00:00Is Pickens one of the picks to feel the pressure?
00:05Something like that, Jared.
00:07Let's talk about it here in Below the Belt, which is sponsored by Window Nation.
00:11Before we do that, we did get some news yesterday, and God help me trying to pronounce this.
00:18Seth Walder tweeting,
00:20The Cowboys have hired Satya Balakumar, I believe is what it is, as a football data engineer per source.
00:29Balakumar had been a software engineer for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics previously before that,
00:36which is sort of the direction that the Cowboys have really shifted in recent years.
00:42In terms of just, they've gone heavier on analytics than they ever did before.
00:45I think about eight years ago, their last analytics director was a guy named Tom Robinson.
00:50I think they had three people in that department.
00:53It was three folks, it was Tom, and then two people that were under him.
00:55Their current setup now with John Park is, they've got, I think there are five, this is a sixth,
01:05and then I would not be surprised if they end up adding another one sometime in the next few weeks.
01:14So they have been all over the place in terms of making sure that they're trying to be forward-thinking,
01:21and they've got all the analytics.
01:22We've talked about it with Shadi during the year.
01:23He mentions Ryan Feeder, who's part of his game plan prep,
01:26and Feeder's sort of an extension of the analytics department.
01:28He's the one in his ear all the time going,
01:30Go for it. Go for it on fourth down. You should do this.
01:32And Shadi said that he would go for it on fourth down basically every opportunity that he could.
01:37What was the name again?
01:38Of what?
01:39The higher?
01:41The name was Satya Balakumar.
01:45We'll call her Vita from now on.
01:46That's pretty good. I mean, you've read it. Am I close, do you think?
01:50That second one sounded really good, much better.
01:53I'm asking you as an expert.
01:55I don't know. I don't have it in front of me.
01:58No, but this is actually...
01:59I'm not wearing the red dot.
02:04That's pretty good. That's good. I like that.
02:05Hey, I can say it.
02:06Yeah, you can say it. You got the pass.
02:09So this is actually...
02:11The Cowboys actually recently...
02:12Neil Stratton from Inside the League,
02:14which is a guy who is out of Houston.
02:17He runs an entire website that focuses on the business side of football for scouts and agents.
02:23And so a lot of people subscribe to the newsletter.
02:26He's got some really interesting content that's really specific to that space.
02:30But one of those spaces that he started working in and covering has been analytics.
02:33And this year at the Combine, they actually handed out some awards for best draft the previous year,
02:40like honoring different scouting staffs.
02:41And they handed out an award this year for the first time for the best analytics group.
02:45And Dallas, the group led by John Park, was actually named as one of the top analytics groups in football,
02:51which is really impressive.
02:53Sarah Molipi, who we've played cuts from before, she's in their analytics department.
02:56She also was individually recognized.
02:59And it's something that they've really worked hard, I think, to drill down on as something that they focus on
03:07and care about.
03:08That honestly started during McCarthy's time, where they were starting to do more of that.
03:12And then Shottie has continued to lean into that.
03:15And John Park, of course, having control of that department, he has continued to expand that.
03:19All right.
03:20So, Cowboys feeling the most pressure.
03:23I always love articles like these, because when I see them, my first thought is, oh, whenever anybody throws out
03:32one of these lists,
03:32there's always some name on it where it's like, nope, whiffed on that, or how are you missing this guy?
03:37There's maybe a how are you missing this guy on this list from SI.
03:41And shout out to Randy Gersey, who wrote this.
03:44Because, yeah, I got to give you credit, because usually when I open these lists, like I say, there's something
03:47in there where I'm like, no chance.
03:49I think this is pretty dead on.
03:50And he covered the four Cowboys under the most pressure to improve in 2026.
03:55And I guess if you put it with improve, there would be no pressure on George Pickens.
04:00But generally, I think whenever you're talking about pressure, it's improvement.
04:03It's earning your money, doing different things like that.
04:05And George Pickens would certainly be on that list.
04:07He's not on this one.
04:07But here's his top four.
04:08Before I go into the top four, who stands out to you as like the number one guy on this
04:13team of like, you got to be better.
04:15And then there's a ton of heat on you to do so.
04:17Guyton.
04:18Guyton, it does feel very much.
04:20I jokingly.
04:21I think Guyton's probably my easy one.
04:24I had jokingly, like here on the air and then on Twitter, had put out that BB picture of him
04:30at the wedding.
04:31I was like, oh, he's tipping us off, telling us about this.
04:34And there were a lot of people who said, there's no competition.
04:37What are you talking about?
04:38Y'all need to prepare yourselves.
04:39There's a competition there at left tackle.
04:41With Nate?
04:42Yes.
04:43Yeah.
04:44Nate Thomas and Tyler.
04:44Are we past the Tyler Smith left tackle thing now?
04:48No one has asked about that recently.
04:49I don't believe that's the direction they're going to go.
04:51I think they're going to enter camp and enter OTAs.
04:54Like, we're going to start hearing about it, I'm sure, during these offseason workouts that are coming up.
04:57When they enter that, it's going to be a Guyton, Nate Thomas focus at left tackle.
05:02I think Guyton's better than Nate Thomas.
05:04I don't think it's particularly close.
05:05I don't think Nate Thomas can start consistently in the NFL right now.
05:08So, that's something where I think he's a clear winner there.
05:11But, to your point, if they go through this process and they go, man, neither one of these guys are
05:17hitting the marks we want from them.
05:18And they go, Drew Shelton, maybe not ready.
05:22In fact, probably not ready right now to start right away.
05:24But, Drew Shelton, your fourth round pick, not ready.
05:27Do they then look at it and go, you know what, Tyler Smith, it's time for you to shift outside.
05:34They very well could do that.
05:36Guyton had a 57 PFF grade.
05:38Nate Thomas had a 39.
05:41Nate Thomas was, there were times where he would battle.
05:44Like, I think it was the Chiefs game he had to come into.
05:46It was either the Chiefs or the Eagles game.
05:47Whichever one he came into, he played pretty well the rest of the day.
05:50The following week, brutal.
05:53Absolutely worked.
05:54I think he had allowed something ridiculous in one of those games where he had to step in.
05:58It was like 10 pressures on 20 quarterback pass blocking sets.
06:04So, Nate Thomas has struggled a great deal.
06:06He would need to really evolve and press forward for that to be an option.
06:12But, I do think that, yeah, absolutely.
06:14If Guyton and Thomas and Shelton all can't cut it, I don't think Shoddy or the Cowboys would hesitate to
06:22say,
06:22you know what, we're pivoting.
06:23Tyler Smith is going outside.
06:24We're going to figure out guard.
06:25We'll figure out guard with somebody else.
06:27But, we're moving this.
06:28I mean, they've got, they added some guys this offseason, veterans with some playing experience on the interior.
06:34So, you very well could shift that direction.
06:36And that is the number one name on the list here from SI is Tyler Guyton.
06:40The next three on the list, as they name these four, and I think you're going to be in line
06:44with all these.
06:45Number two, Savone Revel, cornerback.
06:49Says that Kobe Durant was obviously signed here.
06:52They drafted Devin Moore.
06:53There's a lot of love for Savone Revel, but he's going to have to improve.
06:57I didn't write down Revel.
06:58I wrote down Bland before Revel.
07:01I think that, I think it's probably a shared pressure.
07:05One of you elevates and the other's in jeopardy.
07:07Revel might be like, look man, they may have compromised him.
07:13We could have a discussion that the Cowboys screwed up Revel's rookie season.
07:17And that it's unfair for us to be judging him based upon throwing him out there with the health issues
07:23and the recovery stuff.
07:24I guess Revel's pressure is, all right, are you going to get legitimate playing time moving forward as an NFL
07:30player?
07:31And Bland's is, is this Diggs 2.0 with an overpay and an overrate as a one corner?
07:39And Revel scared me last year against Detroit.
07:43That was the first time I went, you say is this Diggs 2.0?
07:46I was sitting there going, this better not be Gallup 2.0 with just, you've lost confidence in your knee.
07:53Because he was...
07:54Couldn't we, I mean, I know he wants to get out there and play, but the team could have also
07:59said,
07:59we're not going to have these Gallup things take place anymore.
08:03You're shutting it down for the year.
08:04And to be fair, I need to be clear.
08:06We knew eventually...
08:07I thought they were making a playoff push and they had, you know, shelf stalkers behind it.
08:13Yeah, no, and I think he was healthy enough to play.
08:15Today, the bigger question and the reason why Detroit scared me, I remember watching him in that game every single
08:21snap.
08:22I kept an eye on it in the second half.
08:24Every single snap he was out there.
08:25Play was over.
08:26He was touching his knee.
08:27And it was not his knee, it was the brace.
08:29He could, the brace was bugging him.
08:31And it just, it seemed like it was so in his head.
08:34And I don't, I don't believe the Cowboys told him he needed a brace.
08:38I think he was wearing that on his own.
08:41But that could just be, again, ramp up.
08:43You went from East Carolina and not playing football for over a year to boom, you're in the NFL.
08:48And so there could be some of that.
08:49So I'm not ready to just totally say that that's done and over with, but it was concerning last year.
08:55One of the names on here, it's number four.
08:56We'll skip over three since you just mentioned number four.
08:58Duran Bland.
08:58And much like Revel, Bland is coming off a frustrating season due to injuries.
09:02In fact, Bland has dealt with foot injuries for the past two seasons.
09:06Even with his new deal, the Cowboys have been, like everybody's been talking about, Bland being on notice.
09:12Because his deal you can get out of pretty easily after this year if you wanted to.
09:16And so the structure of it does not really lend towards Bland being irreplaceable.
09:20And the Cowboys brought in Adoree Jackson, former Eagle and Giant, for a visit yesterday.
09:27My thought is, I think that the Cowboys, you remember we talked about Colton Hood a lot.
09:32And said, Colton Hood, Colton Hood, he was a guy to watch if they didn't draft a secondary guy first.
09:37If they didn't draft a secondary guy at the top, I think they had shifted.
09:41And I don't think, I think late in the process, Colton Hood would not have been the guy they would
09:45have taken.
09:45Because I think Christian Parker really does believe in Savone Revel and what he can do.
09:50And I think they would think, ah, maybe a little too redundant.
09:53Let's pivot to somebody else over here.
09:55So when I asked earlier today, what's Adoree Jackson about?
09:58Like, that feels like it's a lack of confidence to somebody.
10:01My lean would be, I wonder if they are worried about Bland at all.
10:04Of just like, this is nagging, dude.
10:06Like, this is sticking with you a little bit.
10:07Not that he can't play, but like, if this injury has compromised you in any way.
10:11Yeah.
10:11And what do they always talk about in professional athletes?
10:15When it's afoot, when that happens, that can end you fast.
10:18If that lingers.
10:20So I'm still, I saw times last year where he played really well.
10:23Other times where he did not.
10:24And he was really, really bad.
10:25So it was inconsistent, which makes me hope it's something fixable.
10:29And after quarterback, cornerback has become my number two scary position in football.
10:36I'm scared of drafting them high.
10:39I'm scared of these injuries now.
10:41It has me scared at corner.
10:43Yeah.
10:43And it can, it can turn in a flash.
10:45Like, it's, it's done.
10:46Just like, I mean, think about just some of the guys we thought of as top.
10:50Diggs, Jair Alexander was like a top corner a couple of years ago.
10:53And now all of a sudden it's just like, dude couldn't stick anywhere, banged up.
10:56The fourth name on this list of, and this is from Sports Illustrated, the four Cowboys
11:00under the most pressure to improve in 2026.
11:02And I think this is a, an under the radar one that hasn't gotten talked about a lot.
11:06Cause I think most people look at it as just, oh, that was just an opportunity issue.
11:08Jaden blue.
11:10Jaden blue was somebody who last year, I think they expected to be active more frequently.
11:15The fact that we were asking Jerry every week, is he going to be active this week?
11:19Well, he's got to do the things he has to do.
11:20And, and some of the issues that occurred there with practice and being a pro and doing
11:24the things that he was supposed to, he needs to get it together quick.
11:27Cause that's a fifth round pick.
11:28And if they start feeling year two, it's still not clicking.
11:31They, they will send your ass out the door quick.
11:33And so I think all four of those are really important names.
11:36And then Pickens, obviously not to improve, but there's a lot of pressure on Pickens to
11:40go earn his payday.
11:41Yeah.
11:41I didn't write down a lot of those guys.
11:42I wrote down for pressure on this Cowboys season.
11:46Guyton bland.
11:47So I wrote down 50% of the list, I guess.
11:50Um, I wrote down as a Raku over shown and downs now, not for job preservation for, for
11:59Kayla, but we have, we've anointed him and Christian Parker for this team to be good.
12:04You need to be good.
12:05Like all the hype.
12:06We have raised the hype level, a ridiculous degree.
12:09I'd agree with about as a Raku as a Raku has got a lot of pressure.
12:12I think over shown.
12:13It's more just a question of, it's not about him playing.
12:14It's about, are you going to be healthy?
12:16And so if he's healthy, then he'll play well.
Comments