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  • 2 days ago
Shan, RJ, and Bobby broke down all of the picks from the 2026 Dallas Cowboys draft class. They debated the immediate impact of top selections like Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence, how the team prioritized defensive versatility with players like Jaishawn Barham and Devin Moore, and more.
Transcript
00:00Caleb Downs, Malachi Lawrence, we already knew that.
00:04Jayshon Barham, Michigan linebacker in the third.
00:08And then the fourth round pick started flowing.
00:11Penn State, offensive tackle, Drew Shelton.
00:14Florida corner, Devin Moore.
00:17This is going to be real tricky because it was DL, LT.
00:21And I was like, okay, did they get a left tackle or did they get a D lineman?
00:23They got a D lineman from Alabama.
00:25LT, Overton.
00:26And then with their final pick in the seventh, because no fifth, no sixth,
00:31East Carolina wide receiver Anthony Smith.
00:33They did make a trade for a linebacker, which we will talk about at 640.
00:38Player, coach, cowboy audio throughout the entire show.
00:41We like to come in here and steal from Mike Fisher.
00:44I know.
00:45The plan, the process, the plan.
00:48Yes.
00:49Well, explain that.
00:50The plan, the process.
00:51Yeah, it's like, you know, what did they want to – because you can never grade the player.
00:56You can't say today they're better today because you could have six busts.
01:01You could have six Hall of Famers.
01:03You have no idea, right?
01:04You have no idea.
01:05So Fish would always come in and, well, grade the plan.
01:07Did they want to go?
01:08Did they go into the draft looking for X, Y, Z?
01:11And did they find a way to get X, Y, Z without giving up too much or without getting some
01:15of it?
01:15And, I mean, I assume they went into the draft wanting to target positions of value,
01:21positions on the defense that they needed.
01:22They got edge, they got corners, they got tackles, they got wide receivers.
01:29I mean, those are all positions of premium importance that they probably targeted because of need,
01:36because of weakness, and because of best player available at the time.
01:39And I don't think you could look at that and say they did something wrong.
01:42I mean, they targeted positions that they valued, also that they needed.
01:47Start taking us through day two, if you can, with the Michigan linebacker.
01:53That was a long wait.
01:54That was a long 60 picks until they got around to them.
01:58How much talk about, did you feel like at any point they were going to move up?
02:01Was there a particular player or target, or they were just sitting back?
02:05No.
02:05In fact, during Best and Worst, I've got a story about day two that's actually funny.
02:10The Cowboys actively pranked us on day two, which we'll have to tell you about.
02:16But no, it started with, which we'll talk about at 640, the D-winners trade,
02:21which we saw them being active on the War Room cam early in the day.
02:25And we were like, are they moving up?
02:27We were just thinking, they don't have the capital to go up like that.
02:30So we started thinking around and getting the idea of like, okay, maybe that's for a veteran.
02:34Maybe this is them trying to figure out a veteran deal.
02:36We all had suspected or heard buzz for the last week that they had a contingency plan in place for
02:42linebacker.
02:43If they didn't end up with Sonny Stiles, they were likely going to have some sort of veteran deal in
02:47place
02:48and they're going to address some things in the draft.
02:50And so we knew heading into that day, watch for linebacker, and that's what they got both times.
02:55So they got the trade for winners, getting the linebacker there pretty early in day two.
03:00The one word I kept seeing written and said about Barham out of Michigan was violence.
03:06So Barham is, and there is a, if you want to talk about like Teemu version or whatever,
03:12so I hate using that phrase with this guy because he's a really good player.
03:15But, I mean, Will McClay has drawn a comparison to he's like a light version of Arvel Reese.
03:24Like you're talking about a guy who can rush off the edge, can blitz,
03:27is a really, really solid linebacker all the way around for Michigan.
03:32Basically played edge last year, most of last year, because they needed to move some stuff around
03:37to get their best 11 on the field.
03:39But the two years before that, I mean, he played 24 games, I think, at inside linebacker,
03:43and he was really, really good there.
03:45I think the instincts are good, plays with a lot of power and violence like you were talking about.
03:49It's like a baby version of Arvel Reese that you got there.
03:53He was drafted in 92.
03:54He was at least 70 on Vach Lombardi's board.
03:57Vach joined us on Friday.
03:59Here's Coach Schottenheimer on explaining the process that led to Michigan.
04:04Well, no, we were sitting in draft meetings, and Jerry actually was telling me kind of how he has done
04:10his process,
04:10really the most part, big part of his life.
04:13And, you know, like he talked about a little bit last night, you know, if you wake up tomorrow morning,
04:17you know, look at that draft board and who will you be disappointed, you know, if they're not on your
04:22roster.
04:22And so right after we broke that day's session, I went back and was looking at the draft board and
04:28made my list of guys.
04:29And, you know, fortunately for us, we were able to get a couple of those guys, guys that will have
04:35a huge impact for us this year.
04:38And Jay Sean was certainly one of those guys.
04:40And why?
04:41The flexibility, off the ball, on the ball, power, violence that he plays with.
04:45And it was a really cool way of doing this process that I've never done.
04:51And it kind of it helps some good conversations get worked out.
04:57Let's head on over to the fourth round, Bob, with Drew Shelton, Penn State tackle, Devin Moore and Overton, Bama
05:06D. Lyman.
05:06They had, according to, we got a chance to talk to coaches and scouts in the hour leading up to
05:12the third round or day three getting started.
05:14Well, and their national, their director of college scouting Mitchell Point had told us, he said, we got eight third
05:20round grades heading into today.
05:22So we knew that they still had eight players that were graded higher than where they were going to be
05:26picking.
05:27By the way, just as a draft nerd, not to the extent of you guys, that's the only thing I
05:33can use to get excited about and judge.
05:36It's one of my favorite things is to hear.
05:38I had this guy in the third.
05:40I had this guy a round higher.
05:42I had this guy two rounds higher because I'm going out furniture shopping for value.
05:46So when I hear I got eight thirds, this guy was 20 picks better than I thought, you know, the
05:51rest of the league evaluated him.
05:52That right now, before we get to Oxnard, and by the way, for the first time in a long time,
05:57I can't wait for Oxnard.
05:59I might have some bosses to send us extra early.
06:02Yeah, I'm very excited for Oxnard to look at all this.
06:06So you start off with that and you say, I'm guessing he was one of the third rounders.
06:10No, I believe that all three of them were part of their eight third round grades.
06:15Oh, well, at least two of them were, I believe that Overton was as well.
06:21So they are very high on all three of these guys.
06:25Devin Shelton, that's a guy that Connor Riley had worked to recruit years ago to Kansas State.
06:32And in fact, he had like, you know, Drew Shelton had talked about the fact that Riley had mentioned that
06:37to him.
06:38Like, I'm going to finally come get you.
06:39I'm going to be able to get you now because I'm going to be here.
06:41We're going to be able to draft you.
06:42Shelton's very, very athletic.
06:44A lot of people in the building over there think he projects as a starter.
06:48It's the same sort of question as with Terrence Steele at times.
06:50It's like power.
06:51That's the big thing with him.
06:52That's kind of why he slipped.
06:53But athletic, a lot of Big Ten starting experience, and a guy who a lot of people project out as
06:59being a future starter.
07:00What side?
07:01Strong side.
07:03There's flexibility to do either right now.
07:04Let's remember the Titans reference.
07:06Hey, I'd like you to fake me right there.
07:08You almost know that that's right.
07:10I did not fake you.
07:11I came close to him.
07:12I came close.
07:13He has no clue.
07:14Well, that is what faking is.
07:15So if you look at Drew Shelton, thank you.
07:18Drew Shelton, they were not specific of where they were going to play him.
07:23They're very open right now.
07:25They're trying not to nail anybody down at offensive line.
07:27I think he's left tackle.
07:29But a lot of people have projected him to the right side.
07:31Devin Moore, Florida corner, and LT Overton.
07:35Yeah, Devin Moore is a guy.
07:36We knew that it was going to be Devin Moore was the pick.
07:38Because, again, you're watching the war room, Kim, and there are two picks out, and there were two people looking
07:43at Shoddy and doing this.
07:45They were doing the gator chomp for him because he went to Florida.
07:48And you looked at the board, and you're like, that's got to be Devin Moore.
07:52Devin Moore would have gone higher if not for the fact that, and I know this is always a concern,
07:58injury history.
07:59Injury history can be a concern there.
08:02Their medical staff, according to the scouts that we talked to on day three, their medical staff looked at it
08:08and said, it's bad luck.
08:09He's fine as a long-term projection.
08:12There's not long-term concerns here with some of the soft tissue stuff.
08:14Missed 20 games in the last four seasons.
08:17You're talking about a 6'3 corner who is loose, fluid, fast, has really good instincts.
08:23They really, really think that he can be a legit starting defensive back in the NFL with a little bit
08:30of time.
08:31But that's somebody who you want to talk about.
08:33They said that, talking to him on day three, they said they think he can play inside of the slot
08:37at 6'3.
08:38And they think specifically when you've got guys like Devontae Smith who don't look big but play longer than they
08:44actually are,
08:45those are the kind of guys in the slot that he would be able to handle.
08:47I also love that we're talking about every single year we come in,
08:51and then we get to the fifth-round picks and the sixth-round picks,
08:54and Choppy and I are of the same mindset most of the time.
08:57Okay, whatever.
08:58They're not going to be here.
08:59I love that we're sitting here talking about the two splashes in round one
09:03and then third and fourth the rest of the way.
09:06Let's just do this every year.
09:07Let's just stop the recap at four.
09:10Don't have to get into the fifth, the sixth, the seventh.
09:12We're talking about three fourth-rounders.
09:14Well, L.T. Overton, he is not going to rush the passer.
09:18So understand that right now.
09:19But that's not what he's coming here to do.
09:20He's coming here to be along the defensive line with Quinton Williams and Kenny Clark.
09:24He is, on tape, he would be near the very top when you're talking about
09:28who were the strongest defensive linemen that were on tape this year
09:31in terms of just power that he plays with, and he's so good against the run.
09:35That's somebody who I think by potentially middle of the season,
09:38probably not going to start there because you've got to get veterans worked in,
09:41but probably by the middle of the season,
09:42I think L.T. Overton could be starting along the defensive line
09:45and definitely will be rotational right out of the gate.
09:47And what a great benefit to the Twitter draft teams
09:53because they all have to usually rely on Dane Brugler and the Beast Book
09:57to go into the fifth, the sixth.
09:59No, I'm sure every single person in that room,
10:02until they got to Anthony Smith, the wide receiver,
10:05was like, yeah, I can talk about this player.
10:07There you go.
10:08That was the first one that we didn't know was Anthony Smith.
10:11I mean, we knew of him, but a lot of people had not watched him.
10:14He was an NC State guy, but he was – I finally got a chance to watch him yesterday.
10:18He's – I don't know.
10:20That didn't look like a seventh-round player to me.
10:21I thought he looked really good.
10:22Jerry on Overton and a little comparison.
10:25It was best described by one of our guys.
10:30We would love to have Osa, but we couldn't afford Osa.
10:36So we got a guy that does a lot of the things he does,
10:39a little bit different than does a lot of the things he does,
10:42for one we could afford, and that gave us what we had wished we could have kept
10:47by keeping him and others.
10:49You can't have that kind of price player
10:53and have the other complementary players we've got to go with him.
10:58So I think that says it all.
11:00I, too, had to work through that, and I said, man, this is –
11:03we're talking like we were when we had Osa.
11:05So – and I felt good about that, by the way.
11:09But this gives the kind of combination of things that they wanted to really be able
11:16to give them their options on how they play that interior of the line.
11:20Man, that sounded a lot better than it read because when I copied
11:25and pasted the quote, the quote was, we couldn't afford Osa.
11:29We got a guy that got a lot of the things he does for a fourth.
11:32And I was like, let's not start taking shots.
11:35You know, let's keep the high road here.
11:36But that sounded totally fine when Jerry said it versus reading.
11:40We got the same guy for Osa just for a fraction of the cost.
11:43And he absolutely does do a lot of the things that Osa does.
11:47Osa is obviously an established player.
11:49So, I mean, it remains to be seen if he can do it at the same level.
11:52But, I mean, you look up and down that draft class, not one of those players
11:58only does one job.
11:59Not one of them.
12:00They all do multiple things.
12:02The top thing I wrote down in the email, the first word of the email, versatility.
12:07All the Charles Davis player profiles, versatile.
12:10Versatility.
12:10Can do this.
12:11Can do that.
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