Tag: Tyrus Wheat

Cowboys already spending 13% of cap on depleted edge rusher group

The defense end group makes up a big portion of the teams salary cap and will only get pricier. | From @ArmyChiefW3

The defensive side of the ball for the Dallas Cowboys doesn’t boast the type of contract numbers dedicated to the offense. The large cap hits defensive ends command rings true, but the available options behind them are slim. A sneaky need for this team is that a counterpart opposite of star pass rusher Micah Parsons must be found.

But Dallas has been known to be frugal and overspending on a single position group doesn’t fit their approach to team building.

Dallas was built to put pressure on the quarterback to allow their ballhawk-type secondary to cash in on the disruption. No matter the changes this defense will undergo with Mike Zimmer taking the baton from Dan Quinn, applying pressure on the opposing quarterback is something all teams want to accomplish. The remaining pass-rush production behind Parsons needs attention, but at what cost?

55-man roster, Week 6 elevations reveals 6 different Cowboys moves

A look at the Cowboys’ roster they’ll choose from for the Week 6 battle against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Dallas Cowboys made an acquisition this week, moved a player to IR and yet somehow they didn’t do much of what was expected. It appeared, in their embarrassing loss to the San Francisco 49ers, they lost three key players to injury for a lengthy period of time. Yet when looking at the injury report and transactions for the week, things didn’t unfold as expected. Until gameday.

Leighton Vander Esch and CJ Goodwin were ruled out of this game on Saturday, yet they stayed on the 53-man roster until moving to IR on Monday. The IR move of the early week went to TE Peyton Hendershot, who missed last week’s game after a mid-week ankle injury. His spot on the roster was taken by veteran Sean McKeon. WR Kavontae Turpin was though to be seriously injured, but he was a full participant by the end of the week and carries no game designation.

The club added a linebacker to the practice squad during the week, but Rashaan Evans isn’t ready to suit up and wasn’t one of the game-day elevations on Monday to face off against the Los Angeles Chargers. Instead, the club elevated a running back and a different linebacker, bringing up Malik Davis and Malik Jefferson.

After finally moving Vander Esch and Goodwin to IR, the club promoted UDFA rookie edge Tyrus Wheat and activated cornerback Nahshon Wright from IR. Here’s a full accounting of the club’s 55-man roster before inactives are announced.

Quarterbacks (3)
Running Backs (5)
Wideouts (6)
Tight Ends (3)
Offensive Tackles (3)
Offensive Guards (4)
Centers (2)

Defensive Ends (5)
Defensive Tackles (5)
Linebacker (4)
Cornerbacks (6)
Safeties (6)

Special Teams (3)

Packers host Mississippi State OLB Tyrus Wheat on official pre-draft visit

The Green Bay Packers hosted Mississippi State outside linebacker Tyrus Wheat on an official top-30 visit before the 2023 NFL draft.

The Green Bay Packers hosted Mississippi State outside linebacker Tyrus Wheat on an official top-30 visit before the 2023 NFL draft, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Wheat (6-2, 243) produced 129 tackles, 27.0 tackles for loss, 18.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, nine pass breakups and three interceptions over 34 games, 33 starts and three seasons at Mississippi State. He transferred from a Mississippi community college before the 2020 season and went on to lead the Bulldogs in sacks each of the last three seasons, including an All-SEC season in 2022 (10.5 tackles for loss, 6.0 sacks).

At the combine, Wheat ran the 40-yard dash in 4.65 seconds, hit 28.5″ in the vertical leap, covered 9-5 in the broad jump and finished the short shuttle in 4.54 seconds. His wingspan measured over 80″ at Mississippi State’s pro day. Wheat’s Relative Athletic Score is 7.19 out of 10.0, and his biggest knock athletically was poor jumping numbers.

Dane Brugler of The Athletic ranks Wheat as the 19th best edge rusher in the class and a likely early Day 3 pick.

Wheat participated in the East-West Shrine Game. He turns 24 in December.

Although the Packers return both starters at edge rusher (Rashan Gary, Preston Smith) and Kingsley Enagbare, last year’s fifth-round pick, the premium position is still one the team is expected to address at some point in the 2023 draft. The class is deep, and the Packers will have 10 (or more picks) to make.

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Mississippi State prospect blown away by Bill Belichick’s coaching

This Mississippi State prospect was seemingly blown away by Bill Belichick’s attention to detail.

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick made a strong impression on several prospects during the East-West Shrine Bowl, as the Patriots coaching staff was a big part of that event. One of the prospects that left with glowing reviews of the coaching staff was Mississippi State linebacker Tyrus Wheat.

Wheat recorded 53 tackles and six sacks last season for Mississippi State. He recorded at least five sacks in each of his three years with the Bulldogs. He also managed to tally an interception in each of his three seasons.

Wheat had nothing but positive things to say about the New England coaching staff, in particular Bill Belichick, as transcribed by Dakota Randall of NESN.com.

“He really decided to coach,” Wheat said. “Like a head coach. He was coaching us and scouting on the field. Just different than I’ve seen a head coach do. Coaching everybody, the defense, offense, QBs, D-line, O-line. Just different. Different.”

Wheat could be available for the Patriots and would be an intriguing positional fit, given his size. Nevertheless, the mutual respect shared by both player and organization could give opportunity the chance to present itself.

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