- 2 days ago
Kyle Youmans joined K&C Masterpiece and discussed the fallout from the Dallas Cowboys’ 2026 draft performance. He broke down the addition of Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence, the outlook on George Pickens’ franchise tag status, and more.
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00:00Timing, because things are never quiet with the Cowboys right now.
00:05We bring to you, from DallasCowboys.com, Dallas Cowboys broadcaster,
00:10and the man who headed up our draft coverage, Kyle Yeomans.
00:16Good afternoon, sir. Are you doing better than Brendan Sorsby?
00:22I am, I think. I at least hope I'm doing anything better.
00:26I just saw that notification come through. That's a wild situation, right?
00:32Yeah, the Texas Tech quarterback has entered into a gambling addiction program,
00:38and it looks like the NCAA is currently investigating him for numerous college football bets,
00:43including, allegedly, bets on his own team.
00:48So normally, you'd be like, wow, that's a big deal.
00:51But then we've got to talk about the draft, and you're like, well, normally then that would be the biggest
00:55deal.
00:55But then we go back to Thursday and Friday and the rumblings that George Pickens would sign his franchise tag,
01:03and even some insinuation that he had already signed his franchise tag.
01:08Then Schefter just said on McAfee that Pickens wants a long-term deal or to be traded,
01:13and now we're hearing word that he actually hasn't signed his franchise tag.
01:16So I guess, Kyle, my question is, what the hell is going on?
01:21Well, whenever that news came down on Thursday or Wednesday, whenever that was,
01:27that he was expected to sign the franchise tag, it wasn't an immediate thing.
01:33He has to physically be here in person with his representation in order to sign the tag.
01:38So I don't know if that was maybe portrayed that way in the meantime,
01:46but I think it's just as small of a thing as he just hasn't gotten here to sign it to
01:51the star in Frisco yet.
01:53With the draft being this past weekend, I know he and David Mogoletta and the rest of his representation
01:58were probably somewhere else in dealing with other matters, especially with the draft and his agency.
02:05But I don't think anything really changes at this point in time, barring the next couple of weeks.
02:12I think it's an interesting situation because it's how it's changed over the last seven days or so,
02:19and I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that he will sign the tag yet,
02:25but we'll see how that happens down the line.
02:27For people who are unfamiliar, what are his options if he doesn't sign the tag,
02:33or how does the timeline go?
02:36Because it feels like maybe at this moment he does not have all of the leverage.
02:42Yeah, he has to sign the tag even if he wants to be traded.
02:46That's the thing that people, I think, maybe don't understand is in order to be traded,
02:51you have to sign the tag first.
02:53So that's going to happen.
02:55I think he will sign the tag regardless of what happens.
02:58What the difference will be is how involved is he through the offseason.
03:04And Brian Schottenheimer and Stephen Jones have both said it.
03:07They expect him to be here for the mandatory side of things.
03:13Things aren't mandatory until we get closer to minicamp and some of the other things later in the summer.
03:20So he's got some time there.
03:21But you're right, the leverage is not necessarily a part of the signing conversation.
03:27He's going to sign it if he wants to play it.
03:31Whether it's here in Dallas or elsewhere, he's still got to come and sign that franchise tag tender.
03:36Jerry Jones, did you want to move on from that yet?
03:39No, no, go ahead.
03:40Jerry Jones mentioned over the weekend that he'd been brainwashed that the nickel cornerback was a very important thing.
03:46Good.
03:46Do you think that that was a smart brainwashing on the Cowboys' part?
03:50And do you think he was resistant at all to that?
03:54I don't know if there was any resistance.
03:57Whenever a player like Caleb Downs is available, you don't look at him as a safety.
04:02And I guess technically he is a safety and he will play some safety with Dallas.
04:07But you look at him as just a versatile playmaker on your defense.
04:10Athlete.
04:11So that's why you end up putting him at a nickel corner spot.
04:14And especially with Christian Parker and the way that he wants to run this scheme, he's going to do so
04:21with the nickel safety or the nickel corner playing a little bit of safety and backing into coverage and then
04:27working into the box and playing as a Swiss Army knife.
04:30I don't know if there's a better prototype for what Christian Parker wants to do with that position than Caleb
04:36Downs.
04:37And that's where the excitement lies for me there.
04:40It's not only do they go get a generational possibly type of talent at the position, but it also fits
04:47exactly what your defensive coordinator wants to do.
04:49So, yeah, if it's a brainwashing, I'll say it's a smart brainwashing, and I think it's going to work out
04:54in favor because Christian Parker has a plan and Caleb Downs is a big part of it.
04:59Okay, so quick side note, and I promise we'll get back to that.
05:03The McAfee Twitter account has just deleted the tweet with that Pickens clip, leading some to believe that perhaps Schefter
05:10has spoken a little bit out of pocket on that.
05:13So just for whatever it's worth.
05:15But going back to what you were just saying about Caleb Downs, that's where I can't wrap my head around
05:20him being available at 11.
05:22Like, I get positional value, but when you talk about, like, man, he can play safety, he's a captain of
05:27the defense, or he could be a captain of the defense.
05:29He can also play a ton of nickel cornerback.
05:31Everybody thinks he's the smartest defensive player, like, in years and years and years.
05:35Then how do we get to the spot where people are like, yeah, but this, you know, developmental wide receiver
05:41that gets hurt a lot, that's my guy.
05:45The one element that I thought was wild about this past draft, and not only in the first round, but
05:51in general, was we've always seen positional flex as usually a good thing.
05:58Usually having positional flex is a positive for certain teams, but there were multiple prospects in this draft that teams
06:09either waited on or just continued to pass up because they didn't know what to do with them.
06:15They had positional flex, but maybe to the point where teams aren't necessarily sure what to do with them.
06:21And maybe that's the case for Caleb Downs.
06:24Maybe it's just a case of teams drafting need and trying to play the smarter game.
06:29But if you've got a plan for Caleb Downs, which Christian Parker does, I don't know how you can pass
06:35on his talent level and what he does.
06:37I know there's some knock on his game in coverage.
06:40I know there's some possibility of him, or the thought on him is that the stuff toward the line of
06:47scrimmage is elite.
06:48The stuff back in coverage maybe needs a little bit of work.
06:51But if you come into it with a plan the way that the Cowboys anticipate, I don't know how you
06:57can look at his tape and say, yeah, he needs to be outside of the top 10.
07:01Even if it's at 11, I just don't understand it.
07:03And I think that's why Dallas feels so fortunate at this point in time, because teams did feel the need
07:09to draft elsewhere, and it left him available for Dallas that late.
07:13You know what, Kevin, can I explain what I always felt position flex was with Jerry initially?
07:20I always felt it was I can get a discount on the guy because he can play two spots, and
07:26if I need him in a good spot, if somebody gets hurt, I'll be able to use him.
07:29I feel like position flex is more of the versatility that I can use within the system.
07:36Like Kyle just said, having a plan for each one of the dudes to be like, I can use you
07:41in this package, in multiple different areas, whereas Jerry was just like, I can get a discount on a left
07:47tackle because he can also play guard and center.
07:49And you weren't really good at anything, but what they did with Caleb Downs is the kind of guy who
07:53I think is good at a lot of things.
07:55And that's where I look at that as a, this is how you use position flex appropriately, getting the guys
08:01that are good, really good at a lot of different things.
08:04Okay, so position flex then, and defensive substitutions are going to come into play.
08:11And this next, I guess, kind of question, Kyle, what do you think about the naysayers who are like your
08:18second first round pick won't even be a starter?
08:23Uh, one, I think when it comes to Malachi Lawrence, they, he gives you something you don't have on your
08:30defense right now, which is the combination of length and speed.
08:34So I, I think he will play now.
08:37Remember the starting tag for a defensive outside linebacker, edge rusher, however, they're going to play him is relative in
08:46this system compared to what they've seen in the past.
08:49They're going to be a rotation regardless in the past.
08:52It may have been a two or three downs as a defensive end, and you're going to be on the
08:57field 60 plus percent of the snaps throughout the game.
09:01Now you might still see 50 to 60 percent of the snaps, but it's going to be in and out
09:05based on sub packages and based on things that they want to do with different players, because they are going
09:10to play multiple.
09:11They're going to play a three, four, 15 to 20 percent of the time.
09:14They're going to play a four, two, five and play in that nickel 50 to 60 percent of the time.
09:20So I think there will be opportunities for Malachi Lawrence to start, but his starting presence isn't necessarily what you're
09:28looking for.
09:28You're looking for him to make an impact on the number of snaps and the different sub packages that he's
09:33utilized in and the length and speed and the explosion off the line of scrimmage that he brings you now
09:39is something that nobody on your roster, even Donovan Azaraku from last year, which I love.
09:45And I think he's going to take a step in the right direction.
09:47I just don't think you have that now since you moved on from Micah Parsons, not saying Malachi Lawrence is
09:53Micah Parsons, but the skill set that he brings is something that you just had completely absent on your roster
10:00a year ago.
10:01I've always been fascinated by this, especially, I guess, more so in the last few years, because so many different
10:07teams play multiple, the Cowboys included.
10:09Do you think eventually we'll switch the name of the nickel defense to actually being the base defense and then
10:14we'll just come up with a different terminology for what used to be the base defense?
10:19I would love that because it would make it a lot easier on you and me and everyone that's trying
10:25to explain like, yeah, they are going to play more three, four base.
10:29But I would be shocked, absolutely shocked if they play it more than 25 percent of the time, because you're
10:37going to play a nickel so much because there's so much 11 personnel and the way the teams are spreading
10:41you out now.
10:42It's just different than it used to be.
10:45And yet it's hard to explain that because, yeah, they are going to play a base three, four.
10:50But at some point, your nickel is your base and they should begin to start looking at it that way.
10:55Anyway, I agree with you, Kevin.
10:57I think we need to start the movement of just call it a base.
10:59Yes, yes.
11:01This is the case moving forward.
11:04I'm sorry, Corey.
11:04Did you ever get any insight?
11:06And I think Corey might have laid it out.
11:08Maybe you feel the same way about maybe why you would pass over somebody like Keontae Scott, who just felt
11:14like he would have been a hell of a value there in the four.
11:17I thought it was great value.
11:19I thought it was a great fit from a scheme standpoint, too, because kind of like what Caleb Downs does,
11:26he could kind of rotate in and out as well.
11:28The one thing I heard after asking that question over the weekend is he didn't necessarily showcase the thought process
11:39they wanted in the interviews.
11:41He's already 25 years old, didn't necessarily do great on the interview side of things, and so I think Dallas
11:47had him on the board, but I don't think they had him over some of the other possibilities.
11:52Because I agree with you.
11:53I liked him as a prospect, but we don't get to sit in on the interviews or listen to him.
11:58And they apparently heard something they didn't like as much as the other players, and so they went with the
12:04guys that they felt better about.
12:05Can you kind of, Kyle, give me a layout of what this, you know, I know Kevin said the base,
12:11the 3-4, the 4-3, but let's say we're in a 3-4 alignment.
12:14What do you see this linebacker group kind of looking like?
12:18And then I'll ask about the defensive end question in a moment.
12:22I know.
12:23This is an answer that I think we'll get more clarification on whenever we get into minicamp and we get
12:29to training camp.
12:29I'm really excited to see, because remember, they moved Maris Leofield from inside linebacker to an outside linebacker.
12:35They wanted him to bulk up a little bit.
12:37So you kind of put him in the same boat as a Jayshon Barham from Michigan, that third-round pick,
12:4492nd overall.
12:45And then Malachi Lawrence is also on the other side.
12:48He's kind of your big end.
12:49He's kind of your set-the-edge, edge rusher.
12:54He can be considered an outside linebacker, but you really kind of want him to be either on the line
12:59of scrimmage or hand in the ground one way or the other.
13:02But he's going to be on that edge spot, too.
13:05L.T. Olberton, who was listed as an edge rusher in the draft, is probably going to be more so
13:11inside.
13:12They're going to bump him down to kind of a 3 or a 5 technique, and they use that pick
13:17on him to maybe use some versatility up front with him on the interior of the defensive line, too.
13:23And so your middle linebackers are D. Winters.
13:27It's DeMarion Overshown.
13:29Maybe he's going to be your will, where Winters is your mic, and you can kind of go back and
13:34forth there.
13:34But, yeah, there's a lot of mixing and matching.
13:36I don't think the puzzle pieces are set yet.
13:39I think they're now starting, now that the draft is over, and they get a better look at what the
13:44roster could look like, even from a rotational aspect.
13:47I think they're going to go and piece together, hey, this guy fits here, this guy fits there.
13:52But that's kind of the early indication I get from the new additions that you've gotten on your roster over
13:57the last week or so.
13:59And we did also kind of get over the weekend, it felt like a bit of an answer that I
14:03would say was what we got with Cooper Flagg playing the point guard,
14:07which was we got a couple guys that we're going to put in some spots, but the goal is for
14:11them to learn the entire defense from there,
14:13and then maybe we'll be able to figure another plan out for them.
14:18Did you kind of get that vibe, too?
14:20Absolutely. I think you could say that about Elfie Overton.
14:23I think you could say that about Malachi Lawrence.
14:25I think you could say that about Caleb Downs to a certain extent, even though they probably anticipate Downs to
14:31come in with a little bit more of a specific plan,
14:34because he'll be a cornerstone part of the defense.
14:37But that's the type of flexibility I think you have when you have two interior defenders that you can build
14:43around and feel confident with.
14:45You don't have to move and shake a ton with Quinn and Williams and Kenny Clark.
14:48Those are your two guys on the defensive line.
14:52Everybody else can kind of do multiple things, and they are going to be asked to do multiple things.
14:57So, yeah, I agree with you.
14:59I think you're going to see some experimental stuff early.
15:03You're going to see some things in training camp that might look a little odd,
15:06and we're going to be breaking it down and posting videos of it on social,
15:09and fans are going to say, what are they doing?
15:11Well, that's what it is.
15:13It's a learning process for a first-time defensive coordinator who has a plan,
15:18but you've got to find out what you have in the building to try and fixate that plan and put
15:23it together.
15:24I think it's a learning process, but remember, this was one of the worst defenses in the National Football League
15:31last year.
15:32I don't think you're going to see a complete overhaul in just one training camp or one draft.
15:37Yeah, it's going to take some time, and that's why that's the plan for a lot of those guys in
15:41those specific situations.
15:44Now, some people might say that I'm jumping the gun here,
15:47but when I see that Damarian Overshown switched his representation over David Mulligetta,
15:53I was like, oh, well, that's probably not good.
15:58It might be a little jumping of the gun.
16:01I don't know.
16:02Well, when it comes to Mulligetta specifically, and we'll see how this Pickens scenario plays out over the next few
16:10weeks,
16:12it's been one time that Dallas got sideways with him in a negotiation,
16:19and that was the Micah Parsons deal, obviously.
16:21So people are kind of scarred.
16:23Cowboys fans are scarred from that last year, and I don't blame them for being so.
16:27However, we'll see what the second leg of it is here,
16:31and then maybe if something goes sideways with George Pickens over the next couple of weeks
16:35or the next couple of months, then we can say this might be interesting moving forward.
16:40But I'm not there to say it's a four-time conclusion,
16:43but that's a bad thing that Damarian Overshown signed with new representation,
16:47and Mulligetta just happens to be the guy.
16:49But in about 10 months, do you want to come back on and be like,
16:53you were right, Kevin.
16:54Thank you for pointing that out to me.
16:55I will be glad.
16:57Just go ahead and clip this.
16:58Just set a reminder for 12 months from now, and then we'll go ahead and run it back.
17:03Yeah, you would be totally right if that's the case.
17:05I just don't know if I'm there yet.
17:08You know what, though, Kevin?
17:09During the season, when he's on with us on Fridays,
17:13if he wants to do that again, he might come on every Friday and be like,
17:18hey, you're just saying everything's looking pretty good right now, all right?
17:21You know, he might use that opportunity to scoreboard you until the last moment.
17:25So we'll see how that goes.
17:26I was kind of curious about Shelton.
17:29I know we're kind of bouncing all over this thing, but it was a fun draft.
17:32When it comes to Shelton, I watched a little bit of what he does,
17:35and I think there's some things that still need growth, obviously.
17:38You know, he's younger.
17:39He was lower in the draft, too, for a reason, Kevin, as I keep saying.
17:44But watching him, I was like, okay, I can see position flex.
17:47He can play two tackle spots there if I want him to.
17:50But I don't see him at the moment saying, I'm taking Tyler Guyton's job today.
17:56No, and I don't think that was the plan, even from the jump.
18:00And while you look at it, and yes, he's a fourth-round pick,
18:03and in my eyes, I think fourth-round picks are exceptionally valuable.
18:08They're fourth-round picks, and they're day three picks for a reason, like you said,
18:11because everybody at that point in the draft has warts, is what they call it.
18:15And Will McClay has used that term a couple times.
18:17Everybody has warts that far down in the draft.
18:20But you've got to look at what they can do in your system
18:24and in your possibility of what they do well,
18:27and then just rely on that and then try and fix the other sides of it, too,
18:31at least with day three picks.
18:32I'm not saying day one, day two, top 100 guys.
18:35I'm saying in day three, that's the way you have to look at it.
18:39Shelton, yes, he needs to get stronger.
18:41He needs to play with a little bit more of an edge.
18:43I think when you look at his tape,
18:45there are times where he gets bullied or pushed around,
18:47but he's playing against Big Ten defensive linemen,
18:50who are some of the best defensive linemen that we saw this past year in college football,
18:54and they got drafted because of it as well.
18:56So there's times where that happens.
18:58But what he does do is he moves laterally.
19:01He plays with good hand placement.
19:02I think his footwork is solid.
19:05A lot of things that I think Clayton Adams and Connor Riley
19:08can maneuver and build off of that foundation into what they're trying to do.
19:13Was he picked to bring in competition for Terrence Steele?
19:18No.
19:18Was he brought in for competition with Tyler Guyton?
19:21I would say not yet.
19:23If that's the case, though,
19:25if you bring him in,
19:26he could possibly challenge for that backup swing tackle spot
19:29and grow into a possible starter down the line.
19:33You never know when that's going to happen.
19:35Terrence Steele wasn't expected to be a starter
19:37when he was an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech.
19:40You take things that you like in day three
19:43and you build on that moving forward.
19:45And I think they saw enough there with Drew Shelton to say
19:47he fits here in Dallas
19:50and we can try and fix some of the stuff
19:51that he wasn't able to do at Penn State.
19:54When you saw a reset that we're not with Jared Sandler right now.
19:58No, we are with Kyle Yeomans right now.
20:00People think you sound like Jared, man.
20:01Just a little bit.
20:02Just a little bit.
20:03They've said it all the time.
20:05I think it as a compliment.
20:06I think Jared does a phenomenal job.
20:08I've been watching Rangers coverage almost every night, too.
20:11He kills it on there.
20:12Yes, he does.
20:13We're getting word that Longfoyce is out for Game 5.
20:15You're kidding me right now.
20:16I mean, he got his face, like, freaking destroyed.
20:19Yeah, that thing is nasty, dude.
20:22But they said they're hopeful he'll be back
20:26before the end of the series for whatever that's worth.
20:29This will be my last one for Kyle, then.
20:31And we can let him go and go enjoy the rest of his day.
20:35When it comes to what's happened in that second round on Friday night
20:40and you started seeing the linebackers kind of flying off the board pretty quickly,
20:46A, was Zach Wolchuk having a heart attack?
20:49And B, were you like, okay, this move with Dee Winters,
20:53like this is a very smart thing?
20:56Yeah.
20:56The more that we looked at the linebackers flying off the board,
21:02the more Zach Wolchuk started to kind of white-knuckle the keyboard on his laptop
21:07because he was so frustrated that Jacob Rodriguez just wasn't there.
21:11It was unfortunate for Wooly Bully.
21:14But I will say when it comes to the Dee Winters deal, they were proactive.
21:19They said, we need a starting linebacker, but we don't have the pick to do it.
21:23And that was the case going into it.
21:25We talked about it on this show a couple times leading into the draft process.
21:29The value of the linebacker position was in the mid-to-late second round.
21:34Dallas did not have a pick in the mid-to-late second round,
21:37so they knew if they were going to find a starting-caliber NFL linebacker,
21:41it was either going to be by chance or by trade.
21:45And I think they decided, let's not take a chance on a day-three linebacker.
21:50They could still do so because they had enough picks to do it.
21:53But let's take a fifth-round pick and let's ship him off to try and go get Dee Winters,
21:59who did start and showed that he can start, and be a rotational linebacker there as well,
22:04even if you go and trade for somebody else.
22:06I don't think they're done adding at the linebacker spots, in my opinion.
22:12But I also think they did a good amount in the draft by just going and trying to get a
22:17guy
22:17who can start and has started. I thought it was a smart move by Dallas.
22:21Well, we appreciate the time, as always, and thank you for all of your broadcasting excellence
22:27over the weekend as well.
22:30Thanks, guys. Appreciate you having me. Shout-out Jared Sandler.
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