Tag: 2021 draft

Cowboys News: Roster trimmed, jersey number wins, power ranking sins

Draft grades, power rankings, and the possibility of a returning face. Also included, Zeke’s progress and more!

The Dallas Cowboys’ draft has been analyzed and dissected. Where do the NFC East competitors rank now? Do they have a roster ready to compete for a Super Bowl?

They roster was trimmed on Monday with the releases of a key contributor over the left several seasons. While some players lost access to the locker room, others learned the numbers that will hang in theirs.

Will the rookie linebackers cause legitimate competition for the veterans? Watch Ezekiel Elliott put in that work while Micah Parsons reaction to being drafted will give your tears a jerk. All this and more in News and Notes.

Quick takeaways from Green Bay Packers 2021 draft

A collection of thoughts on the Packers’ 2021 draft class.

The Green Bay Packers selected nine players in the 2021 NFL draft. The class looks solid, if not unspectacular. It was not widely hated or widely loved.

With the benefit of a few days, and in an attempt to assess the whole situation surrounding the draft, here are some quick takeaways on the work the Packers completed during the draft:

– Some saw Eric Stokes as a reach, but this was such a predictable Packers pick. Elite athlete. Runs like the wind. Just turned 22. Plays a premium position. Sure, the Packers could have tried trading down, but cornerback Tyson Campbell went No. 33 to start the second round, and Stokes is a better player. Moving down likely would have meant losing him. The Packers didn’t want to risk it, so they took the elite athlete at cornerback and checked off a top need off the list.

– I wonder what the conversations were about trading up. Kadarius Toney came off the board at No. 20, taking away a coveted player early in the second half of the first round. Did the Packers try to get No. 25? Greg Newsome and Rashod Bateman, two likely targets, came off the board at No. 26 and No. 27. Moving up with the Jaguars could have been the right play if the Packers really liked either Newsome or Bateman. Following the careers of Stokes, Newsome and Bateman (and even Toney) will be interesting.

– There was a big run on offensive tackles in the second round, and the Packers were never really in range of one of the tackles that fit what they generally like at the position. Dillon Radunz might have been a nice fit had he fallen to No. 62, but having Elgton Jenkins on the roster allowed them to target an interior offensive lineman. Getting Josh Myers could be huge, not only to help replace Corey Linsley, but also to allow Jenkins to move around, potentially to offensive tackle.

– As was the case in the first round, there will be players to track long-term. Myers went before Creed Humphrey and Quinn Meinerz. Did the Packers pick the right center? We’ll have a better idea in a couple of years.

– The best way to describe the Packers’ first two picks: They addressed the roster’s biggest need (cornerback) in the first round, and they replaced the best player they lost this offseason (Corey Linsley) in the second round. Tough to argue against that outcome. Getting a cornerback and offensive lineman was always a very realistic way for the Packers to start the draft. If Stokes is an upgrade on Kevin King and Myers can be a capable starter for the interior offensive line, these will be strong picks.

– The Packers paid a steep price (fourth-round pick) to move up for a slot receiver with a RAS of 5.37, but Amari Rodgers is such a terrific fit in the Packers offense, and you can tell both Brian Gutekunst and Matt LaFleur believe he’ll be an impact player for the special teams.

– An interesting note here: The Packers believe Rodgers can play in the slot and on the perimeter. He might not be pigeonholed inside. They think he’s a complete receiver, even if his role early on will likely be as the slot/gadget guy. We’ll see.

– Rodgers is quicker than he is fast, and he’s built like a running back. Think Randall Cobb’s skill set in Ty Montgomery’s body. That’s a pretty good combo. Cobb was great, but his body ended up failing him at 195 pounds. Rodgers is pushing 215.

– Myers and Rodgers were both captains on teams that were in the CFB Playoffs. Don’t think for a second that this fact didn’t mean something to the Packers.

– I didn’t initially love the Royce Newman pick, but way too many people who know the offensive line – including Brandon Thorn and T.J. Lang – think it’s a great addition for the Packers. The size and athleticism comparison to Bryan Bulaga was eye-opening for me. Getting a potential starter at right tackle in the fourth round would be huge.

– The Packers played it safe on Day 3. Newman might be a future starter, but the other five picks look like specific role player types or future special teamers. This is how it goes on Day 3. You’re just hoping to find a hit or two. The Packers didn’t take a homerun swing on a guy, but they got solid football players at need positions, building depth. Sensible strategy.

– Tedarrell Slaton’s body type matches what the Packers have been looking for along the defensive line. He’s a massive man with a quick first step. Taking him in the fifth round probably rules out bringing back Snacks Harrison.

– Cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles just knows how to play. Short corners without elite athleticism rarely stick, but he could. He sees the game really well, and he knows how to disrupt the catch point.

– Cole Van Lanen is such a Packers pick. Left tackle in college. Hits all the athleticism thresholds. Going to move inside. The team has such a high hit rate with offensive lineman fitting this profile, so it’s no wonder they keep taking more of them.

– Taking Kylin Hill in the seventh round should provide a Jamaal Williams replacement. He’s a tough, physical runner, with pass-catching experience and the frame to hold up in pass pro. I think he could be a future contributor. And the Packers think he can return kicks.

– Adding safety Christian Uphoff in college free agency was like a free draft pick. He could have been a mid-round pick without one bad workout before the draft. I assumed the Packers would target a versatile at some point in the draft. Uphoff could be that guy. He played all over at Illinois State. Maybe he can be the third safety down the road.

– This was just a sensible draft for a team like the Packers. Arguably no position could provide more value with an upgrade than CB2. The offensive line got a potential Day 1 starter. The offense added a versatile playmaker that will advance the scheme forward. There’s a ton to like about Stokes, Myers and Rodgers as a trio, and Day 3 provided competition and depth at key spots. The Packers’ draft in 2020 was perplexing and unbelievable in so many ways. This one couldn’t be more believable.

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Mukuamu claims to be ‘best corner coming in;’ Cowboys have other plans

The sixth-round pick hinted that he’s better than coveted teammate Jaycee Horn, but Dallas plans to use him at a different position in 2021.

Israel Mukuamu had a bold proclamation for his new boss in their very first conversation. He wasn’t the South Carolina defensive back that the Cowboys were seemingly lined up to take in Thursday night’s first round, but Mukuamu was quick to toot his own horn after becoming the 227th overall selection.

“Just know you got the best corner coming in,” the 21-year-old bragged to owner Jerry Jones upon getting the call on Saturday afternoon.

Strong words, considering that 33 corners were taken ahead of him. He wasn’t even the first cornerback that Dallas drafted; the Cowboys picked both Kelvin Joseph and Nahshon Wright an entire day before ringing Mukuamu.

But the team likely has something else in mind for the youngster anyway.

“I think we’ve got some safety aspirations for him,” chief operating officer Stephen Jones said in the team’s third post-draft press conference. “Give our scouts credit; they had a vision. This guy’s long, he’s got great ball skills, and he’s a little heavier, of course, than Nahshon [Wright]. I think we’ve got a vision; that’s probably where we’ll start him- over at the safety position and see what he can do. He obviously has a lot of confidence as a corner, if you ask him. But at the same time, I think he’s got the ball skills to play in the post, to cover tight ends, to do the things we need him to do and be physical enough to be a safety.”

Mukuamu certainly fits the prototype of a Dan Quinn DB; he and third-round pick Wright were the tallest corners taken in this year’s draft. He has current Cowboys safety Darian Thompson beat by two inches, and stands a full four inches taller than Donovan Wilson.

The path to a corner job in Dallas may be harder to come by. Trevon Diggs has one spot locked up; there are nine others currently listed as cornerbacks on the official team roster, including Anthony Brown, Jourdan Lewis, the aforementioned Joseph and Wright, and others.

Mukuamu impressed as a freshman in 2018 and earned second-team All-SEC honors in 2019. His 2020 campaign was cut short by a groin injury, and when South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp was fired midseason, Mukuamu opted out of the rest of the slate.

Now that’s making the leap to the pros, he says he’s ready to do whatever the team asks of him. At whatever position.

“I feel more comfortable at corner,” Mukuamu told the Dallas media in his introductory conference call, “but the plan is to get on the field as quick as I can. So if that means playing corner or safety, it really doesn’t matter to me. I am just trying to help the Cowboys win.”

The sixth-rounder’s boast about being the best corner in the class may have been a good-natured dig at his college bookend Jaycee Horn. Horn was widely rumored to be one of the Cowboys’ primary targets in the first round of the draft, but the Panthers took him eighth overall to make him the first cornerback taken.

According to Mukuamu, though, Horn spent a portion of his own celebratory weekend in support of his teammate.

“Yeah, Jaycee was just at my draft party. He is excited for me, and he is ready to get to work.”

While Horn sees cornerback duties in Carolina, Mukuamu may soon be adapting to life as a safety if the Cowboys coaches get their way.

But Jerry Jones, as always, allowed some wiggle room, hedging his bets when it comes to the DB’s big boast.

“We can probably figure out something at safety if he is the best corner we’ve got,” Jones said with a laugh.

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Report: Cowboys expected to decline option on Vander Esch; Quinn anticipates ‘competition’ for LBs

New additions and a history of injuries may turn 2021 into a contract year for Vander Esch; his DC wants ‘competition’ among his LBs.

Two days after the 2021 NFL draft wrapped up with the selection of Mr. Irrelevant, the Dallas Cowboys find themselves, once again, on the clock.

Or at least as far as Leighton Vander Esch is concerned.

The team has until 3 p.m. (Dallas time) to exercise the fifth-year option of the linebacker’s rookie deal. If they do, the 25-year-old Boise State product is guaranteed to make $9.145 million with the club in 2022. If they don’t, Vander Esch becomes an unrestricted free agent next March.

According to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, Cowboys fans should expect the team to stand pat, letting the Wolf Hunter play out 2021 as a contract year.

“We’ve been so focused on the draft,” chief operating officer Stephen Jones told reporters on Saturday, “We’ll obviously get our hands around that in short order.”

Short order is here. But the writing may have already been on the wall, given some of the club’s recent choices.

With their first-round draft pick on Thursday night, Dallas opted to claim Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons. Perhaps the selection wasn’t a huge surprise, especially since the two top cornerbacks had just come off the board. Given the team’s dreadful defense in 2020 and last week’s retirement of two-time Pro Bowler Sean Lee, taking the player many deemed the best defensive player in the draft neatly filled a newly-created hole in the roster.

But then the Cowboys also drafted LSU’s Jabril Cox early in the fourth round on Saturday. And suddenly, there are more linebackers in the locker room than there would seem to be long-term room for.

Parsons and Cox were among the players Cowboys Wire suggested “could have an impact” on the front office’s Vander Esch decision… and now the team has both of them.

And all of that’s not even counting Keanu Neal. The former Falcon went to the 2017 Pro Bowl as a safety, but now that he’s been reunited with his former coach Dan Quinn, plans are for him to move to linebacker, further muddying the mix for Vander Esch.

“He will be a linebacker,” Quinn told the media Friday in his first press conference as Cowboys defensive coordinator.

“A player I’ve known for a long time,” Quinn said of Neal. “Adding somebody of his speed and his physicality onto our defense, that’s something that we need.”

Vander Esch himself brought a good deal of speed and physicality to the field starting in his first season. An opening-round choice in 2018, the former college walk-on enjoyed a transcendent rookie campaign that resulted in a Pro Bowl nod, second-team All-Pro honors, and an immediate place in the hearts and minds of Cowboys fans as “The Wolf Hunter.”

But injuries have seriously hampered Vander Esch’s career since, causing him to miss 13 games over the past two seasons. Not long ago, he and fellow linebacker Jaylon Smith made up the top-ranked linebacker tandem in the league. By the end of 2020, though, both were seen by many as liabilities: Smith for his erratic and often lackadaisical play, and Vander Esch for his inability to stay on the field.

Vander Esch and Smith will nonetheless play a major role in Quinn’s defense in 2021.

“Both these guys are really getting after it and putting in work to have a fantastic year,” Quinn said.

But he acknowledges that the addition of Neal, Parsons, and Cox to the group signals that nothing is guaranteed.

“Let’s get out and work together,” Quinn offered as an offseason philosophy. “There’ll be some competition where we’re going. But one thing I do know: both these guys are really good players. And as opposed to, ‘Where are they going to go?’ it’s like, ‘How awesome is that that we’ve got more speed, more length, more run-and-hit players?’ As a coach, I couldn’t be more pumped for that.”

For now, anyway, Quinn relishes the notion of having lots of mix-and-match parts to his Cowboys linebacker machine.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing the different packages and how we’ll feature the guys. It’ll take us a while to figure it all out.”

But Leighton Vander Esch may not have much of a while to figure out how to extend his tenure with the Cowboys. After having to prove himself as a rookie just three years ago, it appears he’ll have to do it all over again in 2020.

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‘It’s been written:’ WR Simi Fehoko gets special phone call from Cowboys war room

The Stanford wide receiver says he was destined to be a Cowboy, based on his very first Halloween costume.

Whatever happens with the rest of Simi Fehoko’s Cowboys career, the wide receiver will no doubt always remember the unique way it started. When he got the call during Saturday’s fifth round to tell him he was the 179th overall selection, it wasn’t the voice of owner Jerry Jones that he heard on the other end of the line. It wasn’t chief operating officer Stephen Jones. It wasn’t vice president of player personnel Will McClay. It wasn’t even head coach Mike McCarthy.

It was actually the team’s chief brand officer who officially offered the first Cowboys greeting to Fehoko.

“Hi, Simi, this is Charlotte Jones. I’m Jerry’s daughter,” the call began.

“I am a fellow Stanford alum, and I just wanted to welcome you to the Dallas Cowboys. We could use some more smart people around here.”

The Cardinal receiver has had an interesting path just to get to the NFL, so perhaps it’s no surprise that his introductory phone call was just a little out of the ordinary, too.

The 6-foot-3 Fehoko was a two-time All-Pac-12 player during his time in Palo Alto. Last season, he set a school single-game record with 16 catches (for 230 yards and 3 touchdowns) in the double-overtime Rose Bowl against UCLA. He finished his Stanford career with the third-best yards-per-catch average in school history.

At 23 years old, Fehoko is not the average rookie. The Utah native spent two years on a mission trip to South Korea before starting college. And having gotten married in early 2020 just as the pandemic began, he and his wife haven’t even had a chance to travel for a proper honeymoon; Fehoko joked with media members that his first trip to Frisco would have to suffice.

Fehoko was arguably destined to be a Cowboy. Following his first interview with the Dallas media, Fehoko shared a photo on Twitter of himself wearing the star and a Troy Aikman jersey as his very first Halloween costume.

“I grew up a Cowboys fan,” Fehoko told reporters on a conference call Saturday.

If Fehoko wants to be issued a real Cowboys uniform, though, he’s likely going to have to make an impact on special teams. With a stocked wide receiver room, playing time as a pass-catcher may be hard to come by for the rookie.

But at least the owner’s daughter will be pulling for him.

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Ezekiel Elliott issues warning to Cowboys’ first-round pick, LB Micah Parsons

The star Dallas RB took to social media to urge rookie LB Micah Parsons to ease up on his tackling once they hit the practice field.

As a guy who hasn’t played football since December 2019, Micah Parsons cannot wait to strap on pads and go hit somebody again.

The Cowboys’ offensive stars, though, may want to draw straws to see who has to be the young linebacker’s first practice target. But rest assured, two-time rushing champ and Pro Bowl running back Ezekiel Elliott says it won’t be him.

Parsons made no bones about his excitement in being the Cowboys’ first-round selection, and it’s not just so he can square off against Eagles and Giants on Sundays. As the Penn State defender told Dallas media members on a conference call Thursday night, he’s especially looking forward to the challenge he’ll face in practice every single day.

“I’m going to go against the best offense in America the whole season,” Parsons said per the team website, “so it’s only going to make me better.”

But don’t look for the 21-year-old to be bringing the lumber to the team’s bread-and-butter players. One of them, in fact, has already taken to social media to urge Parsons to dial it down when they finally see the field.

Fans can expect Parsons to go all-out in training camp as he strives to prove the Cowboys front office right in taking him with the 12th overall pick. But as for blowing up a running back with everything he’s got, Parsons may have to wait a while.

Saquon Barkley, Dalvin Cook, Christian McCaffrey, and Alvin Kamara will be in his sights soon enough.

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Cowboys News: Jerry talks Pitts ‘infatuation,’ Sean Lee’s future, Dak’s progress

Also, last-minute mock mania, how COVID affected scouting, how history says Dallas will draft, and Jerry’s star-clad helicopter.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has famously (over)shared what he thinks of when he’s in bed, what he dreams of at night, and even players he thinks about in the shower. But on Tuesday, he was quick to shoot down a story he is reportedly “infatuated” with Florida tight end Kyle Pitts. Jones was so adamant, in fact, that he may have inadvertently revealed that the team won’t be trading up to draft Pitts on Thursday night, one possibility that some draft pundits had considered.

The team owner also had plenty to say about linebacker Sean Lee, who seems to have a place at the Cowboys table whenever he’s ready. At the same press conference, coach Mike McCarthy updated the media on the status of Dak Prescott in his injury rehab efforts. There’s still plenty of draft-day strategy to dissect as the first round is nearly here; check out Cowboys Wire’s look at what Dallas’s history in the draft has to say about what they’ll do this year. More mocks forecast names to watch during the Cowboys’ ten picks, and explore how scouting during the pandemic could make for a wild and wacky draft. And finally, an inside look at the star-clad helicopter that serves as a state-of-the-art billboard for the Cowboys brand.

Peter King sees Cowboys going CB at No. 10 in 2021 mock draft

The veteran NFL insider believes the Cowboys will do the smart thing at stay put with the 10th pick and address their shaky secondary.

NFL insider Peter King is reading the tea leaves. And three days before the first round commences, he’s seeing the same thing for Dallas that many full-time draft gurus and even casual Cowboys fans are seeing there.

Despite buzz about splashier players on the offensive side of the ball and whispers about the team either trading up or sliding back from their original draft spot, King believes the Cowboys will stay put at No. 10 and draft for their biggest and most obvious need by selecting cornerback Patrick Surtain II out of Alabama.

Writes King in his Football in America column’s mock draft:

“I am not signing on to the Jerry’s-moving-up-for-Kyle-Pitts storyline. I saw Jerry Jones passionately push to try to trade for Paxton Lynch five years ago and, though he has the juice to do what he wants, not overrule his football people when they said the Cowboys should not up the offer to be able to trade for Lynch. Good thing, obviously. So I doubt Jones this year will trade next year’s one, or a passel of picks, to move up to number four to be able to take the talented Florida tight end.

“Picking Surtain is smarter. Dallas gave up 29.6 points per game last year, and allowed a ghastly 34 touchdown passes. (Previous five years, on average: 23 per season.) The Cowboys, as my friend [and long-time reporter for the Dallas Morning News] Rick Gosselin has preached for years, have to spend more time tending to the defense in the high rounds, and Surtain would be a good add to a beleaguered defense.”

King self-deprecatingly calls his mock picks “dart-throwing, mostly,” but the Surtain pick would surprise absolutely no one and make perfect sense for Dan Quinn’s defense.

Cowboys fans will likely sigh when Pitts comes off the board earlier than 10th, and they’ll no doubt follow the career paths of other personal mock darlings like Penei Sewell, Rashawn Slater, and Jaycee Horn wherever they go (the way they still do with T.J. Watt) and wonder about what might have been, but there’s really no scenario where picking the talented Surtain would be seen on Thursday night as anything but a solid bulls-eye.

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Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy well connected to draft prospect Jaycee Horn

Mike McCarthy coached Joe Horn as a wide receiver; now he may look to Horn’s son to stop opposing pass-catchers in Dallas.

NFL teams and college players are looking for every angle they can find right now as they jockey for position less than a week before the 2021 draft. And any slight connection- no matter how minor- between a prospect and one of the clubs considering him is often enough to convince the pundits that it signals a match made in football heaven.

If South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn wasn’t already among the most-presumed picks for Dallas at the 10th spot overall, his virtual visit with the team this week reminded everyone why he may have a leg up on the competition, at least with the Cowboys head coach.

“It’s been a joy to watch you play,” Mike McCarthy told Horn during the video conference. “Obviously having the opportunity to work with your father for ten years.”

His father being Joe Horn.

Yes, that Joe Horn, he of the infamous flip-phone touchdown celebration of 2003.

The wide receiver played twelve years in the NFL, logging 8,744 yards and 58 touchdowns on 603 catches. McCarthy was the quarterbacks coach in Kansas City; he and Horn overlapped there from 1996 through 1998. Then the two worked together again from 2000 to 2004 in New Orleans, where McCarthy was offensive coordinator and Horn enjoyed the most productive years of his career.

Mike McCarthy has already shown himself to rely heavily on familiar faces. Most of his coaching staff hires have been co-workers from his past, and he- like many NFL coaches- often brings in players with whom he has some personal connection.

HaHa Clinton-Dix had been a former McCarthy player when he was signed as a free agent. Aldon Smith got his comeback break from McCarthy because the two were working out at the same gym. And last season, McCarthy drafted quarterback Ben DiNucci after a chance meeting in an elevator.

Those are just examples of the kinds of seemingly random touchpoints that can be the deciding factor on a player’s chances with a team.

Jaycee Horn was only two months old when McCarthy and Joe Horn were reunited in New Orleans, so the coach is clearly going more on DNA than any long personal relationship when it comes to the young cornerback.

But the elder Horn’s football legacy may prove to be enough.

Defensive backs coach Al Harris (another former McCarthy player) asked Jaycee why he didn’t follow in his father’s footsteps and play the position that sent him to four Pro Bowls.

“Crazy,” Jaycee explained, “my dad actually pushed me away from playing wide receiver. He just always harped on my ball skills and my aggression. He was like, ‘If you can make plays on the ball on the defensive side, you know, everybody’s trying to be the next Odell [Beckham Jr.], but there ain’t many guys trying to play defensive back.’ So he pushed me to play DB, and I just took it from there.”

Horn isn’t lacking for confidence, even proclaiming that in a single one-on-one winner-take-all rep, he would beat his dad, who’s in the Saints Hall of Fame.

The 21-year-old also believes he’s the best cornerback in the 2021 draft, ranking himself ahead of Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II when asked point-blank by Harris.

“I feel like I’m the best corner in the draft, hands down,” Horn answered. “When I look at all the corners, I feel like the top of the top is me and Pat Surtain at Alabama. I feel like he’s a great player; I learned a lot watching his film. But I think what separates us, ultimately, is just the way we compete, the way I compete and the way he plays. I feel like it’s a night-and-day difference when you turn on the tape.”

Horn isn’t the only one pumping up his stock. Kyle Pitts, the highly-coveted tight end out of Florida, called Horn the best defender he faced last season during his virtual interview with the Dallas brass.

Between other elite prospects and even the Cowboys’ own coach, the signs seem to be urging the team to make the call to Horn if he’s there. What the war room actually does when they’re on the clock next week, though, will have Cowboys fans on hold a while longer.

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Cowboys News: Class of 2018 lessons, possible trade calls for 10th pick

Plus, more mocks, looks at Caleb Farley and the backup QB position, a new position-specific helmet, and entertainment for the ’21 draft.

Lots of hand-wringing across Cowboys Nation right now over what the organization could, should, and might do in the 2021 NFL draft. New mock drafts from some heavy hitters have some hypothetical answers, and even the team website gets into the spirit with a profile of one highly-touted (if somewhat risky) prospect as well as the possibility of drafting another backup to quarterback to Dak Prescott. And the front office’s No. 2 man says the club has started getting calls about the No. 10 selection slot. But is the draft even the way to actually build long-term success in today’s NFL? The Cowboys’ rookie class of just three short years ago suggests it may not be.

Elsewhere in the news, a Dallas DB faces a two-game suspension to start 2021, a new position-specific helmet shows promise for linemen, musical acts have been secured for each night of the draft party in Cleveland, and the Cowboys’ approach to “voluntary” offseason workouts may be a harbinger of how other teams start doing business in the future. That’s all coming right up in this edition of News and Notes.