Tag: 2021 player profile

Important Import: Damontae Kazee followed Dan Quinn to help fix Cowboys’ coverage issues

Kazee’s 2020 season was cut short but his speedy recovery means Dallas might have found the turnover machine they’ve sought for years. Can he help transition the secondary to a respectable place? | From @ju_belegendary

Damontae Kazee was a two-time Mountain West defensive player of the year at San Diego State but he wasn’t a highly touted player entering the 2017 NFL Draft. He was seen as a mid- round player who had the ability to develop into a future starter. Kazee accomplished that feat after only one NFL season.

One knock on Kazee during the draft process was his lack of size and how it would limit his on-field ability. When the Atlanta Falcons selected him in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft, they put him in centerfield to make use of his best quality, his ball skills and ability to use his eyes and instincts to force turnovers on the back end.

The switch from nickel corner to free safety helped Kazee put together one of the more productive seasons at safety for a second-year player. In 2018 Kazee tied for the league lead with seven interceptions. He added 82 tackles, 10 passes defended, and a forced fumble.

Kazee is a Cowboy now and some of the shine has wore off, mostly due to the fact he tore his Achilles tendon on October 6. However, he is healthy now and has been for all of the off-season work, which is impressive in and of itself. He is reunited with the coach who drafted him in Dan Quinn and has put himself in position to be a starter when the seasons kicks off. If he plays well it will go along way towards him earning a second contract with the Dallas Cowboys.

Our 2021 player profile countdown series continues with No. 35 Damontae Kazee.

Stashed until next year, Reggie Robinson is still in the Cowboys’ team picture

After having his position switched, Robinson went back to corner only to have his dream deferred in a different way in 2021. | From @CDPiglet

Dallas Cowboys CB Reggie Robinson came out of Tulsa built to play the outside cornerback in a Cover 3 system. At 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, Robinson had all the size a defensive coordinator could want. He ran a 40-yard dash of 4.44, with a 4.18 short shuttle and a 7.09 three cone drill. His athleticism shows up on his film as well.

Robinson also lifted 22 bench press reps, and that strength shows up in his press-man coverage and how he attacked the run. Robinson wasn’t only a combine workout warrior, he offered production as well.

As a red-shirt freshman he totaled 37 tackles and seven pass deflections in seven starts. In Year 2 he started 11 games and added 38 more tackles and nine pass deflections. After an injury riddled junior year, Robinson came back with an excellent senior season of 38 tackles, 13 pass deflections, and four interceptions.

Hailing from Tulsa instead of a known football factory may have contributed to his lesser draft stock and allowed the Cowboys to draft Robinson where they did.

The 2021 player profile series continues with cornerback-turned-safety, turned corner again, Reggie Robinson.

Moose Crossing? Nick Ralston’s path to Cowboys’ 53-man roster may be paved with history

An unknown rookie fullback grinds for a spot on the 53-man roster in an effort to revitalize the position for the Cowboys. | From @TimLettiero

Nick Ralston is an unfamiliar name to many fans of the Dallas Cowboys, however his story is one to remember. Born in Argyle, Texas, a small city on the outskirts of Dallas, Ralston is familiar with AT&T Stadium. A lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan, his high school team played in three state championships in Jerry’s World.

He attended Arizona State University where he would see targets out of the backfield and carry the rock on his way to over 200 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns in his four seasons there. Ralston looked to Louisiana-Lafayette as a graduate transfer where he’d see more time as a tight end. Coming out for the Covid-riddled 2020 draft, Ralston saw little opportunity so he decided to hold off until the 2021 draft to declare. This gap year allowed for the video of him pulling a truck to go viral and create some buzz around his name. Ralston went undrafted but got calls immediately, one of them being from the Cowboys.

The next player in our player profile countdown is No. 46, Nick Ralston.

Luke Gifford’s fighting for more than a single snap with Cowboys in 2021

Folks had high hopes for Gifford, but injury and circumstance have him entering the pivotal third year with a battle to see the roster, much less the field as a defender. | From @NoHuddle

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Luke Gifford was the talk of the 2019 preseason opener, with fans and pundits alike bummed an ankle injury spoiled his debut. In what was a crowded linebacker room, he was fighting for a spot on the roster. Two years later, not much has changed.

The room is more crowded than ever. The mainstays of Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch are still in the fold, but due to their own ailments and limitations the Cowboys went hunting for an infusion of talent at a spot that was once thought to be the deepest in the league. With the additions of draft picks Micah Parsons and Jabril Cox, let alone defensive coordinator Dan Quinn’s former charge Keanu Neal, Gifford finds himself on the outside looking in.

The player profile countdown series continues with No. 57, Luke Gifford.

Dallas Cowboys 2021 player profile: Chauncey Golston

Drafted a round earlier than most thought, Golston has some work to do to fill the envisioned role he’ll play on the defensive line. His injury isn’t making that quest easier for the rookie. | From @CDPiglet

Length, effort, hand usage, motor, leadership and versatility were all examples of words used to describe Iowa DE Chauncey Golston going into the NFL draft. Golston was a three-star recruit out of high school who didn’t get much attention from a lot of big colleges despite tallying 96 tackles and 22 sacks in his final two years of high school. The Iowa Hawkeyes were the only team to offer Golston a scholarship. After basically being red shirted for two seasons in order to add bulk to his frame, Golston started to pay dividends for the Hawkeyes as a redshirt sophomore.

Golston was extremely consistent his final three seasons at Iowa. He put up 35, 47 and 45 tackles respectively, nine for a loss as a sophomore, 9.5 as a junior, and 8.5 as a senior. He also added 3.5 sacks, three sacks, and 5.5 sacks in those final three years too. Golston wasn’t graded out as a top pick in the draft, he was more of a run-stopping edge setter, without top-tier pass rush traits. That combination isn’t look upon positively for defensive ends going into the draft, and the Dallas Cowboys were criticized in some quarters for the pick being too early for Golston even though he wasn’t drafted until the third round at pick No. 84.

The next player up in the Cowboys 2021 player profile countdown is No. 59, rookie DE Chauncey Golston.

Moving parts all around, Biadasz ready to steady Cowboys’ ship at center

The center of attention, Biadasz has a whole bunch of sea stirring happening around him, but he’s just preparing to be the next big thing. | From @CDPiglet

The Dallas Cowboys made a draft-day trade with their hated division rivals. No, this isn’t about the move back in the 2021 first round when they ended up with Micah Parsons. A year earlier Stephen Jones worked with the Philadelphia Eagles to move up in the 2020 draft to select Wisconsin center Tyler Biadasz.

Biadasz is a former Rimington trophy winner, an award given to the best center in all of college football. Before he had to battle through injuries in the 2019 season, Biadasz was seen as an early Day 2 pick, and he was also thought of as a clone of former Cowboys center Travis Frederick.

Biadasz had a handful of starts as a rookie while Joe Looney was hurt, but in those games he showed enough for Mike McCarthy, Kellen Moore, and Joe Philbin to want to stick with the sophomore as the starting center going into 2021 training camp. Looney is now off the table, signed with the New York Giants, and then retiring days later. Biadasz has been given the keys to a starting job in the league and now he has to do what he has to in order to keep his spot.

The 2021 Dallas Cowboys player profiles continues with promising young starting center, No. 63 Tyler Biadasz.

Cowboys’ Zack Martin set to return to perch of NFL’s best players

Martin seemed mortal for the first time in his career during the 2020 season. His play hasn’t fallen off, he simply was unable to avoid the injury bug. A bounce back in that department will mean the world to the Cowboys chances in 2021. | From @BenGrimaldi

The Dallas Cowboys selected guard Zack Martin out of Notre Dame in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft. While many, including Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had some interest in making a splash selection of quarterback Johnny Manziel to eventually take over for Tony Romo, the franchise made a smart decision in selecting Martin with the No. 16 overall pick.

Martin has made Stephen Jones and the rest of the organization look like geniuses for bypassing the shiny object for the trench player. All that’s happened since is Martin has become one of the top linemen in the game and perhaps the best guard in the league.

Martin consistently makes all-star and best of lists and seems on a surefire trajectory to be the one of the current Cowboys players to eventually make his way to the halls of Canton.

Our player profile countdown continues with No. 70 Zack Martin.

La’el Collins’ return comes not a moment too soon as Cowboys plan for universally feared offensive attack

Colliins’ 2020 started off bad and cascaded from there. Like the rest of the team, he’s looking to redeem his status as one of the league’s best. It starts with getting back in shape and everything else should flow from there. | From @CDPiglet

In one of the strangest draft day stories of all time, a 2015 first-round OT prospect and SEC’s top offensive lineman out of a huge program went undrafted.

LSU’s La’el Collins was interviewed in connection to a double homicide and the whirlwind of media selection had him stock plummet despite never being considered a suspect. Collins previously dated the victim, and was only brought in because her daughter mentioned his named and the investigators were being thorough. In an assume-the-worst world, the damage to his reputation was done and Rounds 1 through three came and went without his name being selected.

As Day 3 went deeper, Collins and his representation altered their strategy and no longer wanted to hear his name call, preferring to hit undrafted free agency. The Dallas Cowboys came away as the sweepstakes winner over 28 other teams who inquired about Collins. The Cowboys got Collins to sign a fully guaranteed contract for three years, $1.7 million and neither side has looked back. After proving his pedigree, the Cowboys honored his predraft worth by making him whole with a contract extension that ended up paying Collins what he would have made as a first rounder. He’s been a staple on the offensive line since, moving from left guard to right tackle in 2017.

The 2021 Cowboys player profile series continues with No. 71, La’el Collins.

Trysten Hill’s support system has dwindled, needs to impress new Cowboys defensive patriarchy

Marinelli vouched for him, then was shown the door. Nolan gave him the chance to start, door. Hlll is sitting with his nose pressed against the window, hoping to prove to Dan Quinn he’s worth letting in. | From @CDBurnett7

The first two seasons of Dallas Cowboys football were challenging for UCF product defensive tackle Trysten Hill, coming off of a dramatic college career. As a rookie, Hill only saw the field for seven games and didn’t live up to his second-round selection.

At UCF, Hill started as a freshman at defensive end but transitioned to tackle in his next two years. During his final season as a Knight, there was reported turmoil with the coaching staff which saw him benched, but the Cowboys saw enough promise to select him in the second round.

In 2020, Hill had to step in as the starter after newly-signed Gerald McCoy went down for the year and showed the flashes that led Dallas to take him in 2019. In five games, Hill put together five quarterback pressures and was a strong pass rusher from the middle of the defensive line.

Hill’s season was stopped short by a torn ACL suffered in Week 5, while trying to avoid a penalty on a potential sack of Giants quarterback Daniel Jones. While injured, backup defensive tackle Neville Gallimore stepped into the starter’s role and held his own. Then in the offseason the Cowboys signed Brent Urban, bringing even more competition to the position.

With the talent and depth in the group, Hill will have to perform well in training camp when comes off the PUP list if he is to get into a regular season rotation. He’ll need to impress new coordinator Dan Quinn, who is already deep in evaluation of guys he’s drafted or brought in and comparing them to returning players who are on the field.

After being Rod Marinelli’s project, Hill thought he had a home after multiple coaching staffs at UCF. Then Marinelli was out and Mike Nolan was in. Now they’re gone too. The number of people left to vouch for Hill’s potential has dwindled. He’ll have to prove his worth all on his own.

Our player profile series continues with No. 72, Trysten Hill.

Double-Oh 75: Cowboys Odighizuwa may be a secret assassin in middle, it just may take a while

Drafted to a logjam position, the UCLA product may have the best skillset among the interior players, it just might take a while to grow into the role. His player profile from @CDPiglet

Osa Odighizuwa has been undersized for his position at every level of his football career, yet the special traits he possesses have allowed him to overcome his size restrictions. Odighizuwa had top marks among defensive lineman in his college recruiting class in not only the 40-yard dash, but also the vertical jump. The athleticism he brings to the line is tangible. As far as strength his wrestling background helps him understand leverage at a high level that overcomes his smaller frame. Odighizuwa was the top-ranked wrestler in his weight class in high school, and he won 131 matches in a row over his amateur career.

These traits make for an interesting prospect, and Odighizuwa also brings all the versatility one could want with the ability to play every spot on odd or even fronts. Asked to do many jobs at UCLA, it is possible a set position and knowing the job the Dallas Cowboys are tasking him with could help Odighizuwa develop into a better player. On the other hand, his strength could be that he adds value at multiple positions.

Next in line for the Cowboys 2021 player profiles, here’s a look at No. 75, drafted at No. 75, Osa Odighizuwa.