open?
Josh Rodriguez
Sorry, I don't always have to pre.
Kyle Yeomans
But wait on that. It's coming up. So if you want to go to Brazil and watch the Cowboys play, then there you go. They take on the Ravens in week three. Yeah, just keep an eye on it.
Josh Rodriguez
If you want to go on Dallas Cowboys.
Patrick Walker
I mean.
Kyle Yeomans
Thank you.
Patrick Walker
I mean, if you're. If you just happen to be in Rio de Janeiro that weekend, you might as well catch a Cowboys game.
Kyle Yeomans
Yeah. Might as well hit up Patrick.
Josh Rodriguez
Yeah. Say what's up to Patrick.
Kyle Yeomans
Yeah. See what's going on.
Patrick Walker
Hit me up, Kyle. Maybe I'll limp around Rio with you. Yeah. Because I only. I got like one and a half legs right now.
Kyle Yeomans
All right, let's get into some OTAs, gentlemen, shall we? Cowboys have been on the practice field this week. That's not new. They practiced on Monday and Tuesday. Now they practice again today.
Josh Rodriguez
Yes.
Kyle Yeomans
They also had some optional. Optional team activities last week.
Patrick Walker
And what do voluntary mean?
Kyle Yeomans
It means optional.
Josh Rodriguez
So today Mingo mandatory is what it
Patrick Walker
means, if you know the quote.
Kyle Yeomans
The big thing is today we get to watch practice and we get to see what's going on here in a couple of minutes. So I'm going to start with players with the Most approved in OTAs. You talked about Jonathan Mingo last week and made the toy in the term, or coined the term in terms of Mingo mandatory.
Josh Rodriguez
Yeah.
Kyle Yeomans
Is he on that list in terms of players that have the most approved.
Josh Rodriguez
The most approved? No, he doesn't make my list for most approve. I feel like demarvi Nova shown is really high up. I mean, you're talking about a guy going into year four. He just signed with David Molaguetta. He's got a contract to start negotiating at the end of the season. But a guy that hasn't played all 17 games, to me, that is very impactful on what this team is considering going into the season because the linebacker spot isn't solid. We're here talking about how we kind of wish there was an open spot on the rosters, possibly after June 1st. I thought this is going to be a different show. I thought we're going to be talking about a new edition now that that isn't necessarily the case right now.
Kyle Yeomans
Not yet.
Josh Rodriguez
Not yet. All things considered. I'm only talking about here and now, Fellers. I'm right here. I'm right now.
Patrick Walker
It's only June 3rd.
Kyle Yeomans
You have. You're aware your feet are planted.
Josh Rodriguez
I'm looking at what the linebacker room is right this second. And as far as things to prove, that whole room's got a lot of things to prove. Demarvanovichon is really high up on that list. Same with D winners. I feel like if I maybe because we don't know his role yet quite in our system, this will be a lot to figure out. But at least for him, I mean, I'm sure he has a lot to prove. He wants to prove to himself that he's worth the trade that the Cowboys made for him and to solidify what this defense is going to be going forward.
Patrick Walker
You know, for me, I'm going to go one on one, one on each side of the ball. Tyler Guyton. Tyler Guyton. Tyler Guyton. Tyler Guyton has taken strides when he's on the field. The problem is he's not been on the field nearly enough.
Kyle Yeomans
Okay.
Patrick Walker
Over the first two seasons he's missed far too many games because of a variety of injuries. And that's not counting the training camp snaps in Oxner he missed because I think he had the tight hamstring or something to that nature at that point. So he needs to remain available. I'm of the mindset that Tyler Guyton can be a starting left tackle in this league. However, he is now going into year three, Tyler gotten cannot remain on the field, which then means he can't make said strides forward. I believe that he loses the starting position and he does not regain it in year four.
Kyle Yeomans
That's bold.
Josh Rodriguez
No, that's bold.
Patrick Walker
I say that because the Cowboys are in a position. Schottenheimer, Clayton Adams, Connor Riley. They're in a position where they're already entering 2026. Letting you know that they're still trying to figure out the left tackle situation.
Josh Rodriguez
They.
Patrick Walker
They have a former first round pick from a couple of seasons talked about
Kyle Yeomans
it at the draft.
Patrick Walker
Yeah. And the fact that they are not closing, slamming, welding, shut the door on Tyler Smith possibly moving the left tackle tells you outright that they're still working through it.
Kyle Yeomans
Is that who the. Who he would lose it to?
Patrick Walker
I don't know. I don't know that he. Let me say no, I don't know that I Don't believe that he would lose it to Tyler Smith because I do believe they don't want to move Tyler Smith and we know Tyler Smith doesn't want to move.
Kyle Yeomans
All that looks great.
Patrick Walker
Yeah, I think there's. I think there's a buffer between if Tyler got in order to lose the left tackle spot and Tyler Smith becoming left tackle. And that buffer could be Nate Thomas. That buffer could be Drew. I mean, it could be. We don't know. But I think there's a buffer there. But nonetheless, can.
Josh Rodriguez
I can't go soon enough. He needs that get right game.
Patrick Walker
Well, the get right game.
Kyle Yeomans
I'm kidding, but that's fine.
Patrick Walker
Tyler Guy is get right game. Might be week one.
Josh Rodriguez
Yeah.
Kyle Yeomans
Yeah.
Patrick Walker
Maybe the Giants defensive line is just nasty work.
Kyle Yeomans
Yeah, that is tough. The rebuttal is. Mama Joe always told me, come on, mommy. Actions speak louder than words. And the. The words that are being spoken is we don't want to move Tyler Guyton to left tackle or excuse me, Tyler Smith to left tackle. We don't. He doesn't want to move to left tackle. He doesn't want to move from the left guard spot, which he's an all pro caliber player at. However, I caught a glimpse of Tyler Guyton the other day. That dude does not look like a left guard. He. He's in terms of shape and I'm sure this will come out today at some point whenever the media gets a first look at him too. He is in more of a tackle shape than I've ever seen.
Patrick Walker
Tyler Smith.
Kyle Yeomans
Tyler Smith. Yes. Oh, did I say guy? Sorry. So many. Tyler, man. It's why the schedule release was what
Josh Rodriguez
it was a whole video about it.
Kyle Yeomans
Tyler Smith is. Who looks like a tackle now.
Patrick Walker
Whoa.
Kyle Yeomans
He. He is built like a tackle now. That doesn't mean that he can't play guard and he's not going to be great at guard. But there are some times where you talk about actions speak louder than words. It's not a negotiation if, hey, your body certainly fits the part as a tackle more than it does a guard. Maybe you're a little lighter than you were in 2025. Hey, maybe we should play you a guard and make it happen from there. That's not necessarily a negotiation. That's fact of how you were built in the off season. And at least at the moment, I wouldn't be shocked if he does play some tackle this year because he looks the part.
Josh Rodriguez
What has changed?
Kyle Yeomans
He's slimmer, it seems like, and it looks like he's built stronger like he's, he's leaner more than ever before. I could be wrong. It might just be a look of being in the building and being around him for the first time in a while. But I, I, my first thought was that's the most Tyron Smith look alike that I've seen since Tyron Smith.
Patrick Walker
Whoa.
Kyle Yeomans
And it's not, he's not to that level yet.
Josh Rodriguez
Yeah, of course.
Kyle Yeomans
But he's the closest I've seen in this building since.
Patrick Walker
All that does is go right back to my original point that Tyler Guyton, for me has the most to prove. Because especially if what Kyle is saying holds true and that Tyler Smith looks more of a left tackle. Well, Tyler Guy. And that's that much more pressure maybe on you to run right out of the gate in OTAS minicamp and most certainly training camp. Because now it would appear, if that's the case, it would appear that you don't have as much rope as you might have thought that you had. Maybe you thought that you'd have until, you know, the second quadrant of the season, but maybe you don't. Maybe you have until training camp. Training camp, preseason. You don't know. So, Tyler Guy, I really believe in my heart that the young man is capable. He just has to stay on the field and he knows it. We've had these conversations. He knows he has to stay healthy. And objectively speaking, if he can't stay healthy for a third consecutive season, the Cowboys will look for other options. They're already considering other options.
Kyle Yeomans
Kind of half.
Patrick Walker
We're talking about Tyler Smith and really quickly flipping to the other side of the ball is Sam Williams. For me, it's Sam Williams. This is a guy who set the sack record at Ole Miss, right? You come in, there's such high expectations, you're a second round pick and it just has not panned out outside of you being one of the best special teams players. But the Cowboys didn't draft him in the second round for him to be just an elite special teams player. And now they brought him back. He's on a one year deal. He absolutely has to prove it. And he's being more move to outside linebacker in this new scheme. So he has kind of a leg up to be able to succeed in this season, more so than the previous. But for me, Sam Williams has to have a breakout season and he has competition, right? You have Ezra who and you have Malachi Lawrence. Now you have competition. So for me there's a lot of
Josh Rodriguez
pressure and there's a lot, I mean, very vocal about how the scheme change is going to benefit him and, and suit him better. I mean I think that's definitely a part of it and, and you know, you got what you asked for man. And see where you step up from here.
Kyle Yeomans
He was in great spirits the other day at media day. He was, he was smiling. He's happy. That's about one of the always been the case. Yeah, that's one of the lighter hearted Sam Williams I've seen, you know, in the building during his time here because it hasn't been easy on him. I mean pure and simple. Like you said, the expectations set for him from the outside have been high. I'm sure he hasn't lived up to him inside and what the expectations that he set for himself. So I think he's kind of stepping into a role this year where one it's make it or break it. You got to come in and you got to be able to have some success at that spot or else like you said about Tyler Guyton on the offensive side, you have to look at other options because now there are other options in the building and one is
Patrick Walker
a first round pick.
Kyle Yeomans
Exactly. And you got to find a way to step up through that. So that's a great one. What do you it call to talk about? I think the most approved is Savone rebel in 2026 because 25 was not his year and we kind of knew that. Right. We kind of knew going into it that he was coming off of the major injury. He wasn't going to play a ton. He's a high caliber, high film guy, but he comes from a smaller program. I mean East Carolina is a quality football program. They play in the American Conference, which is arguably the fifth or sixth best conference in football, college football. And he was incredible enough, but he only played three games his final season.
Josh Rodriguez
Yeah.
Kyle Yeomans
So where, where is he now in the minds of Cowboys fans, A lot of Cowboys fans that I've talked to. Ah, Savone doesn't have it, doesn't have it ready to go. That's after just a couple of games and playing through injury and playing through, coming back quickly. He hasn't had the rehab this, this offseason. He hasn't had to do anything with that knee this offseason. He's taking care of business off the field. I've seen him in and out of the building more than anybody over the course of the last few months. He has been and just in his mindset he has been the underdog his entire life and it feels like now, after being heralded as he's going to be a great corner, he's a third round pick that we should have gotten in the first. It was all just the injury that held him back. Now he's back to being the underdog and I love that for him. And I think he could step into that role and be a surprise player to the most of the NFL. But for those who watch the college tape, it was there. It was all there, Link. The speed, the change of direction. I just hope he's able to do so now with a full Runway of an off season to land the plane and get right back into NFL form. And I think he could be a huge difference on the defensive side, especially with Christian Parker at the helm.
Josh Rodriguez
Kyle, I love you. I have to disagree.
Kyle Yeomans
Come on.
Josh Rodriguez
I have to disagree.
Kyle Yeomans
Come on with it.
Josh Rodriguez
I think there's another guy in that same room that has more to prove. It's vulnerable.
Kyle Yeomans
Is it db?
Josh Rodriguez
No.
Patrick Walker
Oh, oh, wait.
Josh Rodriguez
Because we're talking about guys that are going to be on the roster that are going to be on the 53. There's one guy in that room that was drafted relatively high that you had high expectations for. He has a nickname after all. And there are a lot of people that I've talked to that don't quite know if he's going to be on this 53 man roster at the end of training camp. And that's Kaylin Carson talking about more to prove. I mean, this. Look, I just laid it out for you. Tell me why he doesn't have more to prove than one Savone Rebel.
Kyle Yeomans
I would agree to a certain extent. I think Savone Rebel has higher expectation,
Josh Rodriguez
a higher ceiling in a much higher ceiling, of course.
Kyle Yeomans
Whereas Kaylin Carson maybe came in and I think the expectations took a life of its own. He. I mean, he was a day three pick.
Josh Rodriguez
That number.
Kyle Yeomans
Keep that in. And the number.
Josh Rodriguez
Yeah, sure.
Kyle Yeomans
That plays a factor into the nickname. Played a factor into it. I think the expectations took off a little bit quicker than Kaylin Carson even. He probably intended or wanted for that to happen. And part of that was because he played well in that early training camp. And then the second part of that is he just hasn't been available. It goes back to the Tyler Guyton situation of it's been a shoulder, it's been a. What was it, a knee or a hip or whatever. There were lower body things there too. He. It's been little things here and there that have kept him off the field,
Josh Rodriguez
hindered his progress and hindered the growth
Kyle Yeomans
and stunted the growth. So while I do agree that he is fighting for a roster spot and he's. He's a guy that could be expendable whenever the cut down day comes and he's got a lot to prove this off season, I still think the step in the higher direction for Savone could be higher. But I do agree with everything you said and the expectations that were set and the way that it was lined up. It hasn't hit and so if he doesn't perform, he won't be wearing a Cowboys uniform.
Patrick Walker
I'm going to counter. Josh's counter to Kyle. This is actually kind of. This is kind of depressing because it's a combo breaker. Combo breaker. Seriously. Because you want these guys to have the killer instinct. Am I right? Sivone Revel, Cal laid it out. I agree wholeheartedly. Kaylin Carson, Josh laid it out. Kyle supported it. I agree wholeheartedly. Daron Bland. Yeah. Of those three names that we just talked about that we're talking about Duron Bland, Sivone Revel and Kaylin Carson, who is on their second contract. Okay. Who's the former first team on pro and Pro Bowler?
Kyle Yeomans
Yeah.
Patrick Walker
Who's the pick six king?
Kyle Yeomans
It was the Ron. Yeah.
Patrick Walker
Nine interceptions a couple seasons or so ago. But availability has suddenly become an issue and it's not. I don't know what's more worrisome, which is a separate conversation. Would you be more worried about a guy who was getting nicked and banged up in different areas or one who has a nagging issue? Devon Bland has a nagging issue with this foot. It required surgery last season to try to help get it right for this season. The last two seasons have been for him, throwaway seasons. He. He wants to take lessons from them, but he doesn't want to be defined by them. This season is going, in my opinion is going to define what Duron Bland will be or will not be for this organization going forward. He has to be the steady hand. This is a room full of young guys. And then throw Caleb Downs in there as. As you know, the versatile gu a room full of young defensive backs say for Malik Hooker and even Jalen Thompson. But Daron Bland has to be the one that you look at. While Sivone Revel is having his ups and downs, while Kaylin Carson is having his ups and downs in this contract year trying to figure things out. You got to be able to look at somebody in this cornerback room and say that's the guy who's making things Happen week in week, week out, play and play out. And has to be the veteran, former first team all pro pick, six king, nine interceptions a few seasons ago, who's on his second contract. So for me, for all of those reasons, can Duron Bland get back to form? It depends on where his foot is. Can. Can he get back to that with his foot? But if I'm the Cowboys, I'm looking at it as yes. Agree on Savone, agree on Kaylin. But Duron, we're paying you big money to be the guy. And to the point where we ship Trayvon out of here, you have to be the guy.
Kyle Yeomans
So you're saying the cornerbacks are backed into a corner?
Patrick Walker
Yeah. Ooh, let's go.
Kyle Yeomans
Come on now.
Patrick Walker
Cuts a bar.
Kyle Yeomans
The I. It's the case that we've talked about all offseason. Where is the biggest question mark on this team? Linebacker. Because of personnel.
Patrick Walker
Right.
Kyle Yeomans
And talent level at the, at the linebacker spot. I don't think anybody's challenging the talent level at corner. They're challenging the availability and the growth. Yes, that's. That's where there's a challenge. And so, yeah, I, I think the fact that we all have a name in that cornerback room and how they are backed into a corner speaks for the room. It speaks for the entire as a whole. They have to prove it as this defense continues to grow. And luckily there's a guy that knows a thing or two about cornerbacks that's leading the group going into 2026 and that works out well. I want to keep a conversation going about the OTAs and some of the superlatives. Let's talk about the coaching staff when we come back on the other side of the break because I do believe there are things that we are going to see and reveal from this coaching staff and how they're going to utilize players. Maybe some scheme questions and certain elements of this team that we don't know yet. Then we might learn when we go to practice today. More of talking cowboys coming up in a matter of moments. What would you like the power to do? Dig deep and ask it. Can you really live so far from the family you lean on? Will a broken nose break you or will it make you Diego Luna bank
Patrick Walker
of America champions U.S. men's national team player Diego Luna and everyone who dares
Kyle Yeomans
to ask, what would you like the power to do?
Patrick Walker
Bank of America proud to be the Official bank of US Soccer and FIFA World Cup 2026 bank of America NA
Kyle Yeomans
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Patrick Walker
Every day begins with a promise. A promise to work hard and to build a future. That's why we're here, providing the tools, expertise, and John Deere equipment you have relied on for generations to help you
Kyle Yeomans
get the job done right.
Patrick Walker
We're with you. That's our promise to you. Because no matter the project or the challenge you're facing, we're with you. Where are United? I'm home. Hey, Mom. Before you ask, I've done my homework and the dishwasher's unloaded. Nice. Hey, can you. Hey, hon.
Kyle Yeomans
Yes, I've got the finale ready to play. Hey.
Patrick Walker
Here's your wine.
Kyle Yeomans
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Patrick Walker
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Kyle Yeomans
See att.com guarantee for details. Back to Talking cowboys. This one's for you, Josh. This next read.
Josh Rodriguez
Oh, okay.
Kyle Yeomans
Zach Bryan is bringing With Heaven on Tour to AT&T Stadium on Saturday, August 22, with special guests M.G. linderman and Faye. Philly. We need pronunciations on this read. By the way, don't miss his biggest tour yet. Get your Tickets now@seatgeek.com Thank you, Kyle. Yeah, that one's all you. Big Zach Brian.
Josh Rodriguez
Just for me.
Patrick Walker
Big Zach Bryan.
Kyle Yeomans
I like Zach Brian. I don't know why y' all are laughing.
Josh Rodriguez
No, no. An excellent act for AT&T Stadium.
Patrick Walker
I'm absolutely into the orange.
Kyle Yeomans
I mean, he's got. He's got a couple hits.
Josh Rodriguez
I thought that was.
Kyle Yeomans
He's headlining at and T Stadium. He's pretty big.
Josh Rodriguez
Yeah. No, he's excellent.
Patrick Walker
Pretty big.
Kyle Yeomans
I don't know.
Josh Rodriguez
M.G.
Kyle Yeomans
m.G. Linderman at all. And then Faye. It's F I L I. So Philly. Philly.
Josh Rodriguez
I already don't like him.
Kyle Yeomans
Maybe a girl. Philly might be a female. I'M not entirely sure.
Josh Rodriguez
No, nothing against Zach Bryant. I just thought that was a dig because of my. You.
Kyle Yeomans
You just like hard rock.
Patrick Walker
Like, I mean, he's a metal hit. Yeah, yeah.
Kyle Yeomans
I should have said not hard rock. Metal is what I should have said.
Josh Rodriguez
Yeah, hard rock, dude. You got a little metal horn. Hard rock, dude.
Kyle Yeomans
He likes it like little guitar and drums. It's great.
Josh Rodriguez
Check out the band Behemoth guys.
Kyle Yeomans
He played that walking in one day and I was like, this is not what I want to hear at 8:45 in the morning. I was like, is you're crying. I need a little need to breathe or something like that. All right, let's talk about the coaching staff. OTAs, of course, already underway, but we'll get our first look today. What are some of the things you want to learn about what the coaching staff is going to do here in 2026?
Patrick Walker
Really? I mean, they're not going to show much of this, if at all, in the OTAs. But I'm really looking forward to seeing the multiplicity of Christian Parker's scheme. We know that he wants to convert it from a 43 to a 3 4, but we also know that in the NFL nowadays, Nicholas Base. Right. So keep that in mind as well. But they want to be able to, you know, have a three down man, front four five. You know, what does that look like if it's a 5:2 versus a 3:4, who's that personnel on the edges? You know, is it Sam Williams when it's more of a 43 and they're kind of keeping him to the true DE or when it's 3 4, are they giving him some burn as an OLB? So things like that. So for me, far and away, I'm, I'm staring at the defense. I'm staring at the construction of it, the scheme, the changes, the installations. I want to see where some of these guys like Sam Williams, whom I pointed out as a guy who has a lot to prove on the defensive side of the ball, what the, what does the utilization look like? And the same goes for Marisley. Afoul. He's being converted to an offensive linebacker. I'm sorry, outside linebacker. So I want to see, you know, what's his ability immediately to try to make an impact in that role. So for me, it's all defense. It's both from a personnel and definitely a coaching standpoint, especially with such an overhauled staff beneath Christian Parker, right off a defensive line coach, why does my brain keep going? Offense, defensive line coach, secondaries, coach, Ryan Smith, you bring in, you know, a new linebackers coach because Bonzi just was not getting the job done. There's so many new faces. And when I say new faces, I don't just mean new faces to the Cowboys, but new face. There's several new faces to the league.
Josh Rodriguez
Yeah.
Patrick Walker
On the defensive side of the ball, I just want to see how it all comes together.
Kyle Yeomans
I like one these. There's two comments right now in the YouTube chat that just made me chuckle a little bit. One of them says, I want to see attitude, which I completely agree. Want to see attitude get downhill. A little aggression. Yeah, that's great. The other one says, I want to see competence.
Patrick Walker
If it's not too much to ask.
Kyle Yeomans
I think that's fair.
Patrick Walker
Yeah.
Kyle Yeomans
You. Last year, that felt like maybe that didn't happen as much. Maybe, maybe. But then this year, I'm hoping. Yeah, I am being nice. I'm. I'm hoping that sometimes this year that that'll be a. A fleeting memory that we think about
Josh Rodriguez
that as far as, like, OTAs and what, you know, the. The media is going to be able to see today. I mean, I've been going to the chiropractor a lot. You know, like, certain stretches would, you know, like kind of carrying those over into my own regimen. Yeah, I'll take some notes on those because that's all we're going to see today.
Kyle Yeomans
I'm going to take a picture of you, like, taking notes. Yeah. Outstanding. Out with the rest of the media. He'll have everybody behind him, like, in a row. Like, everybody's just kind of talking, chatting. Josh is super intent on the stretching port.
Josh Rodriguez
Yeah.
Patrick Walker
But what's going to be key is the sketches that he puts along with the notes to make sure that he remembers exactly.
Josh Rodriguez
Drawing them like my French girls.
Kyle Yeomans
Are you a diagram guy?
Josh Rodriguez
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll storyboard them out.
Kyle Yeomans
You know, that makes sense.
Patrick Walker
There you go.
Kyle Yeomans
And put them in order.
Josh Rodriguez
I think that's all we're gonna see. I mean, they're not going to give us an indication on what the defense is going to look like, which is what we're all clamoring for. We're desperately trying to get a look
Patrick Walker
at, but we'll get closer to disagree, really.
Kyle Yeomans
They don't have time to waste practices. They don't have time in the off season. The way that the NFL and the CBA and everything, It's. You got to take advantage of everything. And this is a different availability than,
Josh Rodriguez
like, typical practice of the season where
Kyle Yeomans
we only get 15 minutes and it's special teams and stretching. This is. We get to watch practice and it's closer to training camp. I don't think they can afford to waste any time. So I, I think we will see maybe the early portions of it.
Josh Rodriguez
Yeah.
Kyle Yeomans
But I don't know if we're going to see any sort of cloaking from a coaching staff.
Josh Rodriguez
I like to hear that.
Kyle Yeomans
So if that's the case, what is the one element that you want to.
Josh Rodriguez
You want an answer to where defensive players are in the scheme, depending on what setup that they're using. Like we're talking about nickel a lot. You're talking about three, four. I want to see kind of where these players are positioned and I guess overall like what it looks like.
Kyle Yeomans
Yeah.
Josh Rodriguez
You know what I mean, seeing those players. I mean there's a lot of terminal turnover there on the defense. I want to see these rookies there in place for the first time. I want to see Caleb Downs.
Patrick Walker
Yeah, you do.
Kyle Yeomans
Yeah, I like it.
Patrick Walker
I want to see Caleb Downs. I want to see Jaylen Thompson. You know, I just, I want to see these guys, especially these two guys because they're going to be utilized in such a versatile way. And I'm just, I'm also interested, and I'll leave it on this. I'm interested to see who from my POV starts to take the, the front runner position as the possible green dot. Will it be a defensive back like Jalen Thompson, Caleb Downs, or will it in fact be a linebacker?
Josh Rodriguez
Yeah, you know What? I got one RB2. That's a good one. I think that's one spicy. I think that's one to really look out for.
Kyle Yeomans
Wide open.
Patrick Walker
It's.
Josh Rodriguez
I mean, it's Jaden Blues to lose at this point. Right. Blues to lose. You would think, you'd think, especially after
Patrick Walker
that Giants game, some insight to the first half of that giant insight to this. I had a great conversation with, with Foster, the running backs coach and he is very high on Jay and Blue as he has been. But it was interesting to me as I was having this RB2 conversation with him. Kind of off the cuff, off the record. So I'm not going to say any quotes or anything thing, but I will say that he was really hammering home his excitement to see Phil Mafa.
Kyle Yeomans
Yeah.
Patrick Walker
This season. So I just simply say that to say it very well could be Jay and Blue spot to lose. But you're talking about 51, 49. I mean they really anticipate Phil Moffa
Kyle Yeomans
making some waves and don't forget like they did last year about Millie Davis. I mean, this is a three person fight for one spot. Yeah, it's Javante Williams and then it's considerable question mark right after that. And if it's a question mark, then they're going to get reps, they're going to get carries, they're going to get opportunities in certain situations and packages and things like that. So this is, you're right, that's a crucial battle that starts really this week, last week, whenever they started back in the OTA process. And then next week in minicamp, it's going to take off as well.
Josh Rodriguez
I think of training camp last year in terms of trying desperately to see what Javante Williams was going to do and how he's going to contribute because it wasn't a solidified position. I mean, granted, like you got him and you're assuming that he's going to be RB1.
Kyle Yeomans
Sure.
Josh Rodriguez
But I think for a good portion of training camp last year, we're like, we're not seeing enough of him to really be like, oh yeah, this is the guy for sure. The offense is going to run through this guy in a way. Now that that is solidified, he is that guy. Now I think more opportunities will be given if they don't want to put him out there in certain reps, you know, or lessen his reps because it's like, oh no, he's, he's, he's good. Like we're, we're solid, we're solidified there. And yeah, more reps all round.
Patrick Walker
That RV2 battle is going to be live.
Kyle Yeomans
Yeah, I want to see the rotation at nickel. I want to see how they rotate in with the safeties. Jalen Thompson, of course, Caleb Downs, how they rotate in with corners. Are they going to throw. I don't know how active Duron Bland is going to be. Which, by the way, to add to your point earlier, I ran into him at media day and asked him.
Patrick Walker
You didn't actually run into him though?
Kyle Yeomans
No. Physically, yeah, wouldn't do that. I walked past him at media day and checked in, said, hey, how's it going? Duron asked him how the foot was. He said it's way better, way better than what it was last year. So I like those words. He said he's got a lot more time to recover. He feels really good. And of course, I don't know if he'll be out on the practice field yet. Probably not, I would assume, but we'll see what happens in terms of his availability. But outside of him, Kobe, Durant, some of these other corners that they've brought in throughout the offseason. Maybe you start to see rotations between Carson and Rebel and whoever you wanted to throw inside just to see what that nickel looks like. Because I think you're going to play a lot of that this season. Probably 60% of the time you're going to be playing a 4, 2, 5, front and that nickel. And so you're going to have to have a rotation there, there. And I want to know who the number one guy is there. I'm assuming it's probably going to be Jalen Thompson until Caleb Downs takes it, but I will finally get the opportunity to look at it as well. You know what nickel is, right?
Josh Rodriguez
What's that?
Kyle Yeomans
It's a metal. It's a metal, baby. And that's going to do it for us on Talking Cowboys today.
Josh Rodriguez
Tiny Horns rock.
Kyle Yeomans
Cowboys fans make it happen this week. We'll be back next week to break it down for you, tell you all that we saw in OTA practices and cannot wait to do so for Josh Rodriguez, Mr. Metal himself for for Patrick Noi Walker, Chris Beman back and Kyle Ymans. We'll see you next week with more Talking Cowboys. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys.com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.
Patrick Walker
How about this Cowboys.
Date: June 4, 2026
Hosts: Kyle Yeomans, Patrik Walker, Josh Rodriguez (with shoutouts to Isaiah Stanback and Chris Beam)
Theme:
A lively, insight-packed discussion breaking down Cowboys offseason moves, wide receiver depth, coaching changes, OTA (organized team activities) storylines, and major NFL news impacting Dallas’ 2026 campaign. True to form, the team combines barbershop banter with film-room depth, analyzing roster competitions and previewing what to watch as the new-look Cowboys take shape.
Paris Campbell Retirement:
WR Depth Battle:
Full 90-man roster:
Myles Garrett traded to the Rams:
AJ Brown traded to the Patriots:
Analysis of Eagles’ Decline:
Schedule Notables: