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Joseph Hoyt joined the GBAG Nation to discuss the outlook for the upcoming season as the Cowboys get ready for training camp. Hoyt evaluated Christian Parker’s plans for the new-look defense, which veterans could be added to fill out the roster, and more.
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00:00Time now to be joined by a special guest. We're talking Cowboys here with Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning
00:05News.
00:05And a good afternoon, Joseph. How the heck are you?
00:09Yeah, I'm doing well, fellas. I got the Rio booking done, got the Oxnard booking done.
00:14You know, we're still a little far away, but at least we have some inkling of when football season's coming.
00:18How much, you know, like, recreating or vacationing do you ride into this Brazil trip?
00:27Like, you got to take advantage of this a little bit, don't you?
00:30A little bit, for sure. But, you know, it's funny, like, Rio has actually never been on my list of
00:35places I wanted to go.
00:36So, you know, it's definitely going to be a lot of work. You know, that overnight flight there and back
00:41is going to be a lot.
00:42But I definitely, you know, I got to see the Christ of the Redeemer statue and got to see some
00:46other things.
00:46I might actually go to a Brazilian steakhouse. You know, I love some of the Brazilian steakhouses out here,
00:51so we might have to try some real Brazilian steakhouses.
00:53What about a Brazilian wax, Joe?
00:56You know, I haven't dabbled there yet, but, you know, when in Rome, right?
01:01I love it.
01:02Man, Joe, you're doing a great job. Thanks for the offseason content.
01:06I see you pointing out they have three open roster spots right now,
01:10and you're talking about players the Cowboys could add.
01:12You got a top five here on the Morning News website.
01:17Do you believe that the Cowboys are interested in improving this roster before we get to Oxnard?
01:23I think they are, but I do.
01:24I think it's kind of what they've been, you know, echoing a little bit in terms of there's a comfort
01:28level, right?
01:29And I think, you know, Brian Schottenheimer, when asked specifically about their linebacker room,
01:33you know, then right now it's kind of a D. Winters, DeMar Van Overshawn,
01:36potentially a Jay Sean Barham situation.
01:38Like, there's obviously a little bit of room for improvement if the situation was right,
01:42but I think that that's where they're at with a lot of elements of their roster.
01:45They like where they're at, but if there's a situation that arises,
01:48they could be open to doing things.
01:49I think running back's another great example.
01:51I think they really like Phil Moffa.
01:52I think they were excited about what Jayden Blue showed at the end in terms of not only what he
01:57did on the field in Week 18,
01:58but in terms of him kind of accepting that he needs to be more of a professional
02:02and starting to kind of get on that track.
02:04And then obviously Malik Davis, what he did was very impressive last year.
02:07But, you know, if a running back were to become available, you know,
02:10is that something they do to try and increase their room?
02:12I don't think that's out of the question at all.
02:15And so I think that that's where you're at.
02:17And then I think the big question in terms of potentially improving the roster,
02:20and I don't think this is something that happens, you know, June 2nd,
02:23but you look at offensive tackle, you know, and we talked about it a lot.
02:27I know Brian and I have talked about it, the idea of potentially moving to Tyler Smith
02:31and having that kind of card in your backhand to moving to the left tackle.
02:36That's something that, you know, you can fall back on.
02:38But ideally, is that what you want to do?
02:40Probably not.
02:41Is there a tackle out there that makes some sense that could potentially add some competition
02:45with Tyler Guyton, Nate Thomas, Drew Shelton, and more?
02:47I think those are things to keep an eye on.
02:49So like three different positions, running back, linebacker, tackle?
02:53That's kind of where I was kind of, you know, mostly focusing on.
02:57You know, I think if we're looking at what areas where there's comfort,
03:01but slight uncertainty that could be improved with someone else,
03:05I think that's kind of where my mind went.
03:07So when it comes to edge, we've chatted about Josh Swett,
03:10and that was a name that I had heard a couple months ago that could be on the trade block.
03:15And I don't know if the Cowboys had interest, or maybe they had just kind of kicked that around.
03:20Do you think that there could be any interest in a Josh Swett?
03:24Yeah, and I think that's a great example of kind of a little bit of what I was talking about
03:28in terms of, hey, man, if that situation becomes a place where they feel comfortable,
03:33yeah, like why not, right?
03:34Like I think Josh Swett's extremely talented, obviously,
03:36but there's some familiarity there, not only with Clayton Adams, you know,
03:39being on the other side of the ball there at Arizona,
03:41but obviously Ryan Smith in the secondary.
03:43And it doesn't take much to realize that Josh Swett is a very talented guy.
03:48You know, but I do think if you look at the contract,
03:50if you look at the situation in Arizona,
03:52things would have to fall into place in order for that to happen.
03:54Right now, I kind of don't see that happening.
03:57Especially, like, I do think that there's comfort.
03:58At the edge position with the Cowboys, too.
04:00Like, I think they really like Rashawn Gary.
04:02I think that they're optimistic about what Donovan Izaraku can do in year two.
04:07I think, you know, when you look at Izaraku, just as an aside,
04:09I think it's just so funny that the thing that we kind of hailed with him
04:12coming out of Boston College was this is a guy that has every pass rush tool skill set there is,
04:17and he should be able to apply that.
04:19Last year, it didn't really come out, but he played well in the run game.
04:21So I think that there's optimism about what if he could turn that corner and do that.
04:25And obviously, I think Malachi Lawrence, if you can harness that 10-second split,
04:30you know, get rid of those false steps,
04:31I think that there's a lot of optimism about the juice he brings up the edge as well.
04:34Do you think we're, and maybe you're not,
04:37but I think that in terms of how our station's probably covered Rashawn Gary,
04:42are we kind of underrating him?
04:46I don't, you know, I don't want to speak for you guys because I haven't heard all the coverage,
04:49but, you know, I think with Rashawn Gary, there is a little bit of an underrated factor.
04:53You know, I think the familiarity with Derek Ansley is going to help.
04:56You know, I think that they're going to have a good plan for him and how they utilize him.
05:00Obviously, they want to be really multiple,
05:01and I think that he's someone that gives you the capabilities to do multiple different things.
05:06Is he going to be the juice off the edge that I was just kind of talking about
05:08in terms of being optimistic about Malachi Lawrence?
05:10You know, no, there's no way.
05:11But I do think if you kind of look at what he did when he had someone next to him
05:15with some juice
05:15or, you know, opposite of him,
05:18I think this is someone that can understand pass-first lanes and get after there
05:21if he has a little bit of help from someone like a Micah Parsons.
05:25Obviously, the Cowboys don't have that,
05:27but I do think that he's a solid player.
05:30In terms of where they turned after the Max Crosby deal,
05:33like, I didn't think that that was a bad move at all.
05:36Joe Hoyt, morning news with us here in the G-Bag Nation.
05:39How interested do you think they're going to be in terms of the Brendan Sorsby stuff
05:45if he goes supplemental in the draft there?
05:48Like, do you think that would be something that they would be interested in?
05:51How far would they go in terms of draft capital?
05:55That's a good question.
05:56I haven't really dove into that, to be honest with you,
05:58too much with people I've talked to around the organization.
06:00I probably should.
06:02But I think, like, my initial kind of thought on that was, you know,
06:05I think that the Cowboys do like, you know,
06:08the ability to kind of try and set themselves up in the future
06:10with players that might not cost a lot.
06:13You know, obviously, you know,
06:14if you look at their last two starting quarterbacks,
06:15he went from Tony Romo undrafted to Jack Prescott, fourth-round pick.
06:18Things worked out well there.
06:19And I think it's also kind of my philosophy on quarterbacks
06:22is it's almost like a dartboard,
06:24and I'd rather take as many darts thrown as possible, you know,
06:27regardless of round.
06:29And, you know, I was thinking about this.
06:30You know, if you got all your answers from Joe Milton a year ago
06:32in terms of what you think about him,
06:34why not try to flip Joe Milton for a day-three pick
06:36and then use a day-three pick in the supplemental draft
06:39on a guy like Brendan Sorsby, you know,
06:41to come in and learn from Sam Howell and Jack Prescott?
06:43That's kind of – that was one thought I had,
06:45but purely just in my own brain.
06:48You know, but that obviously means that they would be giving up
06:50on someone they had a lot of talent
06:52or thought had a lot of talent going into last year
06:54and tried to develop.
06:55So, you know, I think it would be intriguing.
06:57I think Sorsby's really talented.
06:59And it'll be fascinating to see what happens
07:00with the supplemental draft and what he does.
07:03Hey, Joe, you know, we're all – this whole really offseason,
07:06ever since Christian Parker was, you know, signed on,
07:10you know, we just kind of – it's like,
07:12oh, we don't know what he's going to do here or do there,
07:14you know, that kind of thing.
07:14We've got a little bit of some of the OTA stuff
07:17or, you know, the stuff that they've been working on.
07:20What are you looking for the most at training camp from him?
07:24Is there anything you're like, I'm interested to see this guy do this?
07:29Is there something you've kind of got a focus on?
07:33Yeah, I think to be honest with you, Brian,
07:35it's more just the kind of cohesion of everything he's putting together.
07:38And I know that's probably a pretty general statement
07:40for a guy being a first-time GC.
07:42But I do think that there's going to be elements, obviously,
07:45of what Vic Fangio did.
07:46And I'm curious to see, though,
07:48how he kind of creates his own version of things.
07:50You know, and there's one comment I just kind of can't get out of my head,
07:53and it's the way that Zach Bond talked about him
07:55and how, you know, instrumental he was
07:58with not only what the secondary was doing in coverages in Philadelphia,
08:00but how the front seven kind of adapted to what the back, you know,
08:04secondary was doing as well.
08:05And I'm just curious to see him work with linebackers.
08:07I'm curious to see him work about, you know,
08:10how they're going to be multiple and what that looks like
08:13in terms of different guys doing different things.
08:15And, you know, I know that he's going to be able to develop corners.
08:19And, you know, I'm so curious to see, you know,
08:21what kind of jump maybe a guy like Savone Rebel can take.
08:24You know, if Jerron Blaine, if healthy, he can kind of come back.
08:27Devin Moore, you know, we've talked about other guys
08:28with some, you know, high weight and speed kind of length abilities,
08:32what he can do from a developmental standpoint with them.
08:34But I think just the cohesion between the front and the secondary
08:37and how those two kind of play off each other.
08:39You know, and obviously throwing the idea of BT Jordan there, too,
08:42and what they did in Denver from just a pass rush standpoint,
08:44it's not like it was one Micah Parsons-type guy making plays.
08:47There was good rush lane.
08:49There was good cohesion between what the secondary was doing
08:51and the pass rush.
08:52And I think that's a huge area in terms of where the Cowboys
08:55can improve in 2026.
08:57Hoping for it.
08:58I mean, they've invested in coaching, haven't they,
09:00between Dixon, Uzu Daribe from Georgia, is that how I say that?
09:06And then BT Jordan, the three guys coaching it up.
09:09Hopefully that can get right.
09:10It's Joseph Hoyton Morning News here with you on The Fan.
09:12We opened up talking Bobby Wagner and kind of going off the article.
09:18There's a number of people who want to sign the Bobby Wagner petition,
09:21and my signature has been on there, Joe.
09:24But I'm wondering if I should leave it on there because I'm just thinking,
09:27do we know what kind of linebackers Christian Parker, you know,
09:31really wants or what they need right now?
09:33And a guy that's going to play the run and, I guess,
09:36pass rush pretty good in Bobby Wagner but might not have the speed to go
09:39sideline to sideline or coverage anymore.
09:41Like, am I comfortable?
09:42Do you think I'm safe believing that Christian Parker wants Bobby Wagner?
09:47I think it's been fascinating because, you know,
09:50when I talk to people about Bobby Wagner specifically,
09:52like there's not been like a no.
09:55You know, there's not been like, oh, no, he's too slow.
09:57Or, no, he's not there.
09:58But it's also been almost more like, you know,
10:01almost sometimes about reading people,
10:03and I'm not necessarily sure there's, like, excitement there either,
10:06but I haven't been ruled out on it.
10:08And so part of me thinks that, you know,
10:10when it comes to a guy like Bobby Wagner,
10:12look at his strengths right now, right?
10:13To your point, he's not a sideline to sideline guy.
10:15Right now they have two very fast inside linebackers in Dee Winters
10:19and DeMar Van Overshawn, right?
10:20That's not Bobby Wagner.
10:21But I do think if we're talking about their linebacker room
10:24and what it looks like, not now, but maybe August 15th, right,
10:28or closer to training camp, you know,
10:30is there a need for someone that can just be a green dot?
10:33And obviously that'd be a little late for a guy like Bobby Wagner to come in.
10:36But is there someone just that can settle things in a linebacker room
10:39that hasn't been settled?
10:40And I think that that's almost where my mind goes
10:42in terms of potential Bobby Wagner thing.
10:45It's more of a read and react and see what a veteran can do,
10:48you know, late in the process.
10:50That's where my mind goes there.
10:51But I do think that they like the speed of Dee Winters
10:54and DeMar Van Overshawn,
10:55and they're hopeful that maybe a Dee Winters
10:57or even someone like Curtis Robinson can, you know,
11:00help them with the green dot
11:01and kind of get them going in that direction
11:03without a guy like Bobby Wagner.
11:05So would you rather have a Bobby Wagner
11:08and trade for a Josh Sweat
11:09or trade for a Jordan Brooks and sign, say, a Vaughn Miller?
11:14Oh.
11:15Well, me personally, the Jordan Brooks path sounds better to me.
11:23You know, I also, but, you know, Vaughn,
11:25I don't know how much juice Vaughn has left, to be honest.
11:27I think I would still go with the Jordan Brooks thing.
11:29I think that that's still a guy who was an all-pro linebacker a year ago,
11:33you know, top 10 in PFF,
11:35someone that can still move around
11:37and be, you know, a pretty standout linebacker for you.
11:40And, I mean, we're talking about this defense right now.
11:42You know, I think that is still the biggest question defensively
11:46is what they're going to do at linebacker
11:47and how well a guy like Dee Winters can adjust
11:49to being a true, you know, potential Mike
11:52with next to a Demarvian Overshown.
11:55There's a lot of questions in that linebacker room.
11:56And so I think a guy like Jordan Brooks would answer a lot of them.
11:59I just don't know if they're going to be willing to give up the price for that.
12:02You know, we checked in at the, you know, earlier this offseason,
12:05and it seemed like those talks had definitely cooled off
12:08with Miami about Jordan Brooks.
12:09So I don't know what it would take to revisit them.
12:13Joseph Hoyt, Dallas Morning News with us here
12:14talking Cowboys and the G-Bag Nation.
12:17How healthy, have you heard any updates for Revel, for Bland?
12:21Like, what do you think of the cornerback room right now?
12:25I mean, that's another question, to be honest.
12:27You know, I mean, I'll give credit to Clarence Hill
12:30who talked with Savone Revel's dad, I believe,
12:32and said that he's out of the brace.
12:33We'll see exactly how healthy Savone is, you know,
12:37and going into years.
12:39The Deron Bland foot thing really concerns me,
12:41if we're being honest.
12:42You know, I even asked kind of point blank to Jerry
12:45at the first end of the season press conference,
12:48like, how much does that concern you?
12:50And he said it was very concerning
12:51to have two foot surgeries back-to-back.
12:53You know, I think when you talk about feet with corners,
12:55it's such a huge thing because there's so much planting,
12:57so much anticipation.
12:59And if you even have a second of hesitation,
13:00that affects that anticipation.
13:03You know, I think that they've kind of,
13:04they've done a good job adding a lot of depth
13:06to kind of have some security there
13:08and some insurance policies.
13:10We'll see if those insurance policies have to cash in.
13:13But, you know, I think if Revel's healthy,
13:14that's someone that they really,
13:16it would really do a lot for this defense,
13:17not only now, but over the next handful of years,
13:19if you can get a lot of optimism
13:21in that corner spot from Savone Revel.
13:24I wanted to circle back to the Soresby idea that you had there.
13:29When do you think the quarterback thing would progress
13:32as far as trying to find the next guy?
13:34Would they want to bring in somebody to sit behind Dak,
13:37like love behind Aaron Rodgers, for a year or two?
13:40Do you think it would progress next spring,
13:42where we're looking at using higher assets
13:45or more expensive resources to try to find the heir apparent,
13:50if you will?
13:52Yeah, I think that's a good question,
13:53because I think they kind of have been doing it subtly,
13:56you know, for a while, right?
13:57Like, I think that they've, you know,
13:59they've tried some things.
13:59I mean, you don't trade for Trey Lance
14:01if you totally think that he's just a true backup
14:04that won't do anything, right?
14:05You want to see if he can develop.
14:07You trade for Joe Milton,
14:07because you want to see if he can develop,
14:09because the risk versus the cost,
14:12it's in good direction for you, right?
14:13And, you know, I think even signing a guy like Sam Howell,
14:16though, I think was kind of further evidence
14:18that they want to solidify more than just develop
14:20the backup quarterback position this year.
14:23So I think they've been attempting to do it.
14:25The question kind of becomes,
14:27as the years go on and Dak gets older
14:29and maybe the money just kind of gets more
14:31and more expensive,
14:32and I think you pointed it out,
14:34like when do you start amplifying the resources used, right?
14:37When do you turn a fifth-round pick that you trade,
14:39you know, for a developmental guy to a day-two pick,
14:43you know, for someone that has intriguing stuff
14:45but also could step in?
14:46Or when do you say, you know what,
14:48we need to just trade up
14:49and go get a first-round quarterback, right?
14:50When do they say, like,
14:52let's target a Paxton Lynch and Johnny Manziel,
14:53which obviously has some concerns
14:55and targets like that, you know, in the first round?
14:58So I think as years goes on,
15:00you can see those resources are amplifying.
15:01Right now, I just don't see them wanting to invest so much
15:04because they have so much confidence
15:06in what Dak Prescott can be.
15:07And honestly, if Dak Prescott isn't what they hope he can be,
15:10then this thing's a wash anyways.
15:13You're the man, Joe.
15:14Keep it up.
15:14We'll keep reading it and talking about it on the show,
15:17and we'll look forward to catching up with you
15:18as soon as we can.
15:20Yeah, fellas.
15:21Always a pleasure.
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