- 14 minutes ago
Shan, RJ, and Bobby took a look at Matt Bowen’s "Perfect Draft Fits" list that has the Cowboys landing this Tennessee CB at No. 20. They also discussed Coach Schottenheimer’s plan to keep DaRon Bland on the outside, broke down teams’ top 3 draft needs, and more.
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00:00Let's talk about some draft fits, the best ones that could line up with each of these teams.
00:06Yeah, and this is something that came out the other day from Matt Bowen over at ESPN,
00:11who I like Matt Bowen a lot.
00:12I wish he had a higher profile than he does, because he's somebody who I think generally
00:17is just, he's what Dan Orlovsky used to be, which is he's just going in here and he's
00:22watching the tape and he's doing good work and he hasn't gone clickbait yet, so I'm a
00:27fan of his, but he was talking about the best fits that exist, like for him when he looks
00:31at player to team, this is just a perfect match, and do you want me to go down the list
00:35here
00:35or do you want me to jump right down to the Dallas Cowboys?
00:39Let's go down the list, because it won't take too long to get to 12.
00:42So first one that he lists here.
00:44You need more of my throat spray?
00:45It feels like it, doesn't it?
00:47First one on here, Arvel Reese to the Jets.
00:50He thinks that this, and this is something where pick number two is not completely settled
00:53yet.
00:53There have been some people who think that could be David Bailey from Texas Tech, that
00:57there could be different matches that they have there, but the odds on favorite has been
01:01Arvel Reese.
01:01He says that if I'm drafting Reese at two, I'd really want to maximize his pass rush upside.
01:06Reese had six and a half sacks in 2025, using a variety of rush paths to disrupt the pocket.
01:10His short area burst helps on stunts and loops with the Jets.
01:13Reese should be viewed as a playmaker who could boost the second worst scoring defense from 2025.
01:19Next on this list, and not one that I've heard, I don't know that I've seen a mock draft where
01:23these two have been paired, but he says Sonny Stiles to the Titans at pick four.
01:28Not like he's projected that, but just him, man, if they were able to get that, that would
01:32be a great pick.
01:32And obviously, Robert Sala has always gotten really strong linebacker play from every stop
01:38that he's been at.
01:39And the linebacker at four is pretty wild.
01:43It's pretty wild, but I mean, if it doesn't happen at four, I think we've all talked about
01:45it could happen at five.
01:47The Giants, yeah.
01:48Yeah.
01:49But I mean, like, it's not like we even know anybody there, so we can dog them, I guess.
01:53I'm a Colts guy, I don't think so.
01:55Right, so we wouldn't go after the Colts for that.
01:57But he said this would be a great first pick for Coach Robert Sala, giving him a rare stack
02:02linebacker, an inside linebacker, or 4-3 outside linebacker with high-level testing numbers.
02:07He had the 43.5-inch vertical, just absolutely blew up the combine.
02:10He's a total freak.
02:11He's one of the most unique players, I think, in this draft in terms of his skill set and
02:16his athleticism to the position.
02:19And that's, oddly enough, I think that does, most of the time does boost you up of like,
02:25man, what a freak he did this.
02:27But there is always the question, I think, for teams sometimes of like, yeah, but nobody's
02:31like this.
02:32Yeah, that can be a good thing, but also nobody's like this.
02:36We don't know how these types of players function within the system with these sort of
02:40trades.
02:41It was one of those, anytime they get anything that's completely unique, I know teams always
02:45will slow down and just go, we're not concerned about it, but let's double check.
02:49Why has this never been seen?
02:50Why have we never seen something like this?
02:52And is it necessarily fit?
02:54Next up, Jeremiah Love to the Washington Commanders.
02:57That's the Notre Dame running back.
02:58The guy who frequently gets compared to Sean Sharif's crush, David Montgomery.
03:03They're Jameer Gibbs, not David Montgomery.
03:05I think of the other lines.
03:05RJ loves David Montgomery.
03:06Yeah, he does.
03:07But Jameer Gibbs is who he gets comped to pretty frequently now.
03:10That wouldn't be fun to have in Washington.
03:12For the Saints, Reuben Bain Jr.
03:16He said there's a need to add a pass rusher in New Orleans as Cameron Jordan is still a
03:20free agent.
03:20He thinks that Bain's ability to turn the corner, he can be schemed out of a couple different
03:24things that may cause him problems.
03:26Really a big fan of Reuben Bain.
03:27Biggest question for Bain is there's twofold.
03:30He's got the arm length thing that everybody's talked about.
03:33Again, when teams look and go, we've never seen anybody like this.
03:36Jarrell McCoy told whatever the Gilbert Arenas network is.
03:41The gambling one or the podcast?
03:43I don't know, Bobby.
03:44I obviously didn't know, so then you asked me a follow-up on where it was.
03:47That was a joke about the gambling table he used to have.
03:50I don't know, he got away with that.
03:51I know he did.
03:51Then I think Chauncey Billups tweeted the other day, I was like, is that Chauncey?
03:54But Jarrell McCoy said every single coach and every player that he's talked to said that
04:01this is going to be a problem.
04:03This is an issue for Bain.
04:05And that's something that there are some teams, Dane Brugler's talked about this, there are
04:08some teams that have decided they will only play him a defensive tackle because of the
04:12arm length.
04:12They're just like, they don't trust him turning the corner with the arm length, that they'd
04:15rather see him play inside.
04:16And then the other aspect is, I think there are just, there are character questions that
04:19exist off the field for him.
04:21And so teams will want to investigate that, feel better about that.
04:23So when you combo those two things up, that could potentially push him down to 12 where
04:27he would not normally be.
04:29Next on this list, a guy who it felt like had become the most popular mock draft pairing
04:33for the Cowboys for a while was Mansoor Delane, the cornerback from LSU.
04:37He says that the best fit there is the Chiefs.
04:39Talking about the Chiefs have obviously emptied out their corner room.
04:42This would be a nice, just stable player to put in the Steve Spagnuolo system.
04:47This one hurts.
04:48Caleb Downs to the Cincinnati Bengals.
04:50Oh no.
04:50Says that Downs could go higher in the top 10, but this was the best fit in my eyes after
04:55the Bengals signed safety Brian Cook in free agency.
04:57He'd be able to do a lot of different things in Al Golden's system with interchangeable safeties.
05:01He's got Kenyon Sadiq, the tight end from Oregon to the Rams, as a strong fit.
05:06So he skips over the Dallas Cowboys.
05:07He goes all the way down the list, and then he skipped over the Cowboys.
05:10If this falls the way it's got here, it's either McCoy or a trade.
05:17Or you don't have a trade partner and you take offensive line?
05:23No, stop with that.
05:25No offensive players.
05:27You couldn't be talked into one tackle, maybe?
05:30Man, how many different projects are we going to have around here?
05:34That's not a project, though.
05:35He's a good player.
05:35Tyler Guyton is a project right now.
05:37But I'm saying, like, Francis Maui Noah wouldn't be a project.
05:41That'd be a good player that you could put around.
05:42Okay, well, I can say the same thing about Guyton.
05:44If you drafted him in the first round, we're like, okay, it's the first round.
05:49He's turned into a project now.
05:51It's not an absolute sure thing.
05:53Let's say we're here at 12, and all these guys are gone.
05:56It's the way it is.
05:59Where would you play him?
06:02Ngagwe, did you say?
06:05Maui Noah?
06:05Which one are we talking about?
06:06Maui Noah.
06:06Maui Noah.
06:08He's been a right tackle.
06:09I would probably play him at right tackle.
06:12All right, so then you're getting rid of Steele.
06:15There would either be a move for Steele, or you could potentially look at Maui Noah
06:18going to the left side, or you could look at Tyler Smith going outside
06:23and then playing Maui Noah guard.
06:25All right.
06:26The board falls this way.
06:27You decide not to go to the offensive lineman.
06:28You take the wide receiver from Ohio State.
06:30You trade George Pickens for a first and a third.
06:35And you get a first and a third next year.
06:37I could be talked into that.
06:39Talked into that?
06:39Yeah.
06:40Because I think that's a realistic possibility.
06:43Going down the rest of the list here.
06:44Yeah.
06:45Guard Spencer Fano to the Ravens.
06:47A lot of people have had him as a tackle.
06:48Some just think he's not got the length to be able to play tackle consistently.
06:52Offensive tackle from Alabama.
06:53Caden Proctor to the Lions.
06:55They've talked about the Panay Sewell move.
06:57We mentioned that yesterday.
06:58He could potentially step in and be the right tackle.
07:00So, Eric Chiafalo's favorite player in the draft.
07:04Toledo safety, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren as a match to the Vikings.
07:08Everybody's been putting Dylan Thienam in there from Oregon ever since Daniel Jeremiah jumped on that.
07:12We're going to get three safeties going in the first round.
07:15And then you've got for the Dallas Cowboys.
07:18He did not have a perfect fit for them at 12.
07:21Because, like I said, you may be stuck there.
07:23But the perfect fit for him at number 20 is a guy we've talked about before.
07:27He's a Tennessee cornerback.
07:30And he's the one who's actually played football in the last calendar year.
07:33And that's Colton Hood.
07:35And this is the write-up on him.
07:36He said, cornerbacks with Hood's skill set in coverage tend to go higher than projected.
07:39And I like the fit under new coordinator Christian Parker,
07:42who will bring elements of Vic Fangio's defense from Philadelphia.
07:45Here, Hood can match up one-on-one outside, playing opposite free agent addition Kobe Durant with Deron Bland in
07:51the slot.
07:52Because that Hood would be an outside corner.
07:54He's not going to like, oh, he can flex to safety and there's going to be a lot inside.
07:57He can do some potentially inside.
08:00But realistically, this is an outside corner.
08:02He said, plus, Hood is a dedicated run defender.
08:05Probably the best run defending cornerback in the draft, if I had to say so.
08:08Who knows how to cut off big gains on the perimeter.
08:11He is more of a ball disruptor than a true playmaker, posting 17 pass breakups over the past two seasons.
08:16Parker and the Cowboys can land their Quinion Mitchell in Hood.
08:20And that has been the name that most stands out to me when I watch Colton Hood is Quinion Mitchell.
08:25Oh, that's good.
08:25And that's something that if Parker needs that here.
08:28But do you also agree he's the third best corner or fourth?
08:32Hood?
08:32Yeah.
08:33Yeah.
08:34I like Colton Hood more than a lot of the other guys do.
08:36But to me, there are going to be, he's more of just a strict outside corner.
08:41He plays very physical.
08:43This was Brian Schottenheimer.
08:44He's not very big.
08:46He plays physical.
08:47He's not very big.
08:48This was Shottie at the owners' meetings talking about wanting to keep Deron Bland outside in that nickel position.
08:55It's important in any defense.
08:56You know, you're closer to the ball.
08:58There's different ways you can build it.
08:59You have to, again, this is the first time I've heard it.
09:02I think Christian was the one that said it.
09:03You have to be able to cover like a corner.
09:05You have to be able to blitz like a safety.
09:07And you have to be able to fit the run like a linebacker.
09:10I mean, those are three really difficult things to do at the highest level.
09:13And so I think that's why everyone's chasing.
09:16I think that's why you saw a great player like J.
09:18Lou go and command the money that he commanded last year.
09:21You know, really good football player.
09:23But it's just, again, the good news is you can pull.
09:26Kobe Durant's played that, right?
09:27I think that's a great addition for us.
09:29Excited about that.
09:30Kendricks has played it some.
09:32But at the end of the day, we'd love to have a guy that would allow us to keep Durant
09:37outside.
09:38You know, and we feel like Durant's got the ability to kind of shut off a side of the field.
09:41And we'd rather keep him outside than move him inside.
09:44Rather keep him outside than move him inside.
09:46And I don't, we obviously don't know where they're settling in at 12 yet.
09:52Because of just who could be available, who could slide, who couldn't.
09:55Sometimes we see Sonny Stiles slide.
09:56Sometimes Caleb down.
09:57Sometimes nobody slides.
09:59So 12 has not felt good.
10:01I have comfortably felt like for the last month or so, pick 20, I've been penciling in as Colton Hood.
10:07So I think if you're wanting to go out there and do some amateur study, because they like him.
10:12They do like him in Dallas.
10:13And so if you're wanting to get a head start on a player and somebody who has a decent shot
10:18to end up here in Dallas,
10:20Colton Hood's not a bad place to start.
10:21To just turn on some Tennessee tape and watch him play.
10:24And he's a good player.
10:25He's somebody who I think absolutely would help the Cowboys.
10:27I would just then wonder, if you're taking another corner in the first round, you already acquired Durant, you've got
10:33Bland here.
10:33It does make me wonder how comfortable Christian Parker was in his pitch of like, Revel can be a consistent
10:38contributor.
10:40Look, I like him.
10:41If that's what they get at 20, I'm in.
10:44I've said 12 and 20.
10:46I would love to have two corners.
10:48Now, how about needs?
10:49How about draft needs?
10:50So ESPN did the top three draft needs for each team.
10:55Tell me what you all think about this.
10:57And let's see if we can maybe steal a player.
10:59So the three top needs are linebacker, edge, and corner.
11:03That's what it says on ESPN.
11:04For us.
11:05For us.
11:05For the Cowboys.
11:06Linebacker, edge, and corner.
11:07The Cowboys did not end.
11:08The write-up is Cowboys didn't answer all their defensive questions of free agency.
11:11Even if they had a middle linebacker with a trade or a signing, they'll need depth.
11:16They get Gary.
11:17Their other projected starter on the edge as Raku coming off hip surgery.
11:21He'll be limited during the offseason.
11:24Durant at corner.
11:25They have to be mindful of the health of the Bland and Rebel.
11:28The draft still has to be about helping the defense in every way.
11:31That was Archer's write-up on this.
11:35Now, Matt Miller's write-up was the prospect to fill a need in the outside in round one
11:39is Anthony Hill Jr. out of Texas.
11:43Looking for speed and playmaking ability in the middle of the defense.
11:45And that's Hill to a tee.
11:47The three-year starter had 17 sacks.
11:49Three picks at Texas.
11:50Capable enough as a pass rusher that some scouts think he can move there full-time in the future.
11:54What do you think of that?
11:57You don't have a second-round pick.
11:58That's the biggest problem.
12:00It's because Anthony Hill's probably not lasting to the third round,
12:02and I would not want to take Anthony Hill in the first round at pick 20.
12:06So, I don't know.
12:07Brian's a big fan of his.
12:08Brian likes him a lot.
12:10Now, here's what I looked at.
12:11I did some digging.
12:13So, linebacker, like I said, one of the top problems for this team.
12:17And if you do the same exercise with the teams that are slotted ahead of the Cowboys in the draft,
12:22so the top 11, and they're all using local beat guys to tell you the top three needs, right?
12:27So, they would have a handle on it.
12:28Not a single team in front of the Cowboys has linebacker listed in their top three needs.
12:35Not the Giants.
12:37Not a single team.
12:38Now, the Giants have...
12:39Not the Titans.
12:40The Giants have defensive tackle, guard, and corner.
12:44That's who they have listed for that.
12:47Who did you say?
12:47The Titans?
12:48Yeah.
12:48The Titans have edge, wide receiver, center.
12:53Okay.
12:53So, not a single team lists linebacker.
12:56So, it stands to reason that we might luck out here and get a linebacker to fall to us at
13:0312th.
13:03Maybe the linebacker to fall to us.
13:05Man, what a time we live in.
13:08Saying the statement, maybe we can be lucky enough to get a linebacker to fall to us at 12th.
13:13Yeah.
13:14A linebacker and three safeties going in the first.
13:16Now, you mentioned safety.
13:17I'm glad you did that.
13:18It's almost as if you read the email.
13:19The only team that lists safety in the top three that's ahead of us is Arizona.
13:27The problem is Arizona's picking third.
13:29Not Cincinnati.
13:30No.
13:31Not Cincinnati.
13:32Arizona's picking third.
13:34Are they taking downs at three?
13:36Are they going to take Caleb Downs at three?
13:39Right.
13:40Daniel Jeremiah thinks he could fall.
13:42Cincinnati has defensive tackle, offensive tackle, and wide receiver.
13:47Yeah.
13:47As their top three.
13:48So, here's the thing.
13:51If you are, if you're the Titans and the Giants, and you're this bad, taking a Sonny Styles is not,
14:02like, it doesn't add up with immediacy.
14:06No.
14:07You know what I mean?
14:08It's like, I want to draft a higher impact position.
14:12Now, Styles may end up being the higher impact player.
14:15But, to me, you're taking a linebacker, you're more of an average to good team.
14:23You know, if I'm a Titans fan, I'm like, oh, I'm drafting Sonny Styles.
14:26Okay.
14:27Like, I need an impact receiver.
14:29I need a big dog at a premium position.
14:32And linebacker still is not that.
14:33When you look at this draft, and you look at these teams, and you have all these teams that are
14:38drafted at the top ten.
14:39Like, Arizona.
14:40It's like, okay, Arizona's going to get Sonny Styles.
14:42Whoop-dee-doo.
14:42Who's their quarterback now?
14:44Where?
14:45Arizona.
14:47Who is it now?
14:48Exactly.
14:49Great question.
14:50Right?
14:50And that's like, you have a top three pick, and you're an Arizona Cardinal fan.
14:55Yep.
14:56Or you have the second pick in the draft, and you're a Jet fan.
14:58And you're like, what are we doing?
15:01Like, you're going to take Arbo-Reece.
15:03Arbo-Reece, great, cool.
15:03Arbo-Reece is a good player.
15:04He's a good player.
15:05He's not going to add up to a single win this year.
15:08And that's fine, because you don't want to.
15:11But you've been losing for so many years.
15:13Cardinals lose all the time.
15:14Jets lose all the time.
15:15I think it also matters, how do you view some of these players?
15:18Like, Sonny Styles went to Ohio State as a safety, and he's such a freak athlete.
15:22Does, like, a defense look at him and go, like, I'm not getting just a linebacker.
15:24I'm getting a linebacker.
15:25I'm getting an edge rusher.
15:26I'm getting a safety.
15:27I can have him do a million things.
15:28If he can do it, yeah.
15:29Yeah.
15:30So there's that question.
15:31When we talk about the Titans, Sala was one of these guys.
15:35Like, the 49ers were one of these teams that really started putting value back on linebacker
15:39when Sala was there.
15:41And it was like, yeah.
15:41But they also had their premium positions covered already.
15:44Yeah, yeah.
15:45I mean, Fred Warner was a fifth-round pick.
15:47They didn't draft him in the first round, but they would end up paying him.
15:49And so getting elite linebacker play has been a critical thing for his Jets defense with
15:55Quincy Williams and then, you know, with the 49ers getting what he got there.
15:59And so I think that he's absolutely going to want a top-tier linebacker.
16:04It's just I also sometimes watch those guys and think the ego may step in also and be like, I
16:10can find somebody in a second.
16:12I've got an eye for talent.
16:13I can do that.
16:14And so it makes me think they might not be in play for somebody like that.
16:18So a little RJ Choppy exercise, checking out the team leads from those beat reporters, those insiders, to see what
16:25could trickle down to us at 12 and 20.
16:27And look, those teams could have completely different viewpoints than the beat writers, right?
16:32They could be—the teams could be doing misdirection.
16:35Or they could just go best player available and take somebody they don't need.
16:38Or someone could fall to them unexpected.
16:40Right.
16:40So there's no telling what happens, but if you're just going based on needs and the teams ahead of you
16:46pick on need, which a lot of teams sometimes do, then it could fall into our lap.
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