- 17 hours ago
Shan, RJ, and Bobby took a look at Matt Miller’s list of his top draft picks from the 2026 NFL Draft. They discussed how many of the Cowboys' picks made the list, debated Miller’s choices, shared their thoughts on the top selections, and more.
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00:00We have the best draft picks made this past weekend, and Matt Miller did it from ESPN.
00:07Yep, he went through, and to be clear, I think a lot of this is, um, a lot of it
00:13is going to be value-related.
00:14But it also is, like, if it's not even a great value, it's just like, that's the best, like, that's
00:19a really good player at that pick.
00:21It could be something like, well, Mendoza, even if you thought it was a reach, Mendoza eventually will be somewhere
00:26in, like, the top 30.
00:27You're like, yeah, I like him, or something like that.
00:28But, uh, the Dallas Cowboys do pop up on this list a few times of the 100 best picks that
00:34were made in the NFL draft.
00:36Shout out for going 100 deep, by the way, on this.
00:38Yeah.
00:40You do all this draft work.
00:42Yeah, you gotta figure out a way to do it.
00:43Are you gonna be done with it after two days, you know?
00:45Yeah, that's good.
00:46So, the number one, his favorite pick in the entire NFL draft, is the Dallas Cowboys selecting Caleb Downs.
00:54Uh, he says,
00:55As my favorite pick of the draft, Downs will be an immediate playmaker in new defensive coordinator Christian Parker's scheme.
01:00A three-time All-American and a national champion, Downs' work ethic and culture-setting ability are as important as
01:07his on-field skills.
01:08He has football savvy and a great feel for the game, which gives him alignment versatility and will allow him
01:13a faster acclimation than most rookies.
01:15The expectation is that he'll become a high-end starter with all pro potential during his rookie contract.
01:20The combination of player, need, and value made this the best pick of the 2026 draft.
01:26Hey, Caleb!
01:28Ashamed of myself again.
01:30Uh-oh, why are you falling?
01:32You're falling?
01:32Just when I thought I was out.
01:34No, I, uh, nerded out again yesterday.
01:38Look at you.
01:39I'm not proud of it.
01:39You're like going home and putting on a VPN to watch these things.
01:42I, uh, I went and watched...
01:44That's a good adult entertainment reference.
01:45I like that.
01:46I went and watched the draft show and the way that it trickled down because I wanted to re-experience
01:53and see what all their reactions were.
01:57How many hours are in your day?
02:00Well, I woke up early from the nap and I was waiting...
02:02Not all of us are just doing laundry and passing up baseball.
02:05I was waiting for the, uh...
02:06I gotta, I gotta budget my time better.
02:08I mean, I'm doing a four and a half hour email every day.
02:11I gotta, Bobby's doing 38 minutes.
02:13I gotta figure out a way to budget my time better.
02:16I was, uh, I just wanted to relive the miracle.
02:20Yeah.
02:22And, I...
02:22Oh, that draft show, the show, the night of the draft, not the pre-draft.
02:26Oh, no, no, no, no.
02:27I thought you were watching pre-draft coverage.
02:28I was like, damn, man.
02:29No, I just went to, like, pick four.
02:31Oh, yeah.
02:32I try to...
02:32Yeah, I get you.
02:33I put something on to try to go to sleep.
02:35I get you.
02:35I should go to sleep in dead silence.
02:37That's why I'm extra tired this morning, probably.
02:39But I wanted to get their reaction and Cardinal Tate on down.
02:44And I ended up falling asleep.
02:45But I woke back up.
02:46Because it was depressing by about pick seven.
02:48I was depressed.
02:49You were?
02:50On draft, yes.
02:51I thought, because Reese was gone.
02:53Yeah.
02:54Styles was gone.
02:54I was like, oh, crap.
02:55The Giants are going to get Reese and Downs.
02:57Are you kidding me?
02:58And, I mean, all said and done, my Pluckers location was better atmosphere than what they
03:02were doing.
03:03Yeah.
03:03We were chomping on cigars and having to not tip pick.
03:06Zach did walk in with Miller Lights.
03:10Bobby brought out the cigar.
03:11He did walk around the room and hug everyone.
03:13But the war room reaction.
03:16And I know Bobby's already referenced it last week afterwards.
03:20It's almost worth it to go and watch y'all the 10 minutes of euphoria and watching them
03:27go nuts and celebrate.
03:29It's like they had won the Super Bowl.
03:31And we've covered drafts a time or two during our run here.
03:36And I've watched plenty of war room cam.
03:39And nothing comes close.
03:41Nothing at all.
03:43It was insanity.
03:44So, I nerded out and wanted to kind of relive the scenarios and the drama of Caleb Downs
03:51falling.
03:51They were, when you watch them in there, they get, they are so, like you said, it's like
03:57a Super Bowl reaction.
03:58Almost everybody in there just so super pumped.
04:00We played that clip yesterday from the National Scout, Ross Winchie, who had said, like, if
04:05you play that back, if you play that clip, they're going to have to bleep it because there
04:08were a lot of expletives being dropped.
04:10Everybody was so pumped.
04:11Will McClay went on All-City and talked about their new football savant.
04:16Then he came in here for a 30 visit.
04:19Not only did he talk about Alabama's defense that he learned three years ago, he broke that
04:26defense down.
04:27He broke down Ohio State's defense and he talked about our defense.
04:30So, that lets you know that that brain works.
04:33So, he already had an idea of your defense?
04:35Yeah.
04:36He understands concepts.
04:38And, you know, when you say what type of scheme you're going to run, he understands how
04:43the different pieces work and fit together.
04:45And it's, it's almost, he's a football savant because things just work that way in his head.
04:51That's something that you'll hear every draft pick almost.
04:56Yeah, he's a smart kid.
04:57You know, they'll say that.
04:58They are, it's impossible to look at the way they're talking about him as an organization
05:03and not realize just how authentically they are gushing about.
05:07He's so smart.
05:08And like, this is so exciting to us just how smart of a football player he is.
05:11Because we don't, no offense, we don't typically have that around here.
05:14We haven't had that on that defensive side of the ball a lot.
05:16Shots fired.
05:16Yeah, it is an offense.
05:18Tommy Yarsh, DallasCowboys.com kind of recapped the process of getting Caleb.
05:24And what some people within the star said was, Saban will tell us sometimes, yeah, this guy,
05:32he's pretty sharp.
05:34You know, he's not like going to blow you away mentally.
05:38And pretty sharp from Saban's players blows the majority of everyone else away.
05:45So when Saban goes, this is the Valedictorian, that's why, part of the reason why our expectations
05:51are so high.
05:52But you're Saban and there was one other coach.
05:57He was saying, when we get these guys, they're a cut above.
06:01Kirby, Patricia.
06:02Yeah.
06:02It was Kirby.
06:03So, I mean, and it's something that, when you look at him, my expectation for him at
06:06this point is, I said in my email yesterday, is hopefully you've gotten defensive back Luke
06:11Keekly.
06:12That's what it feels like with the way they talk about him as a metal processor.
06:15How, truthfully, well, neighbors, neighbors said, I got to face that thing again.
06:20Yeah.
06:21And he was calling out all of our routes in college.
06:26How undersized is he, truthfully?
06:28He's smaller, and weight-wise, he's smaller.
06:31He's a little under height, but I mean, he's, the thing is, he's 5'11".
06:35He looks like a brick out there.
06:37He does look, he does look like kind of bulky, but it's not, but he's not heavy for the position.
06:42In fact, I can tell you what it is right now.
06:43It's noticeable to me that he's shorter.
06:46It is.
06:46I can't lie.
06:47Shorter.
06:48Yeah.
06:48Like, he looks like, you know, I guess that could be, you covered tight ends could be a
06:54problem.
06:54It's not, it's not Bob.
06:55Going up for a jump ball.
06:56It's not Bob Sanders obvious, but it's close, like, in terms of him looking smaller.
07:01What about him, like, stood side by side with Buda?
07:04Um, yeah, he'd look, he'd look similar.
07:08He's a little taller.
07:09The comp that we, the guy that we had on the first year, Trevor, is it Trevor?
07:15Who did the show with Micah and Malik?
07:19Oh, Trevor Sykema.
07:20Trevor Sykema says Antoine Winfield Jr.
07:22That's his comp.
07:23Yeah.
07:24And Winfield is a small guy.
07:24So I just looked it up.
07:25If you look at, mock draftable has the percentiles that they fall into relative to the rest of
07:31the combine participants over the last 30 years.
07:34At safety, he is the 48th percentile in weight.
07:37He is the 28th percentile in height.
07:40So he's, he's smaller.
07:41Yeah.
07:42He is smaller.
07:42All right, we're going through Matt Miller's list of his favorite draft picks.
07:46And I almost closed my computer after reading number two.
07:48RJ will be happy, but I almost shut, shut down the whole list.
07:51Number two, Jermod McCoy, cornerback, Las Vegas Raiders.
07:57It says there's always a really good player who slips due to injury.
08:00Ranked as my number 10 overall prospect, McCoy fell to number 101 based on concerns that a
08:04surgical procedure he had done following a January 2025 ACL tear might need to be redone.
08:09But McCoy was cleared to work out at Tennessee's pro day, and he excelled in the 40 yard dash.
08:13Las Vegas aggressively attacked its secondary needs.
08:16But getting McCoy here could be the weekend's biggest steal if he's healthy.
08:21I probably wouldn't have put it number two.
08:22I would have easily put it in the top 10.
08:24I think you have to.
08:25There's a value to it.
08:27Just, just on the off chance of, hey, maybe.
08:31At 101, it's really good value.
08:33Sure.
08:33So if you're just doing a, this is my favorite pick in terms of steals, it probably is the,
08:41well, I mean, I don't know if it's the biggest steal in the draft.
08:44I mean, actually it might be just based on pick value.
08:48Because you just don't know.
08:50Yeah, close.
08:51I mean, there were some guys who slipped, I think.
08:52But if he plays six years, I think you look at this and you're like, holy cow, it's a steal.
08:58If he plays 10 years, it's, if he plays two years, it's like it's a fourth rounder.
09:02The rest of his list is a little odd to me because of the way that he's stacking this.
09:07His third favorite pick is Mansoor Delane, the cornerback of Kansas City, who went sixth.
09:12He had Mansoor Delane ranked as his 12th player.
09:16So it's like, that's like Broadus saying, Sonny Stiles is 16, but I'd be jacked if they
09:20traded up to five to get him.
09:22It says trading up from nine to six on the draft to draft.
09:25Delane was one of my favorite moves for a couple of reasons.
09:27Said that with their Super Bowl appearances, they've always had strong secondary.
09:30They hit the reset button there, but that he's a really good surface level player.
09:35Fourth pick, his fourth favorite pick, Makai Lemon, receiver to the Eagles.
09:39Nerd alert again.
09:42As I said, all right, let me look at a little bit of Makai Lemon.
09:46The snake?
09:47What's that?
09:48That's what he was doing at the Combine, right?
09:50Oh, yeah.
09:50He was slithering.
09:51I saw that.
09:51He answered for that at the Philly Media Day, and he said, I need to act a little bit more
09:54professional.
09:55So that disappointed me that he's trying to fix that weird behavior.
09:59But all the Amon Ross, St.
10:01Brown comparisons, and I'm like, all right, what are we going to be facing now with Filthy?
10:06And five minute, I didn't do my 10 minute YouTube expert scouting.
10:09It was only five minutes.
10:11And the number one thing I took away was, and I may have chosen the wrong highlight film,
10:16I just saw him running wide open, and I didn't know how much credit to give him for it.
10:21I didn't see like ISO on the routes of him shaking someone and leaving someone.
10:26He was basically running straight.
10:28He was wide open, and I saw a ton of yak.
10:32But I didn't know if that was his releases, if that was his route running, if that was
10:37his elusiveness, if that was special speed and quickness.
10:41He was just wide open.
10:42I don't know whether to give credit to Lincoln Riley.
10:45Lincoln Riley.
10:46But that's what I saw like in the five minutes.
10:48I'm like, I don't know how to, I don't know how to attribute this to him or not.
10:52Does that make any sense?
10:53Yeah, yak receivers at college scare me.
10:55Like when that's your MO at college, that typically has, too consistently I've seen it
11:00get up to the NFL level, and it's like, you can't do that to NFL defenders the same way
11:03you did.
11:04But you like shriveling with a Tyreek comp.
11:06Yeah, I like shriveling like technique wise, though.
11:10I don't just like to get the ball in his hands and start with it.
11:12That was Luther Burden, Malachi Corley, like guys like that who have come out in the draft
11:16in recent years.
11:17I just don't think that translates nearly as well.
11:18It's like the whole CD thing.
11:20Everybody said CD, he is the yak god.
11:22Yeah.
11:22And then he got here, and he's been a good player, but not because of that.
11:25No.
11:25And so Lemon kind of makes me a little unsure about that.
11:29I would have to be like, all right, someone cut up 50 Linus.
11:34I want to see the overhead shot or him getting off on the line of scrimmage.
11:38And how is he getting open?
11:41Like, is he leaving people?
11:42Is he amazing off the line of scrimmage?
11:44It's his releases.
11:45He's really good off the line of scrimmage.
11:46His footwork's really good off the line of scrimmage.
11:48I don't think that he's not my favorite receiver.
11:52He could go.
11:53Taking him in the first is fine.
11:54I don't think he's some big steal for Philly where he went.
11:57No.
11:575, Omar Cooper, the receiver from Indiana to the Jets at pick 30.
12:01He had him 15 overall.
12:02Yesterday when you were trying to fill time on the draft show replay,
12:05and I knew that you guys cheated and got the tips,
12:10the picks tipped to you off that special computer.
12:12No, no, no, no.
12:13I got some texts.
12:14Okay.
12:14And you guys were like, all right, well, Tommy Yarsh is trying to be,
12:18no, Kyle was trying to be radio host and saying, all right, what if it's not?
12:22What if this is not Downs?
12:23Let's just say that.
12:24And Bobby's, everyone's trying to come up with a name.
12:26And Bobby's saying, well, they did like Omar Cooper.
12:28They did.
12:28Yeah, throw that out there.
12:30Hanging with Mr. Cooper.
12:31No.
12:326, David Bailey, edge rusher to the Jets.
12:34So two Jets picks back-to-back here.
12:36No.
12:367, Jeremiah Love to the Cardinals.
12:39No.
12:408, D'Angelo Pons to the Jets.
12:42This is Matt Miller saying that the New York Jets absolutely crushed this.
12:47When you have three first-round picks, it's hard not to crush the draft.
12:50Yeah.
12:51The Jets are the team that I would pick to find a way.
12:53But his write-up on Pons is exciting, man.
12:56I'm excited if I'm a Jets fan, except for the whole, you know,
12:59quarterback thing.
13:00Pons is.
13:01Russell Wilson coming in maybe as their number two.
13:02I said it at the time.
13:04And see, this was the one time.
13:07I was actually trying to praise a little guy that Broaddus was, like,
13:10pushing back against.
13:11I was looking at his numbers.
13:13I made a joke.
13:13I was like, oh, Aaron Glenn just drafted himself.
13:15And then I was looking at the numbers.
13:16And testing-wise, they are the same player.
13:19Like, height, length, weight, speed.
13:21And then we saw the clips that they were saying it on NFL Network.
13:23Because Broaddus was telling me, he's like, what?
13:25Just because he's a little guy, you're going to say that?
13:27And then I was like, oh, well, they just said it on NFL Network, Brian.
13:28Yep.
13:29So, number nine here.
13:31Number nine.
13:32You've got Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders.
13:34Number 10, Arvel Reese to the Giants, which you don't love seeing.
13:38This goes 100 picks deep, though, so we'll jump down and see the Cowboys now.
13:41Number 30 is the next time you see a Cowboys pick.
13:43Jacob Rodriguez, number 14 for Zach.
13:46And they're going to be right on that.
13:48I'm Team Wolchuk against Bobby on Rodriguez.
13:51Jayshan Barham is the 30th favorite pick on this one.
13:55His overall ranking was 59 on Matt Miller's board.
13:58He went 92.
13:59He said, good luck dealing with the Cowboys when they get into nickel defense with downs
14:02in the box and Barham coming off the edge.
14:05A former linebacker at Michigan.
14:06He will start at linebacker here in Dallas, Matt.
14:08He made the move to edge rusher in 2025 and was fantastic.
14:11Playing in a pro-level scheme under former NFL defensive coordinator Wink Martindale,
14:15Barham thrived after making the position change in week three with 10 tackles for loss and four sacks.
14:20Getting Barham in round two would have been a hit drafting him at the back end of round three is
14:25a steal.
14:26Here we go.
14:26Here we go.
14:26Here we go.
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