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00:00Fan, let's do some C-Note here. Cowboys news of the evening, where we look at the top headlines around
00:07your football team and give you the details and our analysis of it.
00:11We're going to start with Mel Kuyper's latest mock draft. I think this is the third version of his mock.
00:17And one of the interesting takeaways is everybody's picking the Titans to take Jeremiah Love right now, and Mel Kuyper
00:24is in line with that.
00:25The Titans pick and forth there for a while. He was going to the Saints constantly at eight or the
00:32Chiefs at nine at the latest.
00:34But then the Chiefs signed Kenneth Walker. The Saints found a running back.
00:37But it doesn't matter because at least if you look at the heavyweights and with five weeks to go until
00:42the draft, when you get alignment like it's Dane Brugler, it's Daniel Jeremiah, it's Mel Kuyper, like the biggest of
00:48the big mock drafters.
00:49They all have Jeremiah Love going to the Titans there from Notre Dame, the running back.
00:56And, you know, I just think it starts to create these scenarios where if you get enough offensive players going
01:03in the top five or six picks,
01:05trading up to Cleveland or trading up to Kansas City and, you know, getting a chance of taking an elite
01:11defensive player continues to go up.
01:15It's trending upwards for your Cowboys and definitely needs some positive developments at this point.
01:20But getting to 12 with Mel Kuyper, he's got Jermon McCoy, cornerback from Tennessee.
01:25If you watch his 2024 stuff, you will think this guy is so legit as a player.
01:33Like, it's man coverage, it's zone coverage, it's physicality.
01:38He's coming up to support the run.
01:40I really like Jermon McCoy, and I think if it wasn't for his torn ACL, he would be in the
01:46conversation for top five player.
01:49I think he's that good, and I would not be scared of the ACL, Chief.
01:53We can't have Savone Revel PTSD here.
01:58ACLs don't end careers.
01:5999% of the time, the player is 100% fine.
02:02Yeah, I mean, we need to look and see when is that Tennessee Pro Day, because he is going to
02:09have to work out and ball out.
02:12So let me see when that is supposed to be, because he not, you know, punting on the workouts at
02:19the Combine,
02:19it's like, okay, he's trying to buy himself a little bit more time,
02:22and perhaps he can put a lot of the injury questions to bed with a fantastic Pro Day,
02:30and then everybody can be like, okay, you know what, now we can feel a heck of a lot more
02:35comfortable.
02:36And he's got until March 31st, so he's got another two weeks.
02:39That is when the Tennessee Pro Day is.
02:42So it'll be all eyes on Jermon McCoy that day to see, okay, how do you look physically and athletically
02:49off that ACL?
02:50Because when you don't play for all of last season, then there's going to be some questions.
02:57And I'm with you.
02:57I saw that 2024 tape, at least a little bit of it, and yeah, it's ridiculous.
03:02He's amazing.
03:03Dude's an absolute baller.
03:04And so if you can check that off, it's interesting because, I mean, it was just a few weeks ago
03:09that Nick Harris was coming out and being like, yeah, I think Jermon McCoy,
03:14like he had it in one of his Star Telegram articles,
03:16like I don't think Jermon McCoy is going to be a guy that is really in consideration at 12 for
03:22the Cowboys
03:23because of the ACL factor.
03:25And maybe there's nothing you can do between now and the draft,
03:28and certainly on March 31st at his Pro Day, that would change the Cowboys' mind on that
03:32if they're just hell-bent because they've talked about it.
03:35Jerry's talked about it.
03:35We need a guy who can hit the ground running immediately.
03:37And you would think that McCoy would be able to because he had the injury in 2024.
03:42Yeah, January.
03:43Yeah.
03:44Late 2024, early 25.
03:47I think it was January of 25.
03:48So, yes, but to your point, it's going to be 18 or 19 months when you get to training camp
03:54since his torn ACL.
03:55It's not like he's trying to come back from something in 9 or 10 months as Savone Revel was.
03:59It's a year and a half.
04:02So I do have to say the Pro Day is important here.
04:06Hugely.
04:06Jermott McCoy wasn't a guy that we were anticipating was going to run low 4-4s or 4-3s or
04:13anything like that.
04:14He was mid-4-5s before the injury was like his projected 40 times.
04:20So what if it did take a half second away from him and he goes 4-6-2?
04:24Oh, then you can't touch him.
04:26Then you're thinking, is this guy going to fall all the way to the second round?
04:31You know, but even then, you know, at 12, you know, I'm very, very comfortable with the idea of taking
04:39a guy
04:39that, you know, can step in here and become your cornerback No. 1.
04:43And that's what Mel Kuyper notes is that you can like the signing of Kobe Durant.
04:48You can believe Revel's going to be a solid pro and that Durant Bland's going to get back to what
04:52he was.
04:52But you don't have right now that corner that can be in contention for going out there and matching up
04:59with No. 1 wide receivers
05:01and having a chance of having a successful day.
05:03Okay, then at 20, you know, assuming the Cowboys don't go and sign Okereke and Jermaine Pratt or Okereke and
05:13Wagner,
05:14they're going to have this massive need for linebacker.
05:17And so Mel Kuyper gives the Cowboys, C.J. Allen, the linebacker from Georgia there at 20,
05:23saying it would be wise for the Cowboys to double dip on defense.
05:26They gave up 6.1 yards per play in 2025.
05:29That was 31st in the NFL, third worst for any team in the past five seasons.
05:34And Allen can play all three downs immediately.
05:36He can drop in coverage, run down ball carriers, and even blitz.
05:39He had 97 tackles last season for the Bulldogs, showing tremendous read-and-react skills.
05:45And he's a guy that called the defense from the field for two years.
05:48You know, you want to have belief that your rookie linebacker is going to step in
05:54and the NFL is not going to be too big for him.
05:58You know, I think C.J. Allen's as close as you could hope for when you're looking at the 20th
06:03overall pick.
06:04And if that was the Cowboys draft, I'd say it's very successful.
06:08And depending on how C.J. Allen physically transitions to the league, it could be amazing.
06:15You know, that could be the two moves that set them up to have a very respectable defense.
06:21But they would have to be like all-rookie team-level hits.
06:25And, you know, I think that's possible but hard to bet on at this point.
06:29Okay, ESPN did a free agency wrap-up article asking their panelists a series of questions.
06:35Which was the most head-scratching move in the league?
06:39And Ben Solak, NFL analyst, picked one of the Cowboys' moves from last week.
06:43Chief, which one would you say it is?
06:45Head-scratching move for the Cowboys?
06:50Well, I mean, I guess the Osa trade or the Rashawn Gary trade.
06:57I mean, Jalen Thompson, that's like a home run.
06:59Nobody's going to be upset at Kobe Durant.
07:01Like, everything else they did was so small outside of Jalen Thompson and Rashawn Gary.
07:06So I would say either the Osa trade or the trade for Rashawn Gary.
07:10Yeah, they went with the trade for Rashawn Gary saying,
07:13I don't mind the fit for Gary in the Cowboys' defense.
07:15A bulky edge on a team that needs more run-stuffing power.
07:19But the Cowboys traded a four for Gary's deal,
07:22which will average out at $19.5 million over the next two seasons.
07:25Now, they did adjust him.
07:28They got him to take a pay cut and then restructured it.
07:31But saying, was that really necessary when Boye Mafe and Bradley Chubb signed close to that amount?
07:36When Jonathan Grenard, a similarly strong run defender with a far better pass rush profile,
07:42was also available via trade.
07:44I'm surprised Dallas chose this option in a rich class of free agent rusher.
07:48So it's not that he doesn't like Rashawn Gary.
07:52It's that your other options, by comparison, might have been better.
07:56Not having to give up draft capital for one of the other two guys
07:58or trading for a better player in Grenard.
08:01And to his point, I'd rather have Grenard than Gary.
08:04But we don't know how available Grenard is.
08:06And they're different players.
08:09You know, Rashawn Gary is definitely more of a physical, edge-setting, run-defending guy
08:15where Grenard's going to give you more of the high-up side.
08:19He could go get 15 sacks.
08:21He has done 12 sacks in back-to-back seasons very recently in his career.
08:25Yeah, I mean, I don't think there's anybody in the league that would say
08:28Rashawn Gary's a better player than Jonathan Grenard.
08:31But you probably wouldn't be able to get Grenard for that fourth-round pick
08:34that you traded Rashawn Gary for, right?
08:37So you would have had to wait until you did the Osa deal and got that three
08:40and then flip the three, perhaps, for Grenard.
08:44But it doesn't seem like they want to move on from that pick.
08:46They want to hang on to it.
08:47So I get it.
08:48Like, for me, in free agency, it would have been the Boye-Mafé deal.
08:51And he would end up making more than what Rashawn Gary is
08:54because he got, I think it was like a three-year, $60 million deal.
08:58So he would be making a little bit more.
09:00But he's younger, and I think there's a little bit more upside there.
09:03And, again, you're not having to actually trade for him.
09:07But what they did with his contract and reducing it the way they did,
09:12I feel a heck of a lot better about it.
09:14Yeah, I do too.
09:16I mean, to have Gary at $5.5 million,
09:18that's the kind of move that I want them to repeat across the roster.
09:21Let's bring all these numbers down even more aggressively to free up the calf space
09:26at this point to go make trades.
09:28Yes.
09:28Yeah.
09:28And no matter what they did, I mean, I guess if they got Grenard,
09:31you'd feel better.
09:32But they would need more bodies anyways.
09:34Like, if you sign Boye-Mafé, we're still looking at the draft right now
09:37saying, like, yeah, can we get a Reuben Bain?
09:39Could he fall to 12?
09:40Like, you would still want more edge rush help.
09:43But I do think some other players were probably a little bit better,
09:46in particular when it comes to the pass rushing.
09:48All right.
09:49The other angle from this article, as we go through the C-note here,
09:53Cowboys news of the evening,
09:55is they were asked which team took the biggest step back last week in the NFL.
10:00Aaron Schatz says the Eagles.
10:03Rick Wollin will help solve their cornerback two problem,
10:06but they lost several other players.
10:09Phillips, Jalen Phillips, helped transform their defense at midseason.
10:13Safety Reed Blankenship was an important part of their secondary.
10:17They could afford to lose linebacker to Kobe Dean
10:19because they have Jihad Campbell, but the depth took a hit.
10:23Ebikidi, Arnold Ebikidi, the edge rusher,
10:25was a good addition to make up for the loss of Phillips.
10:27But with the top free agent safeties on new teams,
10:30the Eagles should improve that position through the draft now.
10:34The Niners, Seahawks, and Texans also getting nominated in there
10:38for the NFL team that took the biggest step back.
10:42And I don't think the Giants are going to be that much better.
10:45I'm not a believer in John Harbaugh.
10:46I'm not a believer in the coaches that he got.
10:48Not a believer in Jackson Dart.
10:50Washington is at least another year of building away from being legitimate.
10:55Like, this is going to be an NFC East year
10:58where the top team in the division might only have 10 or 11 wins.
11:02This is shaping up to be a year where, you know,
11:05the Cowboys don't have to be elite to get back into the playoffs.
11:10I just want them to shoot for much higher.
11:12Like, that should be a thing where you say,
11:14all right, we might not need the hottest start
11:17because we don't need 12 or 13 wins to win this division.
11:20But if we're a couple of games ahead at midseason,
11:24that's the time where I think you get super aggressive in free agency.
11:28Like, it's or I guess in the trade market there,
11:32the trade deadline in the middle of the 2026 NFL season.
11:34I think it's OK right now,
11:36especially because of how much more prevalent trades are in the NFL,
11:40to say, OK, we're building a team that if everything hits,
11:43we're feeling like we could be contenders.
11:45We're building a team to make the playoffs.
11:47And then once you get into the regular season,
11:49if the trades are available,
11:52I would hope that they would go ahead and push this thing over the top.
11:56Yeah, I mean, just you saying that makes me think of the idea,
12:00man, if Max Crosby ends up staying with the Raiders as the season starts,
12:03and then the Raiders end up being just probably not a very good team,
12:07even though they've brought in a lot of outside free agents,
12:09maybe Crosby could be had.
12:10You watch him play the first part of the season and show,
12:13OK, the knee's good enough.
12:15He's still productive.
12:16All of a sudden, Max Crosby now becomes a guy that you trade for at the deadline.
12:20Yeah, yeah, I would love that scenario.
12:22New player quotes.
12:23There was media availability over the weekend.
12:25Kobe Durant was asked, what are the Cowboys getting in him?
12:29Creating takeaways, getting the ball back.
12:31Dak, he had six combined last year, regular season and playoffs.
12:35Three takeaways in the playoffs.
12:36They need that big time.
12:37He says, let Dak do what he does.
12:40He says, they're getting a guy that the media says is too small.
12:44But, you know, it's not all about the size of the dog.
12:46It's the size of the heart in the dog.
12:48The land shark is coming to make plays and add on to this defense.
12:54He calls himself the land shark?
12:56Land shark, yeah.
12:57I like that, dude.
13:00The land shark, Kobe Durant.
13:02Yeah.
13:03Coming in for the Cowboys, man.
13:04That's pretty strong.
13:05I like that, dude.
13:06Yeah.
13:07I like that as a little nickname.
13:08I like that he calls himself that, too.
13:10I mean, we've had Kenny Gant, the shark.
13:12We've had the land shark bit from Saturday Night Live.
13:15And now you've got your very own land shark here from Kobe Durant.
13:19Sam Howell.
13:21Isn't that a beer, too?
13:22It is, right?
13:23It is.
13:23Land shark?
13:24Yeah.
13:24The dolphins were Land Shark Stadium at one point.
13:28Yeah.
13:31Yeah.
13:32Land shark seems like a beer you'd get in, like, a tiki bar in Hawaii on vacation.
13:36Vacation destination beer.
13:37Yeah.
13:38That is 100% a Key West beer.
13:41I mean, there's no question.
13:42Margaritaville Brewing Company out of Florida.
13:45So, yeah, that was the Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville brand.
13:51So, that's Jimmy Buffett's beer.
13:53Yep.
13:53Vacation beer.
13:54Gotta be.
13:55That's beautiful, man.
13:56Gotta sell a lot of beers to sponsor a stadium.
13:58It's like a craft brew.
13:59That's crazy.
14:00My parents are in Hawaii right now.
14:03They've been talking about this trip forever.
14:05And they get there, and, like, a 100-year storm hits Hawaii.
14:09Like, this giant rain cloud just parked over the islands for about the last five days straight.
14:15They've been on, like, flood watch and stuff.
14:17I'm calling them, like, more than I've ever called them.
14:18Like, how's it going?
14:19Yeah.
14:20Are we doing all right?
14:21Is there any need for, you know, a raft or anything like that?
14:24It's the worst vacation ever.
14:26Yeah.
14:27Yeah.
14:27And they're trying to make the most out of it.
14:29But how do you do that?
14:30You can't even go outside.
14:31It's coming down in sheets.
14:33It's just constant, like, 10 out of 10 rainstorm.
14:37Oh, my gosh.
14:39Have you looked at videos of it?
14:41Yeah.
14:41Yeah.
14:41I've seen some.
14:42I mean, the airport's been closed a couple of these days.
14:45Roads are getting closed all over the place.
14:46So, dude, it's it's yeah, that is it is flooding.
14:51OK, we got Sam Howley says Dallas was my team growing up.
14:54So it's a dream come true to be here and to be a Dallas Cowboy.
14:58It's been a crazy couple of days, but I'm glad it is where it ended.
15:02Says he has a lot of respect for Dak has been a tremendous player in the league.
15:06He's someone I have a lot of respect for.
15:07I love the way that he plays the game and I love the way he throws the ball, the way
15:10he leads the team.
15:11He's a guy I look up to in this league and I look forward to watching him up close this
15:15year.
15:16We didn't talk a lot about the Sam Howell signing over the last couple of days happened last week.
15:21I think it was just clear we'd seen enough from Joe Milton.
15:24I mean, it was probably clear after the second preseason game.
15:26Yeah, yeah, this is certainly an indicator that they at least want Joe Milton to be pushed even harder in
15:34training camp.
15:34And and now he's got some legit competition here.
15:38So, yeah, I we'll see how it shakes out.
15:41Either one of those guys.
15:42I mean, you don't feel great about either one of them, to be honest with you.
15:45Yeah. How led the league in picks the one year they let him play, right?
15:48Yeah, I didn't get 21 picks a couple of years back.
15:51The commanders that year with I think Eric Biennemi was the offensive coordinator and they were just they were throwing
15:55the ball.
15:56At a higher rate than even Andy Reid in his heyday.
16:00Oh, that's right.
16:00They were dropping back every play.
16:03Yeah.
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