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- [00:00]
Kyle Yeomans
Get almost anything you need delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get a chicken parm delivered. A little escape?
- [00:09]
Nick Harris
No.
- [00:10]
Kyle Yeomans
A delicious bowl of grapes?
- [00:11]
Nick Harris
Yes. Yes, that. An afternoon stroll?
- [00:14]
Kyle Yeomans
Sorry, no.
- [00:14]
Nick Harris
A burrito bowl? Happily, yes.
- [00:16]
Kyle Yeomans
A day of sunshine? No. A box of fine wines?
- [00:19]
Nick Harris
Yes. Uber Eats can definitely get you that.
- [00:22]
Kyle Yeomans
Get almost Almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now.
- [00:26]
Nick Harris
Alcohol and select markets.
- [00:27]
Kyle Yeomans
Product availability may vary by region. See app for detail. Get almost Almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. The following is a production of Dallas Cowboys.com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. This is the Dallas Cowboys.com draft show, your war room for insider news and draft analysis from deep within the confines of Cowboys headquarters at the Star and Frisco. Now, your hosts, Vach Lombardi, Nick Harris, Bobby Belt, Tommy Yarish and Kyle yeomans. Today is February 25, 2026, and we are 57 days away from the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Welcome to Radio Row, home to the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine. We are live in Indiana, Indianapolis, Indiana, alongside Nick Harris and Tommy Yarish. I'm Kyle Yeomans. This is the Draft show presented by Miller Lite, the only beer of the Dallas Cowboys. And gentlemen, it is so good to be back in Indianapolis. It was windy, it was cold walking into the convention center today. I know you guys have been here for a couple of days, bundled up as much as you can, but I feel like the information is flying around just as much as the trash is in the wind when you're walking out on the streets.
- [01:52]
Nick Harris
Yeah, this is the busiest week on the NFL calendar and this week has been no different. Whether it be chatter, buzz, going out, going on around the league, or specifically with the Dallas Cowboys. There's a lot to discuss here this week. Even halfway through the NFL Combine. Not even halfway. The on field workouts haven't even started yet. There's still a lot to unpack here in Indianapolis.
- [02:10]
Tommy Yarish
Absolutely. And it's that's what makes it the best week of the year, right? It's a lot of fun to catch up with everybody. It's a convention for football. It's a football convention and everybody's catching up with one another after spending years apart. And you know, this is where guys connect with coaches and you end up seeing guys on coaching staffs down the line because of conversations that are had here. Or you end up seeing players, that team sign down the line because of the evaluations that they made here. So, so much that goes into this, not just for now, but for years down the line as well. And that's what makes it a lot of fun.
- [02:42]
Kyle Yeomans
Yeah, it really is one of the best weeks of the campaign. And I one it's good for, for myself to be back here because it's been since 2023 that I've been in the been back in the Indiana Convention center and really excited. One of my favorite trips of the entire season. And I think when you look at this year and this offseason specifically, there's already a buzz just around the fact that Dallas has the two first round picks. There's a lot of intrigue in the new coaching staff. There's a lot of hope with what the offense did in 2025 to what the defense could become under Christian Parker in 2026. And then, not to mention, there's a little of worry kind of mixed in between all of that because you want to see a step forward, but you don't have any Day two picks and there's a lot of specific types of prospects that at least draft fans and Cowboys fans are looking at at day one and day three. Specifically trying to leave out day two. But we did get to learn a lot here in day one of interviews. The media portion behind us opened up today. The linebackers, defensive ends, some interior defensive linemen talking on the podium. And Nick, there were a lot of names flying around in terms of formal interviews with the combine or with the Cowboys at the combine, which they can have 45 of those max formal. They can have as many informal as they possibly can, but that's like speed dating. Can you talk through the process that is the formal interviews and then the, the, the informal side of things as we get closer into the week?
- [04:07]
Nick Harris
Yeah. So I'll start with the informal meeting. That's probably the easiest one to explain. It could be as simple as bumping into an assistant coach at the airport or in the hotel lobby or, you know, in an elevator together. You know, just exchanging, hey, how you doing? You know, how's this week been? Blah, blah. Informal meetings are literally just as, just as such. Informal, not planned, just kind of on the go as, as you move around Indianapolis. Whereas the formal meeting, again, like you said, Kyle, there's 45 that are allotted to each of the 32 NFL teams. And what the Cowboys can do is bring in 45 of these guys for an 18 to 20 minute discussion. They can put them on the whiteboard, they can test them on their knowledge on the field. Brian Shah will probably ask some questions about Their off the field personality. They'll meet Christian Parker, they'll meet their position coach. The scouting department will be in that room as well. And everybody will be a value evaluating how each player takes the barrage of questions because the goal is to make them uncomfortable in those settings and see how they respond to it. I think back to the last couple of years. Each of the last two years the Cowboys have had their first round pick be a formal meeting. Tyler Guyton back in 2024 and then Tyler Booker in 2025. And even going back to Guyton's formal meeting, it wasn't perfect. It was good, but it wasn't a perfect formal meeting. I remember hearing about that afterward. But he had shown some things in that meeting that they were like, man, we can't wait to work with that guy. And it worked out for him. And, and then Tyler Booker, you saw in that introductory press conference right after he was drafted how mentally crazy he was, in a good way. I say that respectfully. He's, he's, he's so mentally aware when it comes to the game. They already knew that because of the experience that they had here in Indianapolis. So this is kind of the opportunity for the scouting department to be like, hey, I've already met this kid. Let's put him in front of the coaches and get them on the whiteboard and get them talking to these coaches and see how they, see how they respond to that. But yeah, you, you mentioned there's 45 of them. We've already tracked down 28, and they've come from the linebackers and defensive line. 28 of them one day, at least. 28.
- [06:06]
Kyle Yeomans
Yeah.
- [06:06]
Nick Harris
Because there were a couple that we just simply couldn't get to. We didn't get to. Romello Height did not come out. Lt Overton did not come out. There were a couple of others that we. Derek Moore, there were a couple that we missed. But overall, at least well over half are coming in that front seven. That shows you how much, how many resources the Cowboys are dedicating to the front seven here at the combine.
- [06:26]
Tommy Yarish
And keep in mind, they haven't even done corners and safeties yet. And you think about those two being a position to need for Dallas going forward, too. So if we're at 28 right now and you've got 45, forgive me, I'm not good at math. How many more is that?
- [06:39]
Kyle Yeomans
17. 17? Yeah.
- [06:41]
Tommy Yarish
So you got 17 guys left to bring in for formal interviews. Two more positions of. I got a journalism degree, not a math degree.
- [06:48]
Kyle Yeomans
I'm just Saying, I'm here to play football, not school. All right, all right, sounds good.
- [06:53]
Tommy Yarish
But we're gonna talk football, not school. What are we doing? No, but you think about the guys that are in this class like a monsoon. Delaine or Jermod McCoy, Colton Hood at cornerback and Caleb Downs, Dylan Thienaman, Emmanuel McNeil Warren at safety. Those are, those might be guys that you see on this formal meetings list. And so my question is going to be, how many offensive guys are they bringing in? Because if they're dedicating this much to defense, they are either banking on their 30 visits, which will come later in the year to get a lot of these offensive guys, or they're basically saying, hey, we're probably going to take one to two defensive players with those first two first round picks. And if it's this many, I would think they lean towards 2. Am I reading that wrong or does that seem like.
- [07:36]
Nick Harris
No, no, no, not at all. And it's kind of similar to the Atlanta Falcons last year. They used all 45 of their formal meetings on defensive players. Now, that is, I can tell you, that is not going to be the case for the Cowboys this year. They are meeting with Notre Dame running back Jeremiah Love today. So that is one just reported in the Fort Worth Star Telegram shameless plug. Oh, there you go. And Ohio State safety Caleb Downs as well. So we're going to learn more about these defensive backs tomorrow. But Caleb Downs is certainly in that list and so is Jeremiah Love, which I think is really fascinating, whether it be them doing due diligence on first round targets or legitimately considering him. And I know Vox back home would be very hyped to hear about Jeremiah Love.
- [08:13]
Kyle Yeomans
So with the formal interviews specifically, it's not a. It's not a direct indication that Dallas is interested in drafting this specific prospect. They are interested in learning more about possibly drafting that specific prospect. But one thing that you can put stock into, maybe other than, oh, they had a formal interview, a lot of times that turns into a combine or into a draft pick. But just because you didn't meet with them at the combine doesn't mean it's possible that they could draft you in the first round. That's happened multiple times over the last few years. Even. However, the strength in numbers and the numbers in which they're allocating to certain position groups in certain areas can tell you a lot. Because two things are going to be true. One, we already knew they were going to look heavily toward the defensive side of the ball in the first round. That was Going to be a case. Now, you see with 28 of these interviews being placed on the defensive side of the football, that appears to be their focus moving forward. But when you get down to it and you start seeing the names that do pop up from the offensive side of the ball, does that tell us something specific of we're not pushing all of our resources into defense, but we are going to kind of give a roadmap of what we could do if they end up going on the offensive side. Gives a concise picture for people to read into it if they do end up looking at the offensive side of the ball.
- [09:33]
Nick Harris
Yeah, I will say, I will caution on reading too much into who they have formal meetings with. You just call back to last year and all the receivers that they met with, the Teoa McMillan's and Matthew Goldens and this, that and the third. And then they didn't draft a receiver, the same exact thing the year before when it came to running back, and they didn't draft a running back. So it's, it's. You put stock into it. Yes, because it gives you an idea of where they are at this point in the draft process, which is important and, but I think it's going to be more important to see where these guys show up for pro days and then eventually who is brought in for 30 visits. And even then there's still some you can't really put into because some of, some of these times it's like, hey, I know so and so is going to draft this player. Let's bring him in to see what he's about. Just so we know that our divisional opponent, who they're going to be having for the next however many years it may be. So there's not always a motive of, hey, we want to bring this guy in because we might want to draft him. There could be other reasons as well, and it could be to ask about his teammate that's been done before and be like, hey, how did you like playing with this guy? And that's the only question they care about in that meeting. And so there's, there's a lot of different, you know, ways. But I, I still do think when you look at 28, at least of the 45 on the front seven, I think there's some stock to put into that and rightfully so. Right. And I think the biggest, most notable thing is that there were six defensive tackles on this list which I think we haven't talked about enough so far. And Peter woods specifically is a guy that I absolutely love out of Clemson and we were able to talk to him today. He's like, man, we have, yeah, I have versatility playing from zero tech all the way out to five Tech. But I feel like some of my best play has been at the four eye and thinking about that and understanding what Christian Parker's trying to do on defense. Hey man, that might not be a bad swing if you're wiped out there at 12. I'm a huge Peter woods guy. I would take him at 12. That's, that's, that's where I feel about him. But it's, it's going to be fascinating to see how they work with those defensive interior guys too.
- [11:32]
Tommy Yarish
I, I think with woods from Clemson, I think you're right that it seemed like this year they, Clemson moved him a lot more closer to the ball and I don't think that's where he's been his best. I think like he said, he's obviously, I'm not trying to take the words from the guy, sure. But he's better in that four eye spot. The wider out he is. The question for me would be if it is a conversation or if it is a pick at 12. I only think that happens if they move on from a Kenny Clark or something like that. Whether he gets traded or cut or something like that. And they say, okay, we really want to still have depth at defensive tackle and make that a stronghold. I understand it, I get it. I get that we're transitioning to a new scheme. I think you can make things work with the guys that you've got and I think that you, there are other positions that this team needs more than defensive tackle. So this might be one of those things where again, it's guys who, you never know really for a certain fact how things are going to pan out and how many former first round picks to Dallas take this past year in the off season. So it might be a thing where, you know, Kyrie Lim, for example, was one of the guys they liked out of Florida.
- [12:42]
Nick Harris
Yeah.
- [12:43]
Tommy Yarish
If things don't pan out for somebody three, four years down the line, is that somebody that they say, hey, we like this guy at the combine, he had a great interview with us. We feel like we can capitalize off of what he would do in our system. Can we go make a move for him? Is that maybe what they're doing with some of these? I just don't think that defensive tackle, when you look at what this defense needs as a whole, they need a pat, they need pass rush help, they need linebacker help, they need Corner help. They need safety help. I just don't think you take. There's nothing wrong with taking your best position group and making it stronger, but when everything else you just have a need at, I think you need to allocate your resources there.
- [13:17]
Kyle Yeomans
That's where I think I would have a problem. Maybe not Peter woods specifically, because I think he brings something else to your team that you don't necessarily have across the board, or at least he adds to the depth and he adds to what they've got from a Kenny Clark standpoint and gives them options there. But one thing I will say is if you're going to implement your resources in that specific position, then what are you doing in linebacker in free agency? What are you doing at safety in free agency, corner in free agency? Because that means if you have the ability to do that and you have the ability to move and shake at the defensive tackle spot, then you must have done something significant in free agency to address any of these defensive positions that you don't have depth at right now. If you had to name one defensive position that the Cowboys have confidence in, it's defensive tackle, that's the one spot. So maybe if that's in the thought process or there is a thought of moving on from Kenny Clark and trying to move some money around, I know that's been a big topic, a conversation this. This off season specifically, then maybe Peter woods is more so in that conversation. But I think they're doing due diligence just to see if they have options in that regard.
- [14:28]
Nick Harris
If I could build on the Peter woods point for just a moment, I. It was Clemson's staff, I don't feel like did him a lot of justice. Yeah, because in 2024, they asked him to move to lose a lot of weight and then be this versatile piece for them. And he was great at doing that. After his freshman season, he was mostly interior. He was a little bit bulkier. And they're like, hey, we think we can maximize your athleticism. Let's lose some weight and move you around. And that was the best thing we saw from his career. And then 2025, they're like, hey, we're going to move you back inside, but you're going to stay at the weight you're at. You know, that didn't necessarily benefit him. And I think you saw that with. We've talked about Clemson on this podcast many times already about how, you know, I don't necessarily feel like they've really maximized their talent in the last couple of years. The last couple of draft classes, and I think the same could extend down to another formal meeting for the Cowboys, Clemson defensive end T.J. parker. But it's going to be fascinating to see both of their draft processes.
- [15:21]
Kyle Yeomans
It's going to be really fun to break down how this is going to happen, and of course, we're going to learn a lot over the next two months. The next two months of free agency and franchise tags and trades and moving and shaking from these rosters is going to really set up and clear up the picture as we get closer. But part of clearing up the picture begins this week at the NFL Combine. So when we come back here on the draft show, let's go through the list of known formal visits that the Cowboys have had. Are there any surprising names? Who is the most surprising name and any name that you're surprised got left off the list at least to this point in the week as we continue to do our due diligence to find out who the Cowboys are talking to. Nick Harris, Tommy Yarish I'm Kyle Yeomans here from Radio Row in Indianapolis, Indiana. More of the draft show coming up right after this. Life is a workout and Smoothie King is here to help you power through. Whether you're maxing out overhead presses, pushing through chest flies, or being the hero your golden retriever needs to carry them over that scary bridge, Smoothie King has the fuel to help you go all out, build muscle and boost your recovery. With 45 grams of protein, 0 grams of added sugar and delicious customizable ingredients in the Gladiator Smoothie, available in chocolate, strawberry and vanilla only at Smoothie King,
- [16:39]
Tommy Yarish
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- [17:38]
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- [18:08]
Kyle Yeomans
This is the Dallas Cowboys.com draft show. Welcome back into the Draft show presented by Miller Light, the only beer of the Dallas Cowboys with Nick Harris and Tommy Yarish. I'm Kyle Yeomans. It's been a couple of days of trying to piece together who the Cowboys could be talking to, where their conversations are leading and trying to piece together exactly what the, the, the formal visit roster looks like.45 possible. Let's go through the list a little bit. I'm going to throw out some names. Stop me if you want to talk about anybody specific when it comes to the 45 visits. The first one I think is kind of interesting. Arvell Reese, linebacker out of Ohio State. Maybe a guy that a lot of people out of or think might be out of reach for Dallas at 12. He might be a top 10 pick and kind of solidified in that fact. But they both, they meet with both him and Sonny Styles at the linebacker position. You just mentioned in the first segment that it could be asking questions about other teammates. They've got of course those two guys at the linebacker position, they've got the, the overall all impact of the Ohio State defense. I mean any of those guys that you could ask about, is that a possible scenario that you could see with those two?
- [19:23]
Nick Harris
Yeah, for sure. And we've talked about the scenario of them trading up into the top seven to go get Caleb Downs. But what if it's to go up to get Arvl Reese and you know that's, that's, that's a fascinating one for sure.
- [19:33]
Kyle Yeomans
Now the whole defense could be interviewed if you're a Buckeye at this point. I mean with as much as we've talked about Downs, styles, Reese, you could really ask about any of those guys in that meeting.
- [19:44]
Tommy Yarish
Yeah, any three of them. I mean, you know, you talk about Reese, a guy who can maybe fix two problems in One, if he can play defensive end or edge, outside linebacker, whatever you want to call it, and maybe, you know, move towards the interior as well. Is that a guy that teams feel comfortable using as a chess piece, or could he maybe stick one way or another? Sonny Styles, I think, is fantastic as a middle linebacker. He's got everything you want, tackling ability, the ability to cover. And, you know, he's, he's going to be a guy that probably does very well in these interviews. He's a high IQ player. And then Caleb Downs is the smartest player in this draft class, another guy that's definitely going to blow people away in this, in this process. And he's the best player on my board. And I think that his intelligence is a big reason why.
- [20:25]
Kyle Yeomans
All right, Georgia linebacker C.J.
- [20:27]
Nick Harris
allen, which I will connect that. Cowboys outside linebackers coach Chidera uzo Derive. Coach C.J. allen.
- [20:34]
Kyle Yeomans
Okay, there you go. Oklahoma linebacker Kendall Daniels, LSU linebacker or linebacker Harold Perkins.
- [20:41]
Tommy Yarish
That's a sneaky. If he gets to day three, that could be really fun. If he, if he, if, if he is a pure outside linebacker, pure pass rush guy, and he really has his legs back under him. Harold Perkins can be a really good football player and a game record for somebody in this league.
- [20:55]
Nick Harris
The Cowboys have also scheduled a dinner with Harold Perkins the night before his pro day in Baton Rouge. So that's, that's a lot of interest
- [21:01]
Kyle Yeomans
in Harold Perkins, especially is he a guy that has to fall to day three or could he be a guy that Dallas tries to pair some picks and move back into the late rounds of day two or late picks of day two to get there.
- [21:11]
Nick Harris
I could see him going day two.
- [21:12]
Tommy Yarish
I could see him going day 2. I just wonder if teams are concerned about one, his size. And to the injury history, I'll say this.
- [21:21]
Nick Harris
He's. He's got slot versatility. He's. He can play in the box. He's played safety during his career as well. He stepped up and played as an edge rusher. He could play anything. And I think in this Christian Parker system, that's the type of guy who I think, like Tommy said, is kind of a sneaky type guy in this, in this entire draft class.
- [21:38]
Kyle Yeomans
Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, who we've talked to on this show before, and of course, there's a lot of interest around him just because of the name and what he did with the Red
- [21:47]
Tommy Yarish
Raiders just for productive.
- [21:48]
Kyle Yeomans
Absolutely. It's just incredibly productive. Josiah Trotter, linebacker from Missouri, is a guy that, I mean, I've Got a third round, late third round grade on him. I think he could be a guy that could slip to day three if you, if you get lucky there. Scooby Williams, Texas A and M linebacker. Xavian, sorry, linebacker out of Arkansas and then TCU linebacker Caleb. Is it Earl Limbs Elarms or who I actually just wrote about for the draft magazine that's going to be released in a couple of weeks. I had him as a Cowboys fit, Day three as a possibility. So seeing his name pop up was, was encouraging because I think he's that, that off ball linebacker that you kind of need. 6 foot 2, 230 rangy, got some speed to him. Definitely not a day one or day two pick. I've got a fifth round grade on him and I think there's a developmental factor there. But if you're not going to take a linebacker or even if you do, you could double dip there. If you're not going to take somebody in 12 or 20 and you need somebody to fall to day three, I think do it again. Caleb alarms or I'm getting there at some point.
- [22:57]
Nick Harris
He was a, he was, he was the green dot for a TCU each of the last two seasons. Mentioning that made me remind myself of another CJ Allen point. If I could go back a little bit. C.J. allen today talked about how during this last season at Georgia, the defensive coordinator who would typically be calling plays for Georgia did not do so. It was C.J. allen who was calling plays on the field for Georgia this past season.
- [23:22]
Kyle Yeomans
Wow.
- [23:22]
Nick Harris
The only time where the quote unquote play caller would come into play was situational things and he would, it would just change coverages. Really. That was really fascinating. That was one of the more fascinating things I heard today that basically C.J. allen was calling the defense at Georgia this last season.
- [23:35]
Kyle Yeomans
Wow. Does that change the way that you look at him?
- [23:38]
Nick Harris
I mean, I already love the, the other.
- [23:40]
Kyle Yeomans
I mean I've got him as Linebacker 3.
- [23:41]
Nick Harris
Yeah.
- [23:42]
Kyle Yeomans
But does that change the way that you, you put him stacked with Styles and Reese?
- [23:46]
Nick Harris
No, not necessarily.
- [23:47]
Kyle Yeomans
Or anybody else.
- [23:48]
Nick Harris
I like CJ Allen more than those guys early in the process. But as we start to learn more about these physical traits and how these guys will most likely test this week. CJ Allen will not test. He'll test at his pro day, which I think is strategic. That's, that's, that's where I, I fall more into the sunny styles and Arvell Reese thinking. Absolutely.
- [24:04]
Tommy Yarish
I completely agree. Alan's three for me as well.
- [24:06]
Kyle Yeomans
There you go. Defensive tackles Now, Caleb Banks out of Florida, who we've talked about a couple times on the show. Darrell Jackson, Jr. Defensive tackle out of Florida State, showed
- [24:15]
Tommy Yarish
up at the senior ball and just wrecked shop. Yeah, he had a really good week.
- [24:19]
Kyle Yeomans
Jinx. The Peter woods, defensive tackle, Clemson, who we just talked about. Xavian Harris, D tackle out of Ole Miss.
- [24:27]
Nick Harris
He was on my flight out here, so shout out to him.
- [24:29]
Kyle Yeomans
Oh, there you go. We had all the offensive linemen on our flight this morning, and it was funny. We were walking in through the. The air in Indianapolis and there were five guys right in front of me and Patrick Walker, and it looked like. What was that?
- [24:42]
Tommy Yarish
Junior Burger.
- [24:42]
Nick Harris
I'm sorry.
- [24:43]
Kyle Yeomans
No, I didn't. But it looked like they were. They were setting up a pocket because they were. They were flying almost in formation with their five offensive linemen in a formation. It was like me and the shotgun with Patrick Walker to my left. And I even said something. I was like, guys, I feel like I'm protected in the pocket here. And they were like, who is this idiot? All right, good answer. Yeah, exactly. Gary Smith iii, defensive tackle out of ucla.
- [25:06]
Tommy Yarish
He would be the third UCLA defensive tackle the Cowboys have if they drafted.
- [25:10]
Nick Harris
Fourth.
- [25:11]
Tommy Yarish
Fourth. Am I forgetting? Oh, yeah, that's right. Yeah, he would be the Dallas Bruins.
- [25:17]
Nick Harris
He said that Kenny Clark is the guy he models his game after.
- [25:21]
Kyle Yeomans
Wow.
- [25:21]
Nick Harris
Really cool.
- [25:22]
Kyle Yeomans
That is cool. Nick Bar or Nick Barrett, the defensive tackle out of South Carolina. Reuben Bane, Jr. Defensive end, Miami Cassius. How DN. Texas A& M. David Bailey, of course. Texas Tech defensive end. Key Ron Crawford, DN out of Auburn. Different Auburn defensive end.
- [25:40]
Tommy Yarish
Yeah.
- [25:41]
Kyle Yeomans
Than Keldrick Falk.
- [25:42]
Tommy Yarish
I really like him. I think. I think he's. He has yet to play his best football. Superb athlete. And I think if you see him get polished, he can be a solid player for you. I mean, he's big, he's strong. I always point back to. I remember watching the Iron bowl this past year and I texted Nick. I was like, man, who is this 24? He is everywhere. And. And you saw several times this year that he was everywhere for Auburn. So I've always been a fan of him. I still think, you know, he might be a day three guy potentially, but with the love that he's getting, he certainly is moving up people's boards.
- [26:18]
Kyle Yeomans
Six, four, two, five five.
- [26:20]
Nick Harris
Yeah.
- [26:21]
Kyle Yeomans
And I mean, that's what he's listed at prior to the combine. So, I mean, he's got some. Some size to him. I think it's going to be interesting to see how he fits into a day three conversation. Because if you're in day three, you're looking for traits a lot of the time, especially in the sixth and the seventh round. And if he's got traits, then maybe that's one of the guys they want to look at. Maybe they were asking about Keldrick Faulk there too.
- [26:42]
Nick Harris
You'll have, you'll see a trend with a lot of these defensive ends that they've talked to, which I think is something to maybe take a look at. Not all these guys, but most of them fit that role in a 3, 4/43 spacing type defense, a Vic Fangio iteration of a defense, I should say, where they can be a stand up rusher and maximize their athleticism off the edge, but also step back into coverage a little bit. And Cassius Howell talked about that. He's like, that is exactly what they talked about during my formal meeting is they basically placed me into the defense saying, hey, this would be your role and this is how you would play in it. You know, basically tell us how you would do things. And as far as I know, Cassius Howell did well with, with those questions. So Cassius Howell, I think it in the, in the 20s, not necessarily at 20, but I think it makes sense for the Cowboys. But you're going to see a trend here with a lot of these guys that they kind of fit that mold. Josh Josephs, which is the next guy you're going to mention out of Tennessee, mentioned the same exact thing. And so really, really interesting to see how Christian Parker has already placed some of these guys on the defense in these meetings to try to get a feel of how they'd respond.
- [27:46]
Kyle Yeomans
And you also got to think about where they're going to move certain guys that are already on the roster defensively too. And that's going to be a topic of conversation throughout the week here in Indianapolis. Of where did certain guys who were kind of that tweener build that you had in one spot in the Mike Zimmer or the Matt eberfluz defense in 24, 24 and 25. And then how you, how do you switch that now that you've got a different scheme and a different system with Christian Parker? You mentioned Josh Joseph's Penn State defensive end Danny Dennis Sutton was also on that list. Missouri defensive end Zion Young. Was there a couple other names that you want to mention across the board there, Nick?
- [28:25]
Nick Harris
Yeah, UCF defensive end Milakai Lawrence, who I am growing to be a big fan of, saw a lot of him this past weekend before coming out here to Indianapolis, Miami defensive end Akeem Mezador, we've talked about him quite a bit. The medicals are going to be huge for him this week. A lot of these guys medicals are going to be very important as we start to learn that information on the next 24 hours. Clemson defensive end T.J. parker, Texas defensive end Trey Moore and Oklahoma defensive end are Mason Thomas.
- [28:50]
Kyle Yeomans
Okay, so that rounds out the list of 28 names that we know of that have already met out of the 45 possible.
- [28:58]
Nick Harris
Caleb Downs and Jeremiah Love per the
- [29:00]
Kyle Yeomans
Four Star Telegram that you already threw that out there.
- [29:03]
Tommy Yarish
We get it.
- [29:05]
Kyle Yeomans
We've. We've got a breaking news superstar. By the way, congrats on your, your recent recognition. By the way. I don't. What was the, the award specifically? I don't have it in front of me. I'm sorry.
- [29:15]
Nick Harris
Recognized by the AP Sports Media for breaking news coverage in 2025.
- [29:18]
Kyle Yeomans
So it was literally a breaking news award. There you go.
- [29:20]
Nick Harris
Thank you.
- [29:22]
Kyle Yeomans
Very deserving winning journalist as we can see here when it comes to the comes to the draft show. Just sprinkling a little bit of breaking news on there for you. 28. So it does love and downs make 28 or 30. That makes 30 total. Okay, so we're, I mean we're 60, 15 away.
- [29:38]
Nick Harris
We're 60 there.
- [29:39]
Kyle Yeomans
Closing out the, the entire list and seeing what happens the next couple days,
- [29:42]
Nick Harris
you would have to think monsord, Elaine, German McCoy, Colton Hood, Brandon C. Say Keith Abney maybe. I mean we can, we're probably going to get a good chunk of these tomorrow when we talk to the defensive backs. I'd be surprised if there's more than six or seven on the offensive side of the ball.
- [29:56]
Tommy Yarish
And you think about the position that Christian Parker's made very clear is going to be important in this defense. The nickel corner position. Do they look at d' Angelo Pons from Indiana, Chandler Rivers from Duke, Keonte Scott from Miami. All guys that could be that cornerstone.
- [30:12]
Kyle Yeomans
Terrell Clemson, all these guys.
- [30:14]
Tommy Yarish
So many guys that can fit that mold for you. Or maybe even a wild card like, like a Kyle Lewis from Pitt. I don't know if he talked today. I don't remember.
- [30:21]
Nick Harris
He did. He did not meet with the Cowboys. Neither did Keldrick Falk, which I think is notable too.
- [30:26]
Kyle Yeomans
And you, you mentioned there the, you said six or seven on the offensive side, but with all the names that we just rattled off that would be closer to the 15 left that they have across the board. Do you feel like six or seven might be high from an office maybe.
- [30:40]
Nick Harris
Yeah, maybe I'm overshooting a little bit. I would have to think that, you know, Jeremiah loves maybe not the only running back. They maybe talk to two or three and then maybe a tight end or two and maybe an offensive lineman or two. Yeah.
- [30:54]
Tommy Yarish
My, my guess.
- [30:54]
Kyle Yeomans
You think they've talked to any of these wide receivers?
- [30:57]
Nick Harris
That's a fascinating conversation. Casey's Concepcion said today that he's met with 23 teams.
- [31:03]
Kyle Yeomans
Wow.
- [31:04]
Nick Harris
So I'm fascinated to hear from him. I think that will be on Friday.
- [31:08]
Kyle Yeomans
Okay. Couple different names to keep an eye on and we'll report what we got next time on the draft show as well. But when we come back, we didn't do it in the second segment. So it's Twitter on the 40 this time around, but we're recording random times. Actually it's closing in on on 4:20 Central Time. So we're getting close to Twitter on the 20. When we come back, more of the draft show right after this. Presented by Miller Light.
- [31:32]
Nick Harris
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Kyle Yeomans
What are you waiting for? Get started@blockchain.com this is the Dallas Cowboys.com draft show final segment here on the draft show. It is a Wednesday from Radio Row in Indianapolis, Indiana, back with Nick Harris. I almost said superstar Nick Harris. We've got Tommy Yarish down at the end of the. You're a superstar, too. Yeah. Honestly, and I'm not even saying this just because we're on the show or whatever, you guys have done a phenomenal job keeping me up to date as I was getting ready to come out here. So I know everybody at home really appreciates all the hard work that you guys have put in. This is a long week. For those that may not know at home, there's not a lot of sleep. There's a lot of conversations. There's a lot of walking back and forth between hotel to hotel to restaurant to information, wherever that may be. This is a long week and it's a tiring one. So appreciate you guys and everything that y' all do. And I'm. I'm honored to even be up here sitting next to you for another year of the combine. This segment is brought to you by your Texas Ford dealers. Ford is the best in Texas, by the way. The offseason is a perfect time to upgrade your Cowboys wardrobe and get ready for the season. Find new fits and fresh styles at a pro shop near you or shop online@shop.dallas cowboys.com of fanatics experience. So now we get into a little Twitter on the 20. Twitter on the 20. It's good. All right. Style. This is coming from G, by the way. Styles and Delane are Both available at 12. Who's the pick between those two possible guys? And then I've got a second part of the question there at 20. So we'll start with Stiles out of Ohio State or Monsour Delaine out of lsu.
- [35:12]
Nick Harris
I already say at the same time. Ready? One, two, three.
- [35:14]
Kyle Yeomans
Sonny Styles. Yeah.
- [35:15]
Nick Harris
Eas.
- [35:16]
Kyle Yeomans
Done.
- [35:16]
Tommy Yarish
Yeah.
- [35:17]
Kyle Yeomans
So, okay, so moving on, I love Delane.
- [35:19]
Nick Harris
I will say. I love Monsoon Delane. I do.
- [35:21]
Tommy Yarish
Great.
- [35:22]
Nick Harris
I will say, though, I'm very curious to see how Monsour Delaine tests this week. That's going to be huge for him. If he goes 4, 4, 5. Cool. I think he might go 4 fives, and I think that slips him. And we might be talking more about mons Delane at 20 rather than 12 here pretty soon.
- [35:40]
Kyle Yeomans
That would be awesome.
- [35:43]
Tommy Yarish
They might be hoping he runs a 47 or something.
- [35:45]
Nick Harris
He's not necessarily your prototypical build. He's 5 11. Not the longest arms in the world. But you turn on the tape, that's one of those where I'm just like, I trust the tape. I'm good with this player. He's. He's. He's a damn good football player.
- [35:59]
Tommy Yarish
Yep.
- [36:00]
Kyle Yeomans
So keeping in mind that that could be a possibility, and that would be. I would be ecstatic if you give mansour Delane at 20. I think that would be a home run.
- [36:08]
Nick Harris
Are you almost rooting for him to go four fives at this point?
- [36:11]
Kyle Yeomans
As a Cowboys fan? Yes.
- [36:14]
Nick Harris
Okay.
- [36:14]
Kyle Yeomans
As a. As an NFL draft aficionado and somebody that loves to watch the draft and watch these prospects have a good time and make money, then I would rather him run a better, better 40. Absolutely. If. If you're saying that he could wear that more likely at 20 than. Than it would be. If he runs a 4 4, then, yeah, I'm good with 4 or 5. All right. Second part of that question from G is let's talk about similar situation. But at 20, both CJ Allen out of Georgia and then Brandon CC out of South Carolina are available at 20. Who's the pick there? And I'm interested in Tommy here because I know CC has been on your board from the beginning. You've been really high on Brandon CC. Is it enough to overtake C.J. allen?
- [36:58]
Tommy Yarish
It depends what they do at 12, because obviously if they take the linebacker at 12. Yeah, you take CC. My pick of the two would be Allen. I have Allen higher. I think that if you. And that's not even including what Nick brought up earlier in the show of. This guy was calling George's defense. Not just any defense, George's defense for a majority of the season. I think he's super smart. He's instinctual. He's not gonna. He might not blow anybody away with his athletic testing this week, but it's another one of those. Turn on the tape and you just. What? Did I say something?
- [37:30]
Nick Harris
No.
- [37:31]
Kyle Yeomans
Somebody was doing something funny.
- [37:32]
Tommy Yarish
It's like you turn on the tape and you realize that this guy's not gonna make many mistakes. He's a smart player. He's going to be in the right place at the right time. And that's why I have him high. I think CC has all the physical tools and he's not played his best football yet, but he's going to need a little bit of development and some, some sharpening to what he's got.
- [37:51]
Nick Harris
Yeah, yeah, I'm taking, I'm taking C.J. allen as well. It's the instincts and the smarts in the middle of the field. It's a guy that you can bring in day one and he could be that communicator for you.
- [38:01]
Kyle Yeomans
Yeah, I'm right there with you. And it's not a large gap. I think I would consider CC at 20. But if, if you're telling me he's the best name on the board, then it was one of the worst case scenarios for Dallas between 12 and 20. That, that wipes out almost all the defensive names because I do have a significant number of names that are available. I still think he's a great player, high second round pick on my board, but I don't think he's going to be a top 20 player on my board. At the end of the day, JD Wants to know what position on defense stretches the best to possibly get a starter at pick. 112.
- [38:38]
Nick Harris
112.
- [38:39]
Kyle Yeomans
112. So into safety, into day three safety could be that position.
- [38:44]
Nick Harris
Yeah, I, I, I, I lean also to linebacker a little bit. But if you look at the data of day three safeties that have been taken over the course of the past half decade to decade, you've seen more starters immediately from the safety position. So I, I'm going to lean on the data a little bit when I, when I'm comparing safety and linebacker here. But there's, there's some really intriguing safeties throughout this draft. But I could also make a case for linebacker.
- [39:09]
Tommy Yarish
You seen the meme where it's like, man, I can't wait to watch football. And it's just in like an Excel spreadsheet.
- [39:14]
Nick Harris
Yes.
- [39:14]
Tommy Yarish
That's what came to mind when you said, yeah, I'm going to lean on the data here. I, I'm gonna, I'm gonna go linebacker. Not that safety is a wrong answer or that Nick's a nerd, but I think that, I think this linebacker group is deep. And are you going to get a top tier starter on day three at linebacker? I don't think so, but I Think you're going to get a serviceable player for you that can be on the field defensively but can also contribute on special teams?
- [39:42]
Kyle Yeomans
Yeah, this is from point after football.
- [39:47]
Tommy Yarish
After football.
- [39:48]
Kyle Yeomans
Yeah. There you go. He wants to know, and we kind of talked about this a little bit in the first segment, but I want to specify a bit here on the list of formal meetings. What are the biggest and most surprising trends that you see that we've kind of uncovered so far out of the first 30 names?
- [40:02]
Nick Harris
Yeah, the. The amount of defensive tackles is certainly notable and, you know, I expected them to dedicate front seven resources, but this
- [40:10]
Kyle Yeomans
many front seven resources, 30 names on one day.
- [40:14]
Nick Harris
Yeah, it's. It's pretty wild. It's pretty wild.
- [40:15]
Kyle Yeomans
28 names of front seven, sure. But that's impressive.
- [40:19]
Tommy Yarish
I would agree with that. That's a, That's a lot of defensive guys and sure, we'll get to the offensive players later in the week, but there's not a lot of room left. These defensive ends are kind of interesting because it's a. It's a mixture of the. The bigger, long armed guys versus the smaller, maybe bendier at points. Guys like, you know, a TJ Parker versus our Mason Thomas or denied in a Sutton versus a Akeem Messador or David Bailey. Like those are. It seems like they're looking at a bunch of different types of body types and how that's going to work. So that's interesting. Trey Moore was interesting one. That one kind of surprised me a little bit. From Texas.
- [40:57]
Kyle Yeomans
Yeah.
- [40:58]
Tommy Yarish
I think with him it would be versatility because that's a guy that maybe can drop a little bit more. He played some linebacker for Texas this year where he was closer into the middle of the field versus on the line. So that'd be interesting. I don't know if I think that would be one of those guys that you're looking at day three. Yeah, I wouldn't take him on day two, but maybe the versatility there is what they looked at. But still, I was a little surprised to see that name.
- [41:22]
Kyle Yeomans
Interesting. This question kind of along the same lines as defensive tackle. Smalls wants to know, is defensive tackle a sleeper position for the Cowboys because of that reason that you've seen so far? Is this enough to where we need to talk about them significantly or does something need to happen first
- [41:43]
Nick Harris
sleeper position? Yes, sure. If it's the guard conversation from last year that the scenario ended up happening, then yeah, I would probably say defensive tackle is the likely position we see come out of nowhere, if that makes sense.
- [41:55]
Kyle Yeomans
Okay, you agree?
- [41:57]
Nick Harris
But I still wouldn't lean on that. Like if I were ranking like positions that I think they take at 12 defensive tackles, not even top four, what would.
- [42:03]
Kyle Yeomans
What would you rank the positions that would. They would likely. Let's go top to bottom.
- [42:08]
Nick Harris
Let's go linebacker, corner safety,
- [42:16]
Kyle Yeomans
Edge.
- [42:17]
Nick Harris
Of course I'd put safety.
- [42:20]
Kyle Yeomans
Okay. And then.
- [42:22]
Nick Harris
And then we would probably go defensive tackle, right?
- [42:25]
Kyle Yeomans
Those are the top five.
- [42:26]
Nick Harris
Yeah.
- [42:27]
Kyle Yeomans
You would do. You would have defensive tackle before any offensive position, correct?
- [42:31]
Nick Harris
Yeah.
- [42:32]
Kyle Yeomans
Wow.
- [42:32]
Tommy Yarish
Is this what they would prefer happen or.
- [42:34]
Kyle Yeomans
No, it just less likely, I guess.
- [42:36]
Tommy Yarish
Likely. I would say. Yeah.
- [42:38]
Kyle Yeomans
Corner,
- [42:40]
Tommy Yarish
linebacker. I'm sorry, Linebacker. Corner edge. Safety. I would. I. I might put. I put a. Put offensive tackle.
- [42:49]
Nick Harris
I think I would put it there too.
- [42:50]
Kyle Yeomans
Okay.
- [42:51]
Tommy Yarish
If one of. If the. If Maui know from Miami or maybe Fano from Utah is there and they are completely trapped defensively, everybody they wanted is gone and they've got no first round grades left, I would wonder if maybe the one of those tackles is on their mind or if they really try to hope the phone rings and parachute out.
- [43:10]
Kyle Yeomans
I'm interested to see what fans out there think Rank your top 5 most likely position groups that the Cowboys could address at 12 and 20. Just tweet us at Tommy Arish, at Nick Harris, at Kyle Yeomans. Tweet at us because I'm interested to see what everybody's thinking in that regard. So in terms of 20, Twitter on the 20. That's all we've got from. From questions on this episode. We'll have more Twitter on the 20 opportunities as we go through the week. We'll be back tomorrow and Friday for a couple extra shows. And yes, Bobby Belt is here. We will have Bobby on the show at some point in time and we're going to kind of work around everybody's schedules. It's a busy week and Nick can attest to this. I mean, you guys basically touched down a couple days ago and you haven't stopped working since then. And then Tommy comes in the day after. You haven't stopped working since then. And then even me getting here today, I haven't even been to the hotel room yet. My bag is sitting right there from the airport that we had initially and it's got a tripod on top of it because that's the type of week that it is here in Indianapolis. What are you most looking forward to as the week goes on? As we wrap up this first edition of the draft show, I'm curious to
- [44:19]
Nick Harris
see what happens behind the scenes. Not draft related when it comes to the Cowboys. Cowboys are meeting with a lot of agents and representation this week. Curious to see what comes out of a lot of those. Specifically George Pickens and Brandon Aubrey.
- [44:31]
Tommy Yarish
I would say that say what Brian Schottenheimer's got to say at the podium on Thursday if we get Jerry Jones later this week. Lot to unpack there. The Aubrey situation is getting fascinating and Pickens has always been fascinating. So I'm looking forward to Brian Schopenheimer tomorrow.
- [44:49]
Nick Harris
Yeah.
- [44:49]
Kyle Yeomans
And Tommy, you, me, Nicole Hutchison and Patrick Nosy Walker got a chance to catch up with some of the Cowboys position coaches to some of the new position coaches and we got some one on ones that are available on Dallas Cowboys.com if it's not available at the same time as the draft show specifically
- [45:06]
Tommy Yarish
it will be available throughout the week.
- [45:08]
Kyle Yeomans
So what did you pull out of any of those conversations that you you really enjoyed hearing about?
- [45:14]
Tommy Yarish
Oh well, I think you know, first of all a lot of these guys getting to learn what kind of players they are looking for and sure it's going to be ultimately what Christian Parker, Brian Schonheimer and the higher ups, I quote unquote want to say. But it's not like these position coaches don't have any input on what they are looking for in players for their position group. So Marcus Dixon today was was fantastic. The former Cowboys defensive tackle and he was also a coach for a year before too. Now he's back for his third go around with the Cowboys and his insight on what he's looking for at defensive tackle was fantastic. You know Derek Ansley, the defensive pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach, what are they looking for at corner, physical guys who are tough and can get after it every single rep. So it is great insight on what kind of coaches they are, the teaching style they've got, what kind of players they're looking for, how they're working around and with Christian Parker to build this defense. So check those out over on DallasCadboys.com it's going to be a lot of good insight for fans.
- [46:18]
Kyle Yeomans
Yeah, really excited for everybody to see that. And of course follow Nick Harris on the Fort Worth start telegram everything he's got coming out this week. It'll keep you up to date with everything going on in Indianapolis. Once again, the draft show 57 days away from the NFL draft in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We'll be back tomorrow. Hope to see you there For Nick Harris, Tommy Yari, Alex Lilly behind the camera, Chris Beam back at the Star in Frisco. I'M Kyle Yeoman saying so long from the draft show. We will see you next time. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys.com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. How about this Cowboys.