All the latest post-draft Cowboys news.
Hot Takes, Predictions for Cowboys Rookies After 2023 NFL Draft – Kristopher Knox, Bleacher Report
The Cowboys drafting Mazi Smith and DeMarvion OVershown was just the start of them targeting scheme fits for Dan Quinn’s defense.
DeMarvion Overshown Will Outshine Mazi Smith in Year 1
There’s a lot to like about Mazi Smith, a physical phenom with a ton of size (6’3”, 323 lbs) and power. However, consistency and polish are not among the Michigan product’s best traits.
“The Wolverine is more traits and tools than a finished project, but it’s going to be hard to find more defensive tackles with more potential than he has, meaning his best football could be ahead of him,” Matt Holder of the Bleacher Report Scouting Department wrote.
It’s going to take time for Dallas to unlock Smith’s potential, and this season, he’ll likely rotate a lot with the likes of Johnathan Hankins and Neville Gallimore.
Third-round pick DeMarvion Overshown, on the other hand, is poised to make an early and dramatic impact as a coverage linebacker. The converted safety excels against the pass but has the physical tools to be a solid chase-and-tackle linebacker, too.
“He could be a good fit as a ‘Will’ linebacker for a team that uses even fronts and diversifies the type of coverages he plays in, showcasing his strong man and zone coverage skills,” Holder wrote.
While Overshown will likely need to add a little mass to his 6’3”, 229-pound frame, he should immediately step into the sort of hybrid safety/linebacker role Dallas has often filled with Jayron Kearse.
Smith can be a foundational defender in time, but Overshown will be all over the field early and is positioned to make more highlight plays in Year 1.
MONDAY MORNING GENERAL MANAGER: LOOKING BACK AT THE COWBOYS DRAFT – Richard Paolinelli, Inside The Star
Will the Cowboys regret not drafting Florida G O’Cyrus Torrence?
THE BIG REACH
If the front office just had to get a tight end, they could have waited. A total of six tight ends were selected after the fourth round. Taking Luke Schoonmaker, who is already three years older than an average rookie, seems like a reach the more I look at it.
It gets a little worse when you look at the next player selected, offensive guard O’Cyrus Torrence. He would have filled another more pressing need.
In the Cowboys draft history they found Jason Witten in the third round and both Dalton Schultz and Jake Ferguson in the fourth. The last three tight ends they drafted in the second round? Gavin Escobar, Martellus Bennett and Anthony Fasano. I’m thinking Dallas eventually rues making this pick.
‘Incredible journey’: Cowboys have Giants QB Daniel Jones to thank for new WR Jalen Brooks – Todd Brock, Cowboys Wire
Jalen Brooks was destined to play in the NFC East.
QBC’s Anthony Boone, a former Duke quarterback, had based himself in Charlotte specifically to work with Giants passer and fellow Blue Devils alum Daniel Jones. With North Carolina stay-at-home orders limiting groups to under 10 people, Brooks became one of the receivers who would join Jones and Boone at local parks around the area for socially-distanced throwing sessions.
Brooks says things then started to click for him in a different way.
“He pretty much introduced me to a pro-style offense,” Brooks said of Jones. “I was just out there, just me and a whole bunch of NFL veterans as well that were out there. We just all connected and were just grinding through that whole process.”
When schools returned to face-to-face, Brooks says Jones lobbied for him to transfer to Duke, but South Carolina had already made him an offer with new coach Shane Beamer at the helm.
NFL Power Rankings: Who’s up/down after the draft? – Dan Hanzus, NFL.com
The Cowboys still have work to do to upend the Eagles atop the division.
Draft picks: 8
Previous rank: No. 6
The strength of Dallas’ defense is a fierce pass rush led by Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence and Dorance Armstrong. Head coach Mike McCarthy believes that strength will intensify after the team used its first-round pick on Michigan run-stuffer Mazi Smith. It marked the first time Dallas has used a first-round selection on defensive tackle since the pick of Russell Maryland in 1991 (that one worked out pretty well). “We have an elite pass-rush group,” McCarthy said, “and just the fact of the matter, when your run defense improves, obviously you’ve got some longer down-and-distances with it, which tilts the field toward our pass rush.” Makes sense to us.
Cowboys Ex Ezekiel Elliott Waits as Latavius Murray Signs with Bills – Mike Fisher, CowboysSI.com
The Cowboys haven’t ruled out an Ezekiel Elliott reunion, but have great value in the backfield with Tony Pollard, Malik Davis, Rico Dowdle, and no Deuce Vaughn.
Last season, Murray rushed for 760 yards with the New Orleans Saints and Denver Broncos, the most he’s had in a season since 2017. He is a battering-ram sort of runner, and obviously the Bills are in need of that.
But isn’t Ezekiel Elliott that and more? The former Cowboys standout is still looking for a new squad after America’s Team cut him earlier in the offseason.
With Murray coming into the Bills fold, he joins second-year pro James Cook, former New England Patriot Damien Harris and last year’s midseason acquisition Nyheim Hines in Buffalo’s experienced running back room.
Meanwhile, Dallas has Tony Pollard and on draft weekend added sixth-round running back Deuce Vaughn, the 5-5, 179-pound dynamo, to a group that maybe still has room for Zeke.
Blogging The Boys Podcast Network and YouTube Channel
We offer a different show every single day on the Blogging The Boys podcast network, and on weekdays we offer two different shows every single day.
- Monday: 1st and 10 with Tony Catalina & Aidan Davis
- Monday: Hidden Yardage with Mark Lane and Sean Martin
- Tuesday: The Writer’s Block with Jess Nevarez and Brandon Loree
- Tuesday: BTB Roundtable with various BTB Staffers
- Wednesday: NFC East Mixtape with RJ Ochoa and Brandon Lee Gowton
- Wednesday: Talkin’ The Star with Connor Livesay
- Thursday: The Ocho with RJ Ochoa
- Thursday: Ryled Up with Roy White and Tom Ryle
- Friday: Girls Talkin’ Boys with Kelsey Charles and Meg Murray
- Friday: The Star Seminar with Danny Phantom and Rabblerousr
- Saturday: The World’s Team with Meg Murray and Paul Stewart
Also every single weekday features a roundup episodes of sorts similar to these news headlines that catches you up on everything that you need to know! Make sure to listen to Dallas Cowboys Daily hosted by Jess Nevarez from Monday through Friday. We also offer live shows every weekday afternoon on the Blogging The Boys YouTube Channel.
The Blogging The Boys podcast network is available on all major podcast platforms.
Subscribe here on Apple devices.
Subscribe here if you are a Spotify user.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login