The Dallas legend thinks the team will go defense with their first-round pick, and he’s found a player who reminds him of himself in 2005.
Call it positional bias, but former Cowboys sackmaster DeMarcus Ware thinks the team may be looking at the 2020 NFL Draft “from the lens” of a pass rusher.
The onetime Cowboy chatted with several Dallas media outlets on Wednesday to help promote the virtual draft party he’ll host Thursday night alongside A-list Cowboys fan Jamie Foxx. But the interviews also turned to remembrances of Ware’s own draft-day experience as well as a crystal-ball session in terms of what the nine-time Pro Bowler thinks Dallas will do with the 17th overall pick.
“They’re going for more of a hybrid-type defense,” Ware told Bill Jones of CBS DFW. “You’re going to have to bring that pressure in that 3-4 defense to be able to create those turnovers. That’s one thing that was missing last year.”
The 3-4 nomenclature may not be technically correct to hear coach Mike McCarthy tell it, but the Dallas defense is certainly undergoing a transformation of sorts. And the guy who came in off the edge and racked up a franchise-best 117 sacks for the Cowboys from 2005 through 2013 has a few prospects in mind for its next iteration.
LSU’s K’Lavon Chaisson was the first name out of Ware’s mouth.
“He’s a freaking monster,” Ware declared. “Or, if they’re going to that hybrid-type thing, they can go get some interior defensive linemen, too. Like a Derrick Brown from Auburn, guys that are really versatile, really strong. Get pressure up front, and then get a couple guys on the outside that can be more the hybrid inside-outside ‘backers.”
As Ware explained on 105.3 The Fan’s K&C Masterpiece show, those things would be complements to the team’s current superstar edge rusher, who will also be expected to become a little more multi-dimensional in the new defense.
“And I also know that DeMarcus Lawrence, he probably will transition into playing a little bit of a hybrid-type guy,” Ware said on the air. “I know McCarthy, from the defenses he’s had up there in Green Bay, they’re going to want to bring the heat. And not just from the left side with DeMarcus Lawrence.”
The 11th pick in 2005’s draft believes the current Cowboys actually have more of a quarterback attack arsenal than they’ve shown or gotten credit for.
“Jaylon Smith,” Ware offered as an example. “I think people are really sleeping on Jaylon Smith. He can play a little bit of outside linebacker. I know he can. And he can bring pressure from inside. They’ve got some guys there already that can get the job done; it’s just learning the new nuances of playing a little bit of a new position. Like I did, going from defensive end to outside linebacker.”
When Ware watches Chaisson’s tape, he says he sees a skill set that reminds him of someone familiar.
“The get-off. He predicates everything on speed… just being able to have that knack to get off of the ball. And the technique that he uses. He’s a long guy like me, right? Seven-foot-almost arm wingspan, being able to still stab and push the pocket, get around the corner. He’s one of those guys that creates havoc. I hear them saying that he’s an outside edge guy. But he’s a slip guy. And what I mean by a slip guy: when he’s on a tackle, he slips them, moves them out of the way, and he goes and makes plays. And I’m like, okay, how many tackles for a loss does he have? And he’s always behind the backfield, he’s always chasing from behind, and he reminds me of myself. This is one of those type guys where the motor does not turn off on the football field. This is what you want: a crazy banshee out there just trying to get to the football. That’s why I light up so much. He’s that type of guy.”
It could be fitting, then, if the Cowboys do select Chaisson on Thursday night, 15 years to the day after they used their first-round pick on a banshee named Ware.
