The Cowboys draft cornerback and EDGE more than any other position with their top-100 picks indicating a preference for the position. | From @ReidDHanson
The Cowboys have some positions of desire they’d like to address in the 2023 NFL draft. Most of their immediate needs were handled in the weeks leading up but desires still remain because roster openings still remain.
They have a clear opening at left guard now that Connor McGovern is in Buffalo. They have an opening at tight end now that Dalton Schultz is in Houston. They have an opening at running back now that Ezekiel Elliott has been released.
Dallas also has depth concerns at cornerback, receiver and defensive tackle, so there are no shortage of directions the draft could go.
What positions will the Cowboys target early in the draft?
Based on some recent statements from the Dallas front office, that’s likely to be based on opportunity. Stephen Jones has said just because some positions are of higher priority, doesn’t mean they will the first ones addressed. The Cowboys are willing to see how things shake out.
All the information you need on how to watch, listen and stream Round 1 of the 2023 NFL draft.
The Indianapolis Colts, along with the rest of the league, will finally begin the 2023 NFL draft Thursday night as the long-anticipated event should provide plenty of fireworks.
What the Colts will do with their selection remains to be seen at No. 4 overall, but it’s likely we will be ushering in the start of a new era at the quarterback position.
This will be the seventh draft for general manager Chris Ballard and the first with head coach Shane Steichen, who was hired earlier in the offseason.
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Here’s how to watch, listen and stream Round 1 of the 2023 NFL draft:
With Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud going with the first two picks, respectively, the Colts had their choice between Levis and Florida’s Anthony Richardson.
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Jeremiah is buying into the smoke connecting Levis and the Colts.
There’s a lot of smoke connecting Levis to the Colts. They stay patient and get their quarterback.
Jeremiah isn’t the only one buying into the smoke as several analysts predict Levis will be the pick at No. 4 for the Colts. How much we should buy into that smoke isn’t clear, but the Colts are confident the league hasn’t caught onto who they are targeting.
Levis is a polarizing prospect. Some analysts have him as the QB4 while some others have him as the QB2 in this class. It’s impossible to know where the Colts will have him, but we do know Shane Steichen has a track record of success with various archetypes at the game’s most important position.
Levis has a prototypical build with a massive arm and the type of toughness and leadership the Colts will love. He may not be suited best for a vertical passing scheme, but Steichen could get the most out of him.
It’s officially draft day so we’ll finally be able to stop speculating in a little over 12 hours.
Breaking down the different mock draft scenarios for the Detroit Lions in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft
The 2023 NFL Draft is mere hours away. What will happen when the Detroit Lions go on the clock with picks No. 6 and 18 in Thursday night’s first round?
In the latest video in conjunction with the Detroit Lions Podcast, I did my best to break down the various options for Lions GM Brad Holmes with each of the picks. Because of the uncertainty around the picks before the Lions will select, it’s very difficult to know how it plays out.
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Therefore, I presented a few different scenarios that I think could be the way the first round flows for the Lions. It’s all done with the firsthand experience from covering Lions special assistant John Dorsey’s drafts in Cleveland that we’re just not going to know until it actually happens.
This video leans more on how I think the Lions see the draft. For my own personal choices, check out the “What I Would Do” mock draft as a sort of companion piece.
Not all running backs pan out in the NFL but one telling stat stands out above the rest in predicting NFL success and Cowboys need to use it. | From @ReidDHanson
A new era in land warfare has begun in Dallas. Since the 2022 season concluded, the Cowboys have moved on from their most accomplished running back, their long-time running back coach, their offensive coordinator and even their offensive line coach. How those changes manifest on the field remains to be seen, but one thing is clear, the running game will look different.
For the first time since his arrival, Tony Pollard will be the unquestioned alpha in the RB room. Granted, in 2022 he accounted for 22 percent of the Cowboys scrimmage yards, second only to CeeDee Lamb, but Ezekiel Elliott’s presence loomed large. With Elliott gone, the Cowboys now take on the exciting task of finding a partner to pair with Pollard.
The 2023 NFL draft is deep at the RB position and Dallas will likely get their pick of the litter as only one is expected off the board before they pick at 26.
Who should the Cowboys target?
What kind of RB traits are they looking for?
Questions like these have been bouncing around Cowboys Nation all offseason. If Dallas is looking for a complementary back to Pollard, they will likely be looking at a different candidate pool than if they’re looking for his eventual replacement.
Playing on the franchise tag in 2023, there’s a very real possibility Pollard is elsewhere in 2024. It would be shocking if the Cowboys didn’t draft a running back in this class and it would be wise if they paid a little extra attention on statistics like explosive run rate to help determine who projects best to the NFL.
It is always important to note that this part of the offseason is voluntary. Gannon said that players not on the field would eventually get there when they are ready to.
The Detroit Lions bring back DT Benito Jones as an exclusive rights free agent
In a bit of a procedural move on the day before the 2023 NFL draft, the Detroit Lions officially brought back reserve defensive tackle Benito Jones.
The Lions re-signed Jones as an exclusive rights free agent, or ERFA. Jones joined Detroit after the final roster cutdowns upon being waived by the Miami Dolphins. The 25-year-old nose tackle played in 311 defensive snaps with the Lions, logging 1.5 sacks and 16 total tackles.
As an ERFA, Jones will earn the NFL minimum contract for his experience level. He will become a restricted free agent after the 2023 season.
Since the 2023 offseason got into full swing back in March, rumors started running rampant on social media regarding Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook.
Throughout Minnesota circles, rumors of a trade, or ultimately cutting ties fully in a release, see Cook likely heading to another roster this upcoming season.
The issue on the ease or difficulty of this starts with his $10.4 million salary on the book for 2023 with a $14.1 million cap hit. According to Over the Cap, cutting Cook pre-June 1 would leave roughly $8.2 million in dead cap for Minnesota, with a savings of about $5.9 million this year. A trade, however, would create $6.2 million in dead cap and savings of $7.9 million.
Now, if Cook is cut post-June 1, Minnesota would be left with a dead cap hit of $5.1 million and cap savings of $9 million. Even more intriguing financially, a post-June 1 trade would mean a dead-cap figure of just $3.1 million with savings of $11 million.
As per the salary cap website, these figures are all on the Vikings’ side to evaluate, while the other side of the potential equation would need another suitor. The social media speculation is that suitor could be in South Florida.
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Cook is entering his seventh NFL season, and his last four have been Pro Bowl campaigns. In his six seasons in Minnesota, Cook has averaged 4.7 career yards per attempt, accumulated 5,993 yards with four straight 1,000-plus seasons and 47 rushing touchdowns. He’s also been a factor in the passing attack, with 221 career receptions for 1,794 yards and five scores.
The Dolphins, coincidentally, will recoup $13.6 million after June 1 from Byron Jones’ release, which was announced back in March. With that money freeing up, and the potential of Cook becoming available at the same time, the second hurdle in acquiring the runner for Miami would be reworking the framework of a contract.
Hiller discussed aspects of NFL draft week as well and detailed his experiences as an agent, but he did say that his client is under contract with the Vikings. With Cook being from South Florida, Daniels asked Hiller about a potential desire for his client to play for a team such as the Dolphins.
“Dalvin loves football, and he just wants to play football, and he wants to play football where he’s wanted,” Hiller said. “That’s the most important thing to him is that he wants to be somewhere he is wanted and that they believe in his skill-set, they are going to utilize his skill set, and the fans want him, everybody wants him.
“He wants to be somewhere where he’s wanted, that’s what I know.”
This is one side, and the side we don’t know is Miami’s and general manager Chris Grier. While it was speculated that a potential deal was discussed, as many teams may have even inquired, the Dolphins have recently been very economical with their running back dealings. Grier has shown a habit of not spending top-dollar or high-end draft capital in that room.
The NFL draft starts Thursday and there have been recent rumors about the Dolphins fielding calls and/or inquiring about moving into the first round for a running back. These could also be classic smoke signals, as this would be out of Grier’s pattern, also considering the fact Miami is limited in this year’s draft capital, as well as next year’s.
One way or another, more clarity should come in the next few days about their plans with the running back room, which currently is welcoming back four from last season.
From @ToddBrock24f7: The Notre Dame star could be the Cowboys’ tight end of the future, and a handful of late mock drafts predict that’s how things will fall.
The drumbeat is getting louder for the Cowboys to address an obvious thin spot on their roster with a prospect who is at the top of his class now… and could be at the top of his position’s class in the pros before much longer.
On Draft Day Eve, more outlets are mocking Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer to Dallas with the 26th overall pick… and they present a convincing case for why the Joneses should make it happen in real life on Thursday night.
The ESPN Analytics Draft Day Predictor pegs Mayer’s chances of still being on the board in the 26th spot at about 60%. The site also has Mayer as the most likely pick for Dallas, with a chance he’ll be the selection at greater than 11%. Jacksonville looks to be the main competition for the Cowboys to land him; the predictor says there’s a 10% chance the Jaguars will turn in Mayer’s card with the 24th pick.
Utah’s Dalton Kincaid is considered by many outlets to have more potential upside than Mayer, but The 33rd Team’s Mike Tannenbaum likes the Golden Domer’s blocking skills better. He has Mayer as the pick for Dallas at 26 in that site’s latest mock draft, echoing most analysts who say the not-yet-22-year-old will step in and be a Day One starter.
Blocking is a key component when talking about any tight end, especially for a Mike McCarthy-helmed club. The head coach spoke just this week about the multiple roles his offense will ask tight ends to fill, and in a scheme that leaned heavily on two-TE sets last year and promises to “run the damn ball” this year, McCarthy made it clear that his tight ends will be doing plenty of the heavy lifting.
Dalton Schultz, the Cowboys starter in 2022, “eventually became a willing, passable blocker,” notes Jake Kemp of D Magazine. But Mayer, he says, “blocks to take the defender’s will away from him” and calls him “a cheat code” once you factor in his abilities as a receiver.
Mayer can certainly do that, too. He “has a little Jason Witten to his game,” Danny Kelly points out in The Ringer‘s mock draft. Considering Big Witt is the franchise’s all-time leader in both catches and receiving yards, even “a little” Jason Witten would go a long way in replacing- and surpassing- Schultz’s production in that department. Kelly mocks Mayer to Dallas at 26, too, forecasting: “He should quickly emerge as one of Dak Prescott’s favorite underneath targets.”
That’s no knock on second-year tight ends Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot. Both played well enough as rookies in 2022 that it was obvious Schultz would be allowed to leave in free agency. But Ferguson was a fourth-round draft pick; Hendershot went undrafted. Either could eventually grow into what Schultz was; Mayer might well turn into another Rob Gronkowski or George Kittle.
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For the Fighting Irish last season, Mayer put up monster numbers in an offense where he was the primary weapon, one that opposing defenses keyed on and still couldn’t stop. What’s more, Kemp notes that Mayer finished in the top ten nationwide in both forced missed tackles and contested catches.
Mayer is a clear-cut first-round talent, but the Cowboys haven’t used an opening-round pick on a tight end since David LaFleur in 1997, The Athletic‘s Jon Machota reminds us. And the Packers never did that during McCarthy’s 13-year tenure in Green Bay. But Machota also sends Mayer to Dallas at 26 in their latest beat writers’ mock, heeding McCarthy’s own apparent openness to the idea at the team’s pre-draft press conference.
“As many 6-4, 250 pound men that can play on four downs: I don’t think you can have enough of that body type on your team,” McCarthy said Monday. “There’s more versatility there.”
Mayer would no doubt give the Cowboys offense tons of versatility, and for many years to come. But whether the Cowboys grab their don’t-think-about-it-again tight end of the future or decide to march to the beat of their own drum come draft night remains to be seen.
Erasmus Hall visited the Rutgers football program on Tuesday.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Erasmus Hall, one of the top football programs in the region, visited Rutgers football on Tuesday.
Known as a pipeline to Rutgers, the Brooklyn-based high school has sent numerous standout players to the school. Included in this list are former wide receivers Aron Cruickshank and Sean Ryan as well as safety Christian Izien.
The program regularly produces Power Five-level recruits and has a strong relationship with Rutgers. That is evidenced by the fact that the current Rutgers roster includes Moses Walker, a former four-star recruit, and standout defensive back Kessawn Abraham.
The Dutchmen are a powerhouse program, finishing last season 10-2 and on a 10-game winning streak.
This made Tuesday’s visit to check out the Scarlet Knights a big moment for both Erasmus Hall but also the Big Ten program. The entire team was on-hand and stood on the sidelines for practice and a tour of the team’s facility, the Hale Center:
Former Rutgers wide receiver K.J. Stroud is an assistant coach at Erasmus Hall.
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Also at practice on Tuesday was quarterback Stone Saunders. A four-star recruit, the class of 2025 quarterback is coming off a season at Bishop McDevitt (Harrisburg, PA) where he threw 54 touchdown passes, completing 68.7 percent of his passes for 3,583 yards.
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Saunders took in practice and met with the staff following the session.
