Loading summary
Transcript409 lines
- [00:04]
A
This is the Dallas Cowboys.com draft show.
- [00:09]
B
Your war room for insider news and.
- [00:11]
A
Draft analysis from deep within the confines of Cowboys headquarters at the Star and Frisco.
- [00:18]
B
Now your hosts, Vach Lombardi, Nick Harris.
- [00:23]
A
Bobby Belt, Tommy Yarish and Kyle Yeomans. Today is Tuesday, January 10, 2026, and we are now a whopping 72 days away from the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Welcome into the Draft show presented by Miller Light, the only beer of the Dallas Cowboys. This segment is brought to you by your Texas Ford dealers. Ford is the best in Texas. We've got everybody back in the building today. We've got Vach Lombardi, Nick Harris, Tommy Yarish, Bobby Belt, Kyle Yeomans with Chris Beam in the back. As always, appreciate you joining us. And gentlemen, it's good to have you guys back from super bowl week. Vach and I held it down with Aisha Morrison last week, had a, a fun couple of shows, but it's good to have the, the group back in the fold. Bobby, it's good to see you, man.
- [01:13]
C
Yeah, it's great to be here. Good to see you.
- [01:15]
A
What do you.
- [01:16]
C
I was just having day three flashbacks, that's all.
- [01:18]
A
Yeah, I'm sure, I'm sure we're gonna get there soon enough. We'll get there soon enough. What's that, Vodch? But man, how was.
- [01:27]
D
Yeah, yeah, it was great. It was a lot of fun. Yeah, it was exhausting. But we're lucky to do what we do, so.
- [01:33]
B
Yeah.
- [01:33]
A
Did you get any good scoops? Do you know who Dallas is drafting while being out there?
- [01:37]
E
It combines typically the time for scoops. Whereas, like, I spent all last week like tracking down what international game I think the Cowboys would be playing in. And then I guess I woke up Thursday morning, I was like, I think it's gonna be Rio. And sure enough, Rio was announced at like 3:30 on Thursday afternoon.
- [01:51]
C
I will say though, props, that last week, out of all the articles to come out of Dallas media last week, Nick's was the best. Nick's article, the Star Telegram on Friday was very good of his chat with Jerry.
- [02:02]
D
Nice big pink drink guy.
- [02:04]
E
Yeah, apparently, apparently that's what the waiters thought.
- [02:07]
B
I feel that, Nick. I feel it. You know what I'm saying?
- [02:09]
A
Did you ask them your normal. Because you, you don't drink other than Miller Light. But you, you asked him, did you ask him like, what's your favorite, like mocktail? Is that what it was?
- [02:17]
E
No, no, no. I was just kind of looking.
- [02:18]
A
You've done that a couple times. With us.
- [02:20]
E
I have. I like. I don't know if I could say mocktail, you know, with a straight face at the table. So I Joe Hoy, the Dallas Morning News. He was like, let me get an Old Fashioned. I was like, I'll do the same thing. And I pulled me closer. I was like, hey, I don't drink. Just kind of help me out here.
- [02:31]
A
Yeah.
- [02:32]
E
He did not help me out one day. I should have just asked for.
- [02:35]
B
He was worth sweet tea, whiskey glass and some fruit on top of.
- [02:39]
E
We're on the West Coast. They don't do sweet tea like that. Even if they did, I wouldn't drink it.
- [02:43]
D
No.
- [02:44]
C
All you guys.
- [02:44]
A
But it's just for the look.
- [02:45]
C
That's what it is. It's a look. Yeah.
- [02:47]
E
Right, right. And I get that.
- [02:48]
B
Yeah.
- [02:48]
E
But I also want to. If I'm paying for it, I want it to taste good. Seventy dollar pink drink.
- [02:53]
B
No, you want your cake and eat it too.
- [02:55]
C
Nick, come on. You just do the. The Sprite with like a lime in it.
- [02:59]
E
I will say there was a recommendation I got that was like, hey, just ask for a Jack and Coke, hold the Jack. And I was like, that's. I should have done that. That would have been perfect.
- [03:09]
A
That's pretty good.
- [03:09]
C
Or Jack and Pepsi.
- [03:10]
A
Yeah, yeah, Jack and Pepsi. Or Miller Light.
- [03:13]
E
Yeah, or Miller Light.
- [03:14]
C
There you go.
- [03:14]
D
What's missed out from this is our.
- [03:16]
E
Jack and water burger.
- [03:21]
C
Hey, I've combined those before. They're not bad.
- [03:23]
D
Was our. Was our 30 minute Spanish translation session while we were trying to figure out where the Cowboys were playing their international game as I was the only Spanish speaker of the. And we were just trying to translate different reports that we were seeing about. Okay, so and so's going here. So and so's going there.
- [03:41]
C
It was a good week.
- [03:42]
E
It was a good time.
- [03:42]
A
It's a cool story, Tommy.
- [03:44]
D
I appreciate it.
- [03:45]
C
At that time, I thought it was super political about the halftime show. I just knew he was gonna.
- [03:52]
D
You.
- [03:52]
C
So what are you doing?
- [03:54]
B
What?
- [03:55]
C
What? Why are we speaking Spanish?
- [03:58]
A
Okay.
- [03:58]
D
I'm never. I'm never speaking again.
- [04:00]
B
On you was about to say I was translating Bad Bunny. So much fun for a bunch of know where you was going.
- [04:06]
C
Y' all are wrong about Keldrick though. So, you know.
- [04:09]
A
Well, tell me why. Why are we. Why are we wrong about Keldrick Falk?
- [04:12]
C
Well, I don't want to shoot the wheels off totally. But no, I just think that with Keldrick Falk, I'm just trying to get us back on.
- [04:17]
D
On draft after you took us off track.
- [04:19]
C
Yeah, no, I would not want Keldrick fall because like that's my top. Probably not my top choice of 20 either. But like I can at least see the vision with how some of these edge rushers have played over the last couple years that you look at the frame, you say, all right, we're having to project out a little bit based on what he had done at Auburn. We're going to be asking him to do some different things and. But we should be able to tap in that to me, you're a lot of ways, whenever you get a new edge rusher, you're kind of starting them over in a lot of ways and breaking bad habits or ask them to do different things. And so I just wouldn't write off Keldrick Falk just because of that.
- [04:53]
B
That's all I'm writing off keldrick Falk at 12 and 20, you know what I'm saying? Like if we had a 30 something or 40 something, I'd be happy as hell to have Keldrick Falk. But like if we in that range then like if we're in the 20s or whatnot, I just think it's a lot more guys at 20 that I would rather have. One conversation that we could have as Cowboy people is do you think the Cowboys are looking for big hand in the dirt people or like standing rushy pressure people? Because you can kind of differentiate because Kelvin's not gonna help you like standing. He'll be a five.
- [05:23]
A
Yeah.
- [05:23]
B
You know what I'm saying? But I'm trying to get one of them mellow height guys, one of them Cassius Howard guys that can like rush off the edge and help, you know, Donovan as Rocco a little bit.
- [05:31]
C
Yeah.
- [05:32]
A
And with the way that they've hired this staff and the way that they've looked at outside linebackers, coaches, it. It kind of shows you a little bit of the tea leaves and a little bit of where you could be headed in that regard. Maybe you do want one of those stand up edge rusher type of guys. But whatever you do in the first round, I think we've seen because of the recent history and what it took for Seattle and for New England to get to where they did this year, neither one of those teams woke up on Sunday morning of Super Bowl 59 and said, we're going to be in the super bowl next year. We're built the right way to get to the Super Bowl. Nobody really woke up believing that. But they both ended up in Super Bowl 60 and my whole conversation that I've had in off air conversations with those that are in this room, it was all about how did they get to that point and how did they build so quickly? And it does take time to get there. I looked back at Seattle in their draft history, most recently Devin Witherspoon, Jackson, Smith and Jigba. They came out of the same draft in 2023, a fifth overall pick and a 20th overall pick. So just seven spots collectively in front of Dallas. And what would that be? 5 and 20 compared to 12 and 20?
- [06:39]
E
Witherspoon was 5.
- [06:40]
A
He was 5.
- [06:41]
E
That's wild.
- [06:42]
A
So with that being said, how does Dallas hit on those two picks? And I know that's kind of a loaded question, but what did Seattle do in those moments that set themselves up for success? Maybe not immediately, but to be able to take a chance and win a Super bowl like they did this year.
- [06:57]
E
You know, I think a lot of that is just the work behind the scenes and we're not going to know exactly what goes into all of that, but when you have two first round picks and you understand the investment that you're making in those two spots and how much you need those two spots to produce, just like Seattle did when they drafted a corner and drafted a receiver, it's very similar type of situation for the Cowboys. They, they have to hit on these two defensive guys. You would assume that they're going to go out here and draft at 12 and 20. So you know, it's not just those two guys either. You look at Charles Cross, started 14 games for him this year for the Seahawks this year. You look at Gray Zabel, who I think was the best rookie offensive lineman in the NFL this year. Their 2024 first round draft pick. I'm blanking right.
- [07:36]
C
Byron Murphy.
- [07:37]
E
Byron Murphy, yeah, yeah. Had two sacks and a fumble recovery in the Super Bowl. They have gotten the most out of their premier draft capital. And when you look at it from the Patriots side too, you look at Christian Gonzale, Drake, May, even though Will Campbell had a disaster class in the super bowl, he's been good at times this year. So I, I, you have to hit on this premier capital. And you look at it from the Cowboys standpoint, they've already moved on from Mozzie Smith In 2023, 2024, Tyler Guyton, he just needs to stay healthy so he can actually progress at a natural rate here in the NFL. 25. I think Tyler Booker is going to end up being a hit, but I think it's more crucial now more than ever that they have to hit on these first two picks. There is so much pressure on these two picks to hit because if they don't and they throw those two picks into the fray expecting them to be day one starters because that's what you do when you draft first round guys and they don't perform to that level, then you're wasting your window that you have left and this window is closing by the day.
- [08:29]
D
Well, the other thing too is not just do they hit on these first round picks, but they stack them year after year. And like Nick mentioned, you know, you got the Witherspoons, jsn, Byron Murphy, Gray, Zable. All those is three consecutive years.
- [08:41]
A
All of them made it.
- [08:42]
D
You've got three starting caliber star players. And same thing with New England, Will Campbell this year. I think he's going to be just fine. Drake May the year before that, Gonzalez the year before that. So not only do you have to, you know, pick the right guys in second through seventh rounds, which I think talking about the Patriots, I mean when you look at their entire draft class, all those guys were big time contributors this year. Kyle Williams, Jared Wilson, Craig Woodson.
- [09:06]
C
Craig Woodson, huge in that game.
- [09:08]
D
He was fantastic. And really all season I think he was pretty good. And so it's a combination of things, but I really think, and I know this is a draft show so I won't spend too much time on this, but free agency sets up so much. But when you look at two more aggressive teams this past year, Seattle and New England were those teams. Seattle goes and gets Sam Darnold, they get Cooper cup, they get DeMarcus Lawrence. And then on the Patriots side of things, you get Stefon Diggs, Harold Landry and all these guys that Milton Williams, who, who step in and fill the needs that you have on your roster before the draft comes up so that you can go and pick the JSNs or you can take a Devin Witherspoon at 5 and you can be able to build your roster in a way where you can compete like that. I mean, Patriots were 4 and 13 last year.
- [09:52]
E
I just wrote about this in the Star Telegram yesterday. Shameless. Plug the Patriots. Their salary cap designations in 2025, 27.97% were from free agents that they added last offseason. So over a fourth of their salary cap was dedicated to guys that they brought in last offseason. You look at it from the Seattle perspective, they're hovering right around 16% from guys that they brought in last offseason. As well in the free agent market. They have to. I'm with you 100%. They have to be able to fill these holes in free agency and be okay with spending more than $6 million per year on guys. Between these two teams combined, they paid nine players last offseason more than $6 million combined. And that $6 million mark was what Dante Fowler got in free agency last year. That was the richest per year annual deal that the Cowboys have made in free agency from an external free agent in a decade. Yeah, they have to be able to eclipse that multiple times this offseason. Whether that's at linebacker, safety, edge, you pick a defensive position. I would even throw in an argument for receiver even. I mean, there are multiple conversations you can have about who to bring in, but I'm with you 100%, Tommy. I think that's worth.
- [10:58]
C
They just really quickly on that front. There was a stretch there. I don't know how accurate is over last year. I'm sure it's accurate. I know it's accurate for last year. But there was a stretch of, I think it was 10 consecutive Super bowl winners from like 12 to 21 or whatever it was, that each super bowl winner had spent more in guaranteed money on a single outside free agent than the Cowboys that same off season had spent and guarantees to outside free agents on their whole class.
- [11:26]
A
Wow.
- [11:26]
C
And so now that's still two very different ways to do it. Yeah, New England went aggressively after young players to throw a lot of money at him, like Milton Williams, the Seahawks, like when you hear those names, like, okay, Darnold was a still a wild card cop. Lawrence, those were two guys that were thought to be like, okay, well, you're hoping to get value out of them near like back into their career, but it doesn't. It just shows that there are a couple different ways that you can do it, but spending and participating as part of it.
- [11:49]
A
And you still have to have a draft foundation to build upon too, of young talent. I mean, look at the guys who Seattle had on their final year of their rookie deal. 2022 draft class. This is all from one draft class. Charles Cross, Boyer Maffe, Kenneth Walker, Abraham Lucas, Kobe Bryant, Reek Wolin. All of those guys made impacts for the most part. Then you look at Dallas in the 2022 class. That's probably their best complete class, their most complete class that they've had in the last four to five years. Tyler Smith, Sam Williams, Jalen Tolbert, Jake Ferguson, Daron Bland, Damone Clark, guys like that who had impacts but not nearly the same as what Seattle got out of their class. Still probably the best all around class that they've had in recent memory. But it's still not compared to what you did as a Super Bowl.
- [12:34]
C
Mike Sando at the Athletic wrote an article Monday that I liked, but I still thought there were. I don't know that I totally agree with the premise that he was talking about. It's, it's a new era that Seattle and New England are showing you that the way to build is no longer draft and develop. That's not the way that you, you build teams. It's part of the process. But you've got to be a little more aggressive and that's why I didn't agree with it. You look through there, we're talking about, you know, you ran through the New England players and then you've got Nicki Minwari that was on there as a second round pick. You had the, the tight end Seattle that, that scored the touchdown in this one. What the hell? A.J. barner. Yeah, Barner was a contributor. New England's got contributions all the way down their class here. Dallas's greatest successes have usually come okay, yeah, you drafted CD Lamb, Trayvon Diggs and Neville Gallimore and then a year later, boom, you guys are a 12 win team and you pulled it out like you know, really quickly. And we hit on Micah and those sort of things that when you can hit on the top pick in a big way, that's obviously helpful. But they are going to have to start finding more of those 22 class type of guys.
- [13:36]
E
And New England was able to spend in free agency last year because of the value that they're getting from their rookie contracts right now. You're trying to maximize the rookie. Drake May contract right now, Christian Gonzalez contract right now and that that allows you the freedom to do so. I mean Jackson Smith and Jigba and Devin Weatherspoon are about to get mega extensions, whether that be this offseason or next offseason. And it makes sense to be able to throw money at where the holes are right now while you can, because that money is not always going to be there.
- [14:02]
A
Yeah, interesting conversation of how they got there, how it all kind of pieced together because everybody's different. I mean, a year ago we were talking about Philadelphia just hitting on all of their draft picks and getting young contributions from their secondary and guys like that. But it does differ from year to year and there's no perfect scenario. How close do you feel like are the Cowboys? Because offensively I think you could look at it and say they're an elite level offense based off of their 2025 tape. You need some level of success defensively. How close can they be to filling those holes in one offseason?
- [14:35]
B
So on that point, let me just ask y' all this, right? Cause basically how y', all, you know, worded the, the draft help, right? Your core draft guys, it's like you were drafted four years ago, three years ago, two years ago guys, right? Are we, are we putting too much into thinking, okay, the dudes that we draft this year are going to be to what we do in terms of like playoffs this year, post season this year, Bobby done some really good work where he kind of did the numbers and broke. And Bobby can talk about if you want to, where like safety is like the day one kind of help kind of guy, right? But maybe pass rush and not as much. Does that change how y' all see rookies this year to where, hey man, we need pass rush, but man, a third year pass rusher would help us more than a rookie pass Russia would.
- [15:17]
A
Now spots and situations for sure.
- [15:19]
B
And that makes me like running back a lot more. But did y' all have.
- [15:21]
C
No. I mean, that's, that's why my thought process on this the whole time is if I need to address starting caliber players, I want to go get the edge rushers and the corners in the free agency, free agency and trade. And I will draft linebackers and safeties because I think there's a more consistent history of linebackers and safeties being able to step in at the NFL level as rookies and contribute like that.
- [15:42]
D
I think just in general, you look at the landscape of the NFL and for years it's been, this is an offensive league. You score points, you get points. I feel like we're turning a corner here with some of these defenses and they all. There's the age old term the defense wins championships, but when you look at Seattle's group And it's just 11 dudes that want to take your head off and I feel like that's where, that's where you need to win. Nowadays in the NFL, everybody's got an offense that can put up points who can stop it. And I think that like Bobby mentioned and Bocce you mentioned as well, the free agency portion of it is, I won't say more important than the draft process, but it's such an important building block to getting your draft class to hit harder than it would had you not made as many moves.
- [16:30]
C
And free it's exceedingly important this year.
- [16:33]
D
Yeah.
- [16:33]
C
Where you have so many holes and you've got two picks in the first two days.
- [16:39]
E
Yeah.
- [16:39]
D
Because like here's the thing. If Seattle, for example, if they don't have, you know, some of the defensive line guys, does Nick Iman worry have as good of a year if he has to cover more versus just running down and hitting people? Like sure that that's what I'm talking about in the sense of all of it coming together is more important than ever. I think that's the case especially on the defense.
- [17:02]
C
Micah Parsons made J. Ron Curse a better safety as a free agent acquisition. When they have historically, when they hit on safety, how whatever their plan is safety historically when they hit on safety, the defense is usually all right. So however that is played out, whether that's through free agency or you go get Caleb Downs from Ohio State in the draft, whatever you want to do when you polish up safety, that's usually when Dallas has the most success that they have over the last 30 years.
- [17:34]
A
All of that to say they got a hit. They got to hit on these picks and that's why it's important. And we're going to talk about some of the prospects that they're going to try and hit on all of these possible picks in April. When we come back with more of the draft show, we're going to take your questions Twitter on the 20. I've already seen some really good ones. We're going to answer those when we return with more after this.
- [17:56]
C
Life is a workout and Smoothie King.
- [17:58]
A
Is here to help you power through. Whether you're maxing out overhead presses, push them through chest flies, or being the.
- [18:05]
C
Hero your golden retriever needs to carry.
- [18:07]
A
Them over that scary bridge, Smoothie King.
- [18:09]
C
Has the fuel to help you go all out, build muscle and boost your.
- [18:13]
A
Recovery with 45 grams of protein, 0 grams of added sugar and delicious customizable.
- [18:18]
C
Ingredients in the Gladiator Smoothie available in chocolate, strawberry and vanilla only.
- [18:23]
A
At Smoothie King, I'm Dak Prescott, quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, and they snap.
- [18:27]
C
At the Prescott who looks right. It's not there.
- [18:29]
A
He escapes left.
- [18:30]
C
He'll run for a first down.
- [18:32]
A
Just like football when it comes to crypto, it's important to have a team you can trust. With blockchain.com, i know I'm in good hands. Since 2011, they've been trusted by millions around the world to buy, sell and trade cryptocurrency. Prescott's going to run this himself, run it up the middle and he scores. Whether you're new to crypto or an.
- [18:49]
D
Active trader, they've got you covered.
- [18:51]
A
What are you waiting for? Get started@blockchain.com Star Sports Tours is the only official fan travel partner of the Dallas Cowboys offering exclusive game weekend travel packages with pre game sideline access and photo ops with current players, cheerleaders and cowboy legends. Want to stay at a team hotel? Attend the best tailgate party in Texas? Tour the star and talk exes and.
- [19:14]
B
O's with me Everson Walls with Star Sports Tours?
- [19:18]
A
You can visit cowboystravel.com to book your travel package today.
- [19:23]
D
How about them Cowboys? And how about them Jimmy Dean Breakfast bowls? Keep your game day celebrations going with real eggs, potatoes, cheese and our savory Jimmy Dean sausage. And with 22 grams of protein per serving, you'll have enough energy to power you from early morning to the final whistle. The no hassle ready in minutes. Prep makes it easy. Just heat, eat and cheer on those Cowboys. Get yours today. Jimmy Dean Brand is proud to be the official protein of the Dallas Cowboys.
- [19:56]
A
This is the Dallas Cowboys.com draft show. Looking for the perfect play this Valentine's Day? Score big with gifts from the Dallas Cowboys Pro shop. Whether it's a jersey, hoodie or hat for your number one fan, find something they'll love. Head to a pro shop near you or shop online at shop Dallas Cowboys.com a Fanatics experience and make this Valentine's Day a true Cowboys celebration. Welcome back in to the draft show presented by Miller Lite. The only beer of the Dallas Cowboys. Chris Beam. It's your time to shine because it's time for some Twitter on the 20 Twitter on the 20 where we answer.
- [20:34]
B
Valentine's Day Kind of crazy huh?
- [20:36]
A
You never know. They could be buying for the man in their life. You know it could be the woman buying for the man. That's a great gift.
- [20:42]
B
Yes. Yes. Go buy your jerseys.
- [20:45]
A
There you go. It's not Monster Truck. Sorry.
- [20:47]
E
Dude, that is Saturday, isn't it?
- [20:50]
A
I think it is. I think it is coming up this week.
- [20:51]
B
I'm excited about that Monster Jam on Saturday.
- [20:53]
C
Yeah.
- [20:54]
A
Did you get your tickets from Sea Geek?
- [20:55]
B
I ain't get them yet but I'm from sea.
- [20:56]
A
Sea Geek going there.
- [20:57]
B
I'm going see geek right now. There you go.
- [20:59]
A
Good stuff dude.
- [21:00]
C
Perfect Valentine's Day.
- [21:01]
A
This interesting question. Smalls HD so Smalls killing me. Smalls. He wants to know what's the most overrated and underrated bit of information about a player or a prospect that comes out of the preference draft process. This is a loaded question because there's a lot of ways you can go with this, Nick.
- [21:19]
E
Yeah, I'll start with overrated and shout out to my guy, John owning, because he's really made me agree with him on this because there's too many points of data that, that prove this theory. It's that arm length with edge rushers is not a as big of a deal as people make it out to be. It's more about what you can do with your arm length. You think about a guy like Carl Lawson who has made a career out of himself and early and here lately as well, even though he didn't really get a shot last year. Underrated is the, is the character red flags. And, and this is, it's a timely time to talk about it because of the James Pierce situation that happened over the weekend. And you know, last year I think this show caught some flack for us highlighting those James Pierce issues and me saying that, hey, if I were a team, I would not have him on my board because of the things that have have shown up as red flags with him going all the way back to high school. But this is why those things matter. You can't ignore character red flags. And this is exactly why, because James Pierce is now facing a situation where if he is convicted, he is facing a minimum of five years in prison and his career is over. So not only is that a fact on the table and there's victims in this situation, but also, you look at it from Atlanta standpoint. They traded back into the first round last year to go get James Pierce. Not only did they give up this year's first round pick, they have now given up that spot as well. Sure, yeah. They got ten and a half sacks out of him last year. He was fantastic.
- [22:46]
A
He's great.
- [22:46]
E
In my opinion, the runner up for the defensive player of the year behind Carson Swezinger, but now you don't have him. And I don't think that was worth the first round pick at the end of the day. And that's why you can't, you can't ignore character red flags.
- [22:57]
C
I don't. We were talking about this on the air this week and you, you want to be careful not to, you know, pigeonhole anyone or give room for growth. I cannot recall the last time there was chatter in league circles about somebody being a character flag where even if they turned out to be a good player, that they didn't have something happen in the NFL. It's almost 100 hit rate.
- [23:22]
A
Yeah.
- [23:22]
C
And I mean, like, even so, you've got some guys that who Jalen Carter had a bunch of red flags when he was coming out. Jalen Carter's been a great player. Jalen Carter's continued to have some problems now that to the varying degree of how bad it is and what happens all that it was, it seemed very easy to predict Kelvin Joseph was going to have problems in the NFL and, and so those sort of things. The last one I could come up with was probably Tyron Matthew. That would have been the last one where there was a bunch of character concerns coming out. And by the time we got to the NFL, it was pretty much cleaned up. He was cool and you didn't really have any issues after.
- [23:52]
E
And I'll say it from my standpoint, because I think every team, every scout, every evaluator has a different tolerance for these sorts of things. This building has a higher tolerance for these sorts of things. Not only a Kelvin Joseph, but a Sam Williams, Greg Hardy. We can go the list on here. Yeah, I, I my personal take here and if you hear a character red flag coming from me, that's because this is a very serious concern. James Pierce was the guy last year. Leonard Taylor was the guy the year before that. Neither have have really panned out now in the NFL and Pierce is out of the league at this point. And, and when you have these serious legal concerns that come from all the way back in high school, they carry through his time at Tennessee. There were times he wouldn't even show up to practice at Tennessee because, hey, it's James Pierce day off. And James Pierce decided that you got to pay attention to those things. And now when you look at the little problems like Jaden Blue had some character concerns coming out of Texas last year. Were they there? Yeah, but I think it's more so maturity things.
- [24:44]
A
It's a different but.
- [24:45]
C
Yeah, but it's still played out.
- [24:47]
E
I would still draft the player.
- [24:48]
B
Yeah.
- [24:48]
E
And I think drafting him in the fifth round wasn't a bad decision. If. But drafting James Pierce in the first round and giving up this year's first round pick to do so, that's a bad decision.
- [24:57]
C
And it doesn't. It doesn't. It's not even to say that even when those issues crop up that they still weren't worth the pick. They still may be worth the pick, but it's just like, just know something will come. Because look, if you've had maturity issues or other things like that, I don't generally think the light bulb moment for you is going to be, by the way, here's millions of dollars and a bunch of freedom where you're like a superstar in your city. That's going to naturally lead to growth. We've talked about it on the report. Ezekiel Elliott went through that. Ezekiel Elliott took some time to like, and by the end of it, he was, he was solid. Des Bryant went through that. You, you take some time to grow in presence. So I don't, I think that's underrated. I'd agree. Is that I think generally if there's a red flag that you're hearing about out there, that is, is a worthy discussion.
- [25:39]
A
And I like the way you put it where you said there's differing levels to this, because while some of the red flags might not be a legal problem, there's the maturity issue as you brought up there. You talked about James Pierce having the red flags and our show getting flacked for saying, hey, we're, we're not going to mess around with that level of red flag. But we also caught fl. Michael Parsons was drafted and his, his red flag was maturity. Not the same level as James Pierce, not to that same significance, but there was still that. By the end of his tenure in Dallas, what was the main red flag for Micah Parsons?
- [26:13]
C
Run defense. And maturity.
- [26:14]
A
And maturity. So there's an element there that you, you have to remember. And that's why. And we said this last week and I've seen the comments, I've seen the tweets and, oh, I don't care about these interviews. I don't care about what we get at the Senior bowl because I skipped that part of the broadcast. That's all up to you. That's fine. But it does complete the picture of who these prospects are, and it is very important. That's why these teams spend millions of dollars every year to get to know players, because they're about to invest millions and millions of dollars in these players in their futures as well. So you got to get it right when you get the opportunity to do it.
- [26:49]
C
Overrated really quickly.
- [26:50]
A
Yeah.
- [26:50]
C
Not all the time, but consistently enough that I'd say it's overrated is the age thing.
- [26:54]
D
I was about to say.
- [26:55]
C
Yeah. Terrence Newmost picked here. He was 25 before he played his first game. He played till he was 41. Like, we were like, oh, how long is he going to be around the league? He was fine in a lot of instances. Guys are fine.
- [27:03]
D
And here's the thing. Now, with age nowadays, in today's college football, you're going to see so many more of these guys that come into the draft process at 23, 24, they've played six years of college. I don't mind that because the more experience, the more snaps you've got at the college level. I'm good with that. If it's running backs you worry about, tread on the tires, that's fine. But like corners like a guy, like of course I'm blanking on his name and I love him. Keonte Scott, the corner from Miami who's going to be older on draft day. I'm trying to find his official age. 25 probably he'll be 25. I could care less.
- [27:33]
B
Mellow heights. Another one.
- [27:34]
D
The dude's a football player. He's a good football player. Like if, if you are, if you're giving me that and at that age that's fine. And because it feels like, I feel like you're more pro ready when you get to the NFL and you can make an impact quicker because of the experience you have. Kind of like the old adage with quarterbacks, the more you see a lot more guys who have more collegiate snaps hit versus guys like a Mitchell Trubisky who only played what, 10 games in college.
- [27:59]
C
You don't want 30 year old Chris Winky either.
- [28:01]
D
No, like that it gets to a point if we're talking about 27, then it's like, okay, I get it now. But you know, some of these 23, 24, 25 year old guys, if they can play, I've got no problem with that.
- [28:12]
A
Scott, by the way, the corner out of Miami, he will turn 25 during training camp this year. So like you said it some, for some people it matters. Some people, it's extremely overrated. I happen to agree with you guys. All right. Speaking specifically on a prospect here, Frank wants to know, Frank, do you think a Kyle Hamilton slide is possible for Caleb Downs? Remember Kyle Hamilton, drafted in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens, sliding down into the mid teens after he was heralded as a top 10 draft pick. Mostly because of value. Any response to whether or not Caleb Downs could see the score?
- [28:49]
C
Not possible to get to the scenes because he would get picked at 12 at that point.
- [28:53]
D
This team certainly would hope so.
- [28:55]
E
Yeah, I mean I'm pulling up the Kyle Hamilton draft right now.
- [28:58]
C
Hit his 14th.
- [28:59]
B
Yeah, safety's fall. But this, this draft does have a bunch of first round grades that'll push downs down the board.
- [29:06]
E
That was about to be my next question. How many first round grades do you remember having in 20 safeties?
- [29:10]
C
Now Hamilton Definitely he was the top safety because Hamilton was. Hamilton was considered like a top three talent.
- [29:15]
E
You also had guys like Garrett Wilson, Jameson Williams, Chris Olave, Kavon Tippett, Jordan Davis went right before him, Aiden Hutchinson, Derek Stingley, I mean Sauce Gardner. You had some, some guys in the top.
- [29:26]
C
Yeah. And the league is valuing in this draft.
- [29:28]
E
Whereas like I feel like you can really make an argument for anybody in this draft class to have a second round grade other than like four players. You can make the argument.
- [29:37]
C
Yeah, yeah. I'd say down's unlikely to just because the issue is, is that the league is really starting to hop on this trend of wanting the versatile safety like Derwin James and what he was able to do with the Chargers. What Kyle Hamilton shown, what Nicki man Warriors shown like all different things I think are showing the league that all right, we want more of these flexible safety pieces that can play as sort of a pseudo nickel and also be at the line of scrimmage and do some different things for us.
- [30:07]
A
Does, and that would be my follow up question is does Kyle Hamilton hurt this situation because of the success that he's had in the way that he's been utilized after he fell? Is that now a thing to where teams say he fell to the mid teens after being a top 10 possible draft pick in a loaded draft. But we're not letting that happen with Caleb Downs because of what Kyle Hamilton's already he contributes.
- [30:29]
C
I think, I think Eamon Warrior has a bunch to do with that too. And obviously he was somebody who was winning the second round but I think in general just people going I want that piece, I want that. Not that he fell to some unrealistic place, but just more like teams looking at and saying well where's that guy to do that for me? How do I get that?
- [30:45]
B
Let me ask y' all this. Do you think it's more likely that Downs falls? The answer is no, by the way. But do you, do you, do you think it's more likely that Downs falls if an early team goes, we got the Eneman that plays nickel and strong and, and free and McNeil, Warren and Ramsey, those guys can do some similar things. So let me go with a pass rusher now and I'll get my safety at the top of the second. Do you think that that makes it more likely that Downs will fall because of that?
- [31:12]
C
A league because you're picking top 10.
- [31:14]
B
Now, you picking top 10 in the second round where some of these guys.
- [31:16]
C
Could go, yeah, but a league that has taken some time to come around. It feels like on really wanting to value the high value safeties. Like, I think Downs is the one that it's really hard to poke holes in his game. Whereas even some other guys, like, like McNeil, Morton, like there are teams that are worried about his speed. Yeah. And are worried about the way he runs and they're, they're obviously questions about other prospects. That's why they're in that sort of discussion. Downs. I think any team that is looking for that can just very easily look at Caleb Downs and go, he's playing 90% of the snaps next year. Draft him. We're putting them.
- [31:50]
B
The answer is no. I was just.
- [31:51]
C
Yes.
- [31:51]
A
Yeah.
- [31:52]
D
The other thing too with the Enderman from Oregon is you guys tell me if I'm wrong. I feel like it's down to the end of it. And then it's a big drop. It is maybe not like substantial drop, but those are your.
- [32:03]
A
I would throw Kamari Ramsey in there too.
- [32:07]
D
I like the other safety a little bit better.
- [32:09]
A
That's fine. Bishop, Fitzgerald.
- [32:10]
D
Yeah, but that's fine. But I'm saying it's, it's those guys to the point where I wouldn't be shocked if the enemy was like it. A 25 through 32 pick. If he's, if he slips into the back of the first round.
- [32:20]
C
I take, I think some, I think some people might have McNeil Warren ahead of him.
- [32:24]
A
Okay.
- [32:25]
C
Yeah.
- [32:26]
E
AJ Halsey is going to be in this conversation, too.
- [32:27]
A
That's a good one, too. Kind of along the same lines, but a little different. And apologies if I mispronounce the name here. Taha. Taha. Watching the super bowl, it showed how important tackling is to make a defense great. Who has the best tackling tape among these groups? So he has it split up by linebacker, corner and safety. So listen to these names. We'll start with linebacker. You've got Allen, C.J. allen out of Georgia. Josh or Jacob Rodriguez out of Texas Tech. You've got Anthony Hill Jr. Out of Texas. Trotter and York, Tori and York out of, out of Texas A and M and Trotter out of Missouri. Missouri out of those guys, who is your best?
- [33:11]
E
I mean, Sonny Styles didn't have a missed tackle this past season until the cotton ball.
- [33:14]
A
Maybe that's why you put him in the list.
- [33:16]
C
He's in there. That's probably why out of this group to fix.
- [33:19]
E
Sonny Styles wasn't in there.
- [33:21]
A
No, he wasn't.
- [33:21]
E
Okay, my bad, my bad.
- [33:24]
C
I mean, Rodriguez is rod tackler. If we're if we're just talking about like tackling ability, probably Rodriguez, where do.
- [33:30]
A
You guys have him? Kind of. I know you're not stacking boards quite finalized yet, but do you have him in the conversation as a top five linebacker?
- [33:37]
C
I got a three on absolutely.
- [33:38]
E
A top five linebacker? Absolutely.
- [33:40]
A
Okay.
- [33:41]
E
Yeah, I think there's conversation to be had there.
- [33:43]
A
Have you guys looked at Jayshawn Barnum, by the way, from Michigan? Looked at him. He was a Twitter on the 20 question. I was going to throw him into the mix, but we'll. We'll hit him later on in the. In the conversation. You guys, stop it. The boy, Torian York. Tori and York, a little bit undersized, but he's a tackling machine as well. Could he be in that conversation at all?
- [34:05]
D
I think with. With York, you've got. Yeah, I've got a four on him, too, but the pluses with him are big pluses. He's going to be 20 by the time the draft comes around. I remember he went to Temple High School and I think, Nick, you covered him a little bit, too, while you were still in recruiting. And I remember I called one of his games and I was talking to their coach and he was just raving about this kid who was the smartest player he's ever coached. Every coach and person you talk to him around him is going to say, hey, this guy's going to be the smartest player on the field for you. I don't think it's any accident that he was a late flip from Baylor to Texas A and M and then he goes and starts all three years for one of the best defenses in the SEC in the last few years, all while being undersized and things like that. So I think that even if it's on special teams, if he carves himself out a role for there and doesn't really crack the field on defense in the NFL, I think Torrey and York's going to be a really good player for somebody, and I think he's going to be a really good addition to a locker room, too. He's a natural leader and his teammates love him. So I like me some Torian York.
- [35:06]
A
Okay, what about these names? And going back to the safety conversation, we talked about downs, the enemy, McWharren and Ramsey already in the. In the show. Anybody in that case stand out as the number one tackler?
- [35:20]
E
Downs, downs. 100%.
- [35:22]
A
Probably the guy, right?
- [35:23]
E
I would say thienaman second. I mean, this is why these guys are valued at the, at the points that they Are. I would highly recommend going and watching the Dylan Thieneman tape against Indiana. There was a couple the first game. Did they play him the second time? They played the first time in Eugene. There was a couple of plays where he came flying down the hole to get into the backfield and tackled elusive ball carriers in the backfield. So Dylan Thieman, he sees it really fast. He's a quick read and react player, high iq, and that's a type of player you're going to want on your defense. No doubt.
- [35:53]
A
Okay. And then he also brings up corner as a possibility. I'm going to defer to you here, VOC. But McCoy from Tennessee, Delaine from LSU, Hood from Tennessee as well, CC from South Carolina. I know you like him a lot. Tommy Terrell from Clemson, who I'm probably higher on than most people. Abney Abney from Arizona State. And then Pons from Indiana. Who out of that group is the best tackler?
- [36:18]
B
I don't know what names you said because there was so many of them.
- [36:22]
A
There's a lot of them.
- [36:22]
B
But Abney can tackle. Terrell's kind of decent as a tackler, depending on where you got our guy from Miami, Keonte Scott, I think he's a safety, but if you got him as a corner, I think he's a cool tackle, too. Let me tell you who tackles real good. He little bitty Chandler Rivers from duke. He about 5, what, 9, 5, 10.
- [36:43]
C
Something, 190 or something.
- [36:45]
B
His little ass beat. Throwing his body. Throwing his body.
- [36:49]
A
And you're saying I'm the one that's making mistakes.
- [36:52]
B
Well, he's small. You're saying hidden, which is a verb. I'm saying his little ass is throwing his body. That's another verb at people. Chandler Rivers and. And. And I. I think he's a really good. He's a really good cover guy. Really good man. Smart in his own. But he tackling. When you see small corners, you just assume that they ain't really tackling nobody. And Chandler Rivers thumping people, thumping Colton Hood. You can look at me all you want to. Yeah, you look at me all you want.
- [37:19]
D
I was gonna throw Hood in there.
- [37:20]
C
Yeah. I'm saying Colton Hood. Hood. Okay, Colton. Colton Hood is. That's. That might be the best run support tape at corner.
- [37:30]
D
Yeah.
- [37:31]
C
Is Colton Hood.
- [37:32]
D
Yeah.
- [37:32]
C
And I mean, he will quite a bit.
- [37:34]
D
Yeah, I was gonna say Hood and Abney.
- [37:38]
C
Hood's mentality. Hood's mentality and his physicality. It reminds me of what Jordan Lewis did. Like, Jordan Lewis was obviously like, I I mean, smaller, but like, like, he. He reminds me in terms of the. The mentality and the approach and not being afraid of physicality. It reminds me of Jordan Lewis.
- [37:55]
D
Hood has the. He kind of had the same deal in terms of showing off the tackling ability a good bit at the Senior Bowl. I think that was one. I didn't. I don't know if he would. If that was. If that setting was as good for him as a cover guy.
- [38:09]
A
Yeah.
- [38:09]
D
Which obviously is not the best thing to hear if you're looking at a corner, because most of the time you.
- [38:13]
A
Want him to be a cover.
- [38:14]
D
You want him to be a cover guy. But. But against the run, there was. There was this one specific play that I remember where he blew up the screen pass and it was. It was just one of those, like, oh, wow. I'm going to keep that in the back of my mind on this player for a while.
- [38:27]
B
Yeah.
- [38:28]
D
And that was. That was the case with him.
- [38:30]
A
I think the. It goes back to what you just talked about is if we're talking about Colton Hood out of Tennessee, of course we're talking about him at 12 or 20. I want him in that scenario. I don't care who you are. I want you to stand out amongst the pack. And he was good at the Senior Bowl. Don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking him for having a bad week. That's not the case. I didn't see him stick out amongst the group the way that I want a top 12 top 20 pick to show 100% agree. And that's where I just. I wasn't super sold.
- [39:02]
C
I feel like it's so hard, though, too, for corners to say.
- [39:05]
A
Extremely hard. But we've seen it before.
- [39:07]
C
We have. I think it is really difficult.
- [39:10]
D
He made a good point when we talked about this there.
- [39:12]
E
I bring up Quinion Mitchell every time. Every time this conversation went to mobile and whooped ass.
- [39:18]
A
Yeah.
- [39:18]
E
And he was incredible down there. And what did he fall to? 24.
- [39:21]
A
Yeah.
- [39:22]
C
Yeah, he was. It was mid 20s. I will say if you get downs at 12 and hood at 20 and you got bland at corner, your secondary is not having problems tackling.
- [39:31]
A
Yeah, that's. Which is a good thing. All right, that does it for Twitter on the 20. We'll, of course have it again on Thursday. Some more great questions. Appreciate you guys sending those ins. When we come back. One of the questions around the off season for the Cowboys and one of the topics of conversation when you guys were out at the super bowl was the extension of George Pickens. I've got a nightmare scenario for you guys. What happens if Pickens is not a part of this roster and what are the options there moving forward when we return with more of the draft show right after this. Cowboys fans, when it comes to navigating.
- [40:06]
C
The ever changing world of tax, your.
- [40:08]
A
Business needs a partner it can trust to tackle even your biggest tax challenges. Ryan is the largest firm in the.
- [40:15]
C
World dedicated exclusively to business taxes.
- [40:18]
D
Our team of tax professionals has local.
- [40:20]
A
Expertise in all areas of tax and can help you uncover savings opportunities you.
- [40:25]
E
Didn'T know you had. Learn more about how Ryan can improve.
- [40:28]
A
Your overall corporate tax performance by visiting.
- [40:30]
E
Ryan.com, ryan, the official tax partner of the Dallas Cowboys.
- [40:35]
C
Life is a workout and Smoothie King.
- [40:37]
A
Is here to help you power through. Whether you're maxing out overhead presses, pushing through chest flies, or being the hero.
- [40:43]
C
Your golden retriever needs to carry them.
- [40:45]
A
Over that scary bridge, Smoothie King has.
- [40:48]
C
The fuel to help you go all.
- [40:49]
A
Out, build muscle and boost your recovery with 45 grams of protein, 0 grams of added sugar and delicious customizable ingredients.
- [40:57]
C
In the Gladiator Smoothie. Available in chocolate, strawberry and vanilla only.
- [41:01]
A
At at Smoothie Kit.
- [41:02]
D
How about them Cowboys? And how about them Jimmy Dean breakfast Bowls? Keep your game day celebrations going with real eggs, potatoes, cheese and our savory Jimmy Dean sausage. And with 22 grams of protein per serving, you'll have enough energy to power you from early morning to the final whistle. The no hassle ready in minutes. Prep makes it easy. Just heat, eat and cheer on those Cowboys. Get yours today. Jimmy Dean Brandt is proud to be the official protein of the Dallas Cowboys.
- [41:32]
A
I'm Dak Prescott, quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.
- [41:35]
C
And they snap at the Prescott who.
- [41:36]
A
Looks right, it's not there. He escapes left.
- [41:38]
C
He'll run for a first down.
- [41:40]
A
Just like football, when it comes to crypto, it's important to have a team you can trust. With blockchain.com I know I'm in good hands. Since 2011, they've been trusted by millions around the world to buy, sell and trade cryptocurrency. Prescott's gonna run this himself. Run it up the middle and whether you're new to crypto or an active.
- [41:57]
D
Trader, they've got you covered.
- [41:59]
A
What are you waiting for? Get started@blockchain.com this is the Dallas Cowboys.com draft show. Back here on the Draft show, get excited for the most dazzling DCC experience you will ever see. Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Live is coming to a theater near you witness iconic group and solo performances, enjoy an onstage Q and A session and even be a part of a live audition. For dates and Tickets, visit Dallas cowboyscheerleaders.com tour welcome back in to the Draft show presented by Miller Light, the only beer of the Dallas Cowboys with Vach Lombardi, Nick Harris, Tommy Yarish, Bobby Belt and Chris Beam in the back. I'm Kyle Yeomans. Guys, I got a nightmare scenario for everybody. There were reports over the weekend, of course, multiple NFL insiders reporting the quite so obvious. For those that already kind of COVID or follow the team that George Pickens expected to receive the franchise tag. Yeah, shocker. The the rest of that reporting cycle there were some that kind of emerged as possibilities for a trade after the franchise tag if he does either see his negotiations break down or if something happens along the way. When it comes to Pickens specifically, let's talk about what you would need one in return and how much would you have to use it on a wide receiver in that case. So Nick, what would the league wide conversation be for return for George Pickens?
- [43:34]
E
Yeah, so when the trade thing was thrown out there, I called somebody that I met at combine last year. Combine is a great resource. It is a good resource acquiring tool about what the Pickens value could be around the league. Around the league. And this is, this is just one person's opinion in the afc but it was they would be shocked if the Cowboys can get any more than a second round pick for George Pickens.
- [43:59]
C
And so 24 years old doesn't matter with that.
- [44:03]
A
Why is that?
- [44:04]
C
Because this is a league that said last year they didn't even think he was worth a third round pick and they went that's nice that he did that for a year.
- [44:10]
E
Yeah.
- [44:10]
C
Contract year.
- [44:11]
E
Yes, yes.
- [44:12]
C
Give you a second. I don't have enough answers to give you a first.
- [44:16]
E
There's still enough, there is still enough behind the scenes concerns from other teams to where that could be brought up in a negotiation. Now does that stuff actually manifest and matter at the end of the day? That's up for interpretation. And George pickens had over 1400 yards this year and led the team to receptions, yards and touchdowns. But that it can still be brought up in the spirit of a negotiation to bring the price down lower. And that's why those things exist and that's why those things get brought up. And so if let's, let's throw that into the mix as okay, let's say that it is a second round pick then you are a creating a Need in the draft for the Cowboys, you're back in the exact same position you were this time last year, except you have a second round pick instead of a third round pick. And this receiver class is not as special as years past. And so yeah, it would be fascinating, but the value best case scenario is a second round pick and then you probably get like a day three pick swap.
- [45:09]
B
If. If the Cowboys sent a first to Pittsburgh to get Pickens and then Pickens has the year that he has, would you be like, all right, cool, that's straight. Or would you be like, damn, dog, I wish I would have sent a second instead of a first.
- [45:22]
C
Yeah.
- [45:23]
A
For the year that he had, you.
- [45:24]
B
Could live with a first round pick with what he did, right?
- [45:26]
C
Sure, yeah.
- [45:28]
A
You're saying hypothetically.
- [45:29]
B
Hypothetically, yeah.
- [45:29]
E
I mean, you do not have Tyler Booker.
- [45:31]
B
Yup.
- [45:32]
E
Well, even though the trade happened after.
- [45:34]
A
The draft, but yeah, you wouldn't have.
- [45:36]
C
One of the two.
- [45:37]
A
This.
- [45:37]
E
You wouldn't have 20.
- [45:38]
B
20. Yeah, 20. That's.
- [45:40]
C
He wouldn't. The problem is just he was never going to get that. That because I mean, around the league, look, I mean routinely it was such a point of discussion that players stand up their lockers. When he first got here, we're having to talk about, boy, the, the things you hear about him are wrong. And, and then that may be true. It may be an unfair label that he got in a lot of instances, but it was a label that clearly carried across the entire NFL that, hey, he's kind of a headache. And it was enough of one that when Dallas traded a third, there were some people naturally were like, that seems rich for, for the problems that he's had now. He played well last year. I think I talked to somebody around league who said that in regards to Pickens, they're like, I don't know how much any of it's better versus just it's tolerated a lot better in Dallas than Pittsburgh.
- [46:31]
E
There's a higher tolerance here. We talked about that in the, what was it, the second segment talking about the character.
- [46:34]
C
A lot of people feel like higher.
- [46:35]
E
Tolerance in this Bill.
- [46:36]
C
A lot of people feel like Pickens was Pickens last year and it wasn't any different. Now that's to me why I would go ahead and sign him long term because I know. Because a lot of people are like, is that the kind of guy you want to like invest in if he's had problems?
- [46:47]
E
Like, yeah, yeah, that's the guy.
- [46:48]
C
Because that's. He's, that's just who he is. And he's showing you that he has not changed. He's showing you like, hey, this is just my personality type. Some people don't get down with it, but this is, this is what it is.
- [46:57]
E
And that's the type of character concerns I'm okay with.
- [46:59]
C
Yeah, me too. 100. I want that at receiver a little bit. Yes, I do.
- [47:02]
B
Absolutely.
- [47:03]
E
I am okay with guys rough around the edges. I'm okay with a guy missing a meeting as long as he shows up on Sunday day. Like, I, I'm okay with.
- [47:09]
C
You need to be on the island. If you're, if you're on the island as a corner receiver, I want you to have some of that.
- [47:13]
B
Yeah.
- [47:13]
E
Now if, if you're getting into bullying incidents in high school and you should have been arrested, like, that's different. You know, I'm like, okay, then it shouldn't be hypothetically, allegedly, then maybe we shouldn't be, you know, engaging in this.
- [47:24]
C
I mean, it's also important to remember what receivers have been going for. Metcalf went for a second.
- [47:28]
A
Yeah.
- [47:29]
C
And, and so, I mean, huh.
- [47:31]
E
Overpay. Yeah.
- [47:33]
C
But I mean, I'm saying that like Metcalf's people felt better around the league about DK Metcalf than even probably right now they do about like how long they feel like they can keep Pickens within the framework of their organization.
- [47:45]
A
So let's, let's tab it as a second round pick. Let's tab that as the return. Tommy, as this Cowboys team looks to piece together their roster and I know we've got to get through free agency first to see what that looks like and it may not happen. Let's say, let's say this Pickens thing because of the trade and what would end up happening closer to draft weekend because you're going to try and negotiate first before the last case scenario and the nightmare scenario shares itself. So let's say you go into the draft without a wide receiver. How imperative is it to go and use one of the two first round picks or whatever you would get in that second round pick, wherever that may be, to draft a wide receiver and hope he immediately pairs with CD Lamb. And who are some of the options in the draft class that could possibly fit that mold?
- [48:27]
D
I think it's. It pretty quickly becomes one of your bigger needs just because you saw how different this offense was with two elite a kite guys at wide receiver, George Pickens and CD Lamb. I mean you're very limited on options, so you would need to go get one probably at 12. And you would more than anything need to Hope that the 11 teams in front of you don't take half the guys off the board, which is very possible, especially for the top guy. I mean, my top guy is Cardinal tate from Ohio State. 63195. So you're getting that bigger box type of guy that's similar to George Pickens. But I don't think any of these guys I would pit against George Pickens. Even to going back to coming out in jail.
- [49:09]
A
You're going to have an A and a B. It's no longer the 1A 1B.
- [49:13]
D
It's no longer 2 2A guy. And that's not, that's not necessarily a knock on Carl Tate. I don't think he's a bad player. I think he can be a good player in this league. I just don't think he's George Pickens. The next closest guy I've got, and there's a couple players in between, is Jordan Tyson, the wide receiver from Arizona State. Six two, 200. I think he, he, he kind of is like. And I'm trying to frame this the right way. He moves differently in the sense of. It seems like it's, it's too fluid. Almost where I wish he would be a little bit sharper in some of the things he does. But he's just so good athletically that he can kind of do what he wants. And he's got manable to get away with it in college.
- [49:48]
E
Yeah.
- [49:49]
D
And you know, a 50, 50 ball guy who's athletic enough to go up and get it. But again, if, if you are trying to find a replacement for George Pickens, I don't think you're going to come close in this draft, especially from a rookie. Again, not saying these guys won't be good. So I think it's imperative that they bring back George Pickens.
- [50:07]
C
I think they're going to. I don't, I don't think there's anything that's going to happen. I do not believe though that if they were going to do it, I don't think they do it without filling that in free agency.
- [50:17]
D
Yeah.
- [50:17]
C
Like, I think you're acquiring the capital because you're saying, I'm going to go sign somebody in free agency to. I'm going to go sign somebody in free agency to fill that role. Play alongside Floy and Lamb. And I'm getting this pick back because I need so many different things on defense.
- [50:35]
A
Yeah.
- [50:35]
C
So it's just about a value question at that point.
- [50:37]
A
Okay. But that wouldn't take the Tag first happening. Right. Like you wouldn't put the tag on him in the first place. Correct there.
- [50:45]
C
No, like you would put. You put the tag on him because you hold him. Yeah. So you can, like you place the hold on. So I'm. Yeah, I'm tagging pick.
- [50:51]
A
Okay. Either way.
- [50:52]
C
Yeah, either way. I'm just making sure I can see.
- [50:54]
E
That tag window opens a week from today. Expect it to happen early.
- [50:57]
C
Yeah.
- [50:57]
E
Yeah.
- [50:58]
A
Okay.
- [50:59]
E
Because they will go into the combine with the tag in place and that will start the negotiation.
- [51:03]
A
But if you're, if you're seeing a breakdown of conversations, that's probably going to happen later in the process.
- [51:09]
C
Right.
- [51:10]
A
Like when you get to the draft, if you don't have him sign long term by the draft, then that's where you can start seeing things break down.
- [51:18]
E
I don't think it would necessarily get.
- [51:20]
A
Depending on how, depending on how his party reacts to the tag. Right.
- [51:25]
C
Oh, they know. They know.
- [51:26]
A
They know what's happening. They know what's happening. But they want him to ultimately be on a multi year deal by the time the draft comes around. And Dallas would like the same thing as well.
- [51:36]
E
I don't know necessarily.
- [51:38]
A
Okay.
- [51:38]
E
I don't know necessarily.
- [51:39]
C
I think, I think they would want to have a sense of if they were going to. I think they knew all the way back at combine the mica thing could go sideways.
- [51:48]
A
They don't feel that way here.
- [51:49]
C
I think they'll just know after the combine. So. So it could be a thing where it's like it's not done by the draft, but that they're like, all right, this will get done though. Like, we know we'll be able to get to that point and I think that that would be. I think that's going to be a very big week for their determination things, but I think they're going to come out of it going okay. We can, we can work this out.
- [52:11]
B
Bob, let me ask you this. Would it be easier to sign them? Because the agent would want a shorter deal and the Cowboys like, all right, cool, we'll do a shorter deal for this kind of situation. Because it's always been like a, like a what? Like a five year, four year thing.
- [52:27]
C
That the Cowboys always think they like the void years on the back like every other team has started using. But yeah, they like to build five year, four or five year contracts with escape hatches at year two, but with.
- [52:39]
B
With a, with a player with question marks. Kind of like Pickens, right. With. With the Cowboys go, all right, you want a three Year so you can get back on. Want a two year with a void year. Because we aren't sure.
- [52:49]
C
Typically not because they, they do want them structured a certain way where it's like, all right, fine. Even if this is in reality a two year deal, we need it to look like five on paper because the way we like to do accounting. And so I think it, I still think they wouldn't want to play at high numbers on a short term deal. Yeah.
- [53:07]
A
And based off of some of the names that Tommy was just talking about in the draft class, do you have any, Nick, that you stick out as a. A pure compliment to CD Lamb if something were to go south and we got to talk about this receiving class.
- [53:19]
E
Yeah. You would need a guy who would come in, bring you immediate contributions. There's no one that's going to live up to what George Pickens has brought you. There are three guys that I think you could bring in with an expectation that can give you a number two type of impact. He mentioned Carnell Tate. He mentioned Jordan Tyson. I'll throw him a Kai Lemon out of usc.
- [53:36]
B
Okay.
- [53:36]
E
After that then you're starting to stretch a little bit. Denzel Boston out of Washington. He's starting to get some first round mocks. I really like. Chris Brazel out of Tennessee. Jacoby Lane out of USC is another one that I think is, is going to have a good process as well. Zachariah Branch out of Georgia I think is another one that you could have in that second tier. You big fan, Bobby?
- [53:56]
C
I've always loved. I, I've waited. I love obsession with Zachariah Branch from like. Yeah. Even going back to like high school recruiting. But I think he's.
- [54:03]
A
He's a dog.
- [54:04]
E
He is not.
- [54:05]
A
No pun intended.
- [54:06]
C
Yeah, he's.
- [54:06]
E
He's a lot of fun that you get.
- [54:08]
C
The whole you can't teach speed thing though. The way he can move is.
- [54:12]
E
The thing about Zachariah Branch is he's never really had a consistent quarterback or a consistent offense while he's been healthy.
- [54:18]
A
Nope.
- [54:19]
E
And if you go back to the rare moments where he did have all three of those things line up in like two or three games. Incredible production. Zachariah Branch is a lot of fun. He's going to be a guy that I think should be taken in the first round but could end up being there for you in the second in this scenario.
- [54:33]
A
And replacing a Georgia Bulldog with another.
- [54:35]
C
Georgia Bulldog Talk and USC Trojan.
- [54:37]
E
Sure.
- [54:39]
C
There are questions there for people around the league though, about Branch. He has flag character questions.
- [54:44]
A
Okay. Interesting.
- [54:46]
C
No, no, no. Like, like Nick's misdemeanors. He was talking about. Not the, not the ones.
- [54:51]
A
The ones.
- [54:51]
C
Felony character. Like misdemeanor character.
- [54:53]
A
Yeah. We're gonna have to start classifying as big character or little character.
- [54:56]
C
Yeah. Classy character concern.
- [54:58]
A
Yeah.
- [54:58]
C
Yeah. Okay.
- [54:59]
A
He. He took over in one of the classy.
- [55:02]
E
They said the same thing about me.
- [55:03]
A
So the, the, the game that I got to go see in person this year against Mississippi State. I mean, he. The first thing that stands out is, I mean, top notch pro build, pro everything. I mean, the way he carries himself, way looks. I mean, he lived up to the expectation. I haven't dove back into his film quite yet, but still, one guy that I.
- [55:23]
E
He's.
- [55:24]
C
He's not as thick, he's not as belt as him, but he's. He reminds me a lot of Percy Harmon.
- [55:28]
A
Okay.
- [55:28]
E
And I throw in a caveat to the. This, this conversation. Yes, you need to. You need. You will have to draft another pass or pass catcher if this ends up happening. Kenyan Sadiq. Would that be worth swinging on a pick if you do not have Pickens in the building and you need another pass catcher?
- [55:43]
B
Which pick?
- [55:44]
E
Yes.
- [55:46]
B
I like a no time with you.
- [55:49]
D
Yeah, no, no.
- [55:50]
A
Why?
- [55:51]
B
Because I don't think you have the pick to get them. If it was like pick 40 something, 50 something for me, I feel better about it. I wouldn't, I wouldn't want to take a tight end that's probably got a lot of growing to do at 12 or 20.
- [56:04]
C
Yeah, it just changes the. I think it naturally would have to change some of the design of your offense.
- [56:10]
E
Yeah, no doubt.
- [56:11]
C
And I think that that's what give me. Give me somebody who can maybe replicate some of the stuff that Pickens did and be able to. Because, I mean, you, you talked about this Nick, at the end of the year, how excited Clayton Adams sounded, talking about the ability to dive in on like really exploring what they can do with the passing game with a full off season. I, I think that would be a mini. Not overhaul, but you'd be doing some tweaking.
- [56:34]
E
The reason I bring it up is I look at, you know, a situation like Cleveland where they've moved on from some pass catchers and they bring in Harold Fannin and he slides into a premier pass catching role. Yeah, sure, he did some natural blocking, tight end stuff, but not a whole lot. He wasn't asked to do that.
- [56:47]
A
He was mostly a pass catcher, though.
- [56:49]
E
Was awesome.
- [56:49]
C
How do we get more like the Browns?
- [56:52]
E
But I bring that up For Harold Fanon's case, I'm just playing devil's advocate.
- [56:57]
C
If it were me.
- [56:58]
E
I mean, first off, you sign Pickens and you get it done.
- [57:00]
C
Yeah.
- [57:00]
E
But if somehow that doesn't happen, I'm going for one of those three.
- [57:02]
A
I think we're all on that same boat. And the reason why we even bring up a conversation like this is one, because nightmare scenarios do happen in the NFL. Sure, things do happen in different ways than you anticipate them to happen initially, but also, it's just a natural way to talk about a position that I think on the draft show as a whole, we're going to talk about far less as time goes on. Wide receivers, pass catchers in general. Sadiq, by the way, didn't say it, but Kenyan Sadiq out of Oregon, the tight end, probably the number one tight end in the class across the board. However, we're not going to talk about pass catchers a ton on this show. We're going to talk a lot of corners, a lot of edge rushers, a lot of linebacker, a lot of safety because of where the needs are, specifically with this franchise. However, if you do. If something does fall through with the George Pickens saga, then all of a sudden, wide receiver goes straight into that conversation. So you kind of have to have the preliminary talks to get there in the first place.
- [57:57]
B
When do y' all feel good taking tight end, if at all? Like. Or is it even when we're in day three, it's defense, everything. Cause it's a couple tight ends. I like. We got Trigg from Baylor or Stowers. Eli Stowers. Yeah, Stowers. Local crowd from Vanderbilt. I was just kind of watching they film or whatever, and they can kind of catch the ball downfield a little bit, but they're more day three guys, I would think. Yeah. So would y' all go, all right, I'll get a tight end in day three. Or is it all defense, everything still?
- [58:22]
C
I'm throwing darts. Yeah, I'm throwing darts on defense. I got Span Ford. I got Ferguson. I'm good.
- [58:29]
E
You got Schoon Maker.
- [58:31]
A
He didn't say that he had a better year. Let's not. Let's not hate on him.
- [58:34]
E
That's what I'm saying. You got Schoolmaker. Yeah.
- [58:36]
A
I feel like this was the Kenneth Murray bit. But on offense, what about.
- [58:40]
E
Come on, man.
- [58:41]
B
Schoolmakers. Schoolmakers. So much better than Kendall Murray.
- [58:43]
C
Hey, you're right, you're right. I mean, anything's possible. Who did Shador?
- [58:48]
E
Oh, yeah, yeah.
- [58:49]
D
That's true.
- [58:49]
A
All right, that does it for us here on the draft show. Hope you had fun with us over the last hour. We will be back on Thursday, 11am Central Time to continue breaking down the NFL draft process and the ongoings in the building as well. For Von Lombardi, Nick Harris, Tommy Yarish, Bobby Belt, Chris Beam in the back, I'm Kyle Yeoman saying so long from the draft show. See you on Thursday. This has been a production of Dallas Cowboys.com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.
- [59:14]
C
Up.