Matt Eberflus turning heads, making good moves as new DC – Shane Taylor, Inside The Star
In his return stint to Dallas, DC Matt Eberflus is standing out already amongst a coaching staff full of new hires.
The Good
Eberflus is doing a lot of good things thus far with the Cowboys defense and the first is allowing Israel Mukuamu to move into a slot corner roll.
I have wanted this for the last two years. He has shown he can be a baller, and it is time to allow him to do just that.
Zimmer actually played a career-high 201 snaps last year, but he saw fewer than 10 defensive snaps in nine games and played more than 20 snaps just three times, even though Dallas’ cornerback depth was tested seemingly all season due to injuries.
With the CB room in flux once again due to the injury bug, Mukuamu deserves a chance. It seems Eberflus is prepared to give him just that.
Osa Odighizuwa, who the Cowboys managed to sign to a new deal is done board with him as well.
“Just based on some of the things we’re being asked to do right now, I was going back and watching some of the tape from last year and I’m like, ‘If I was doing the stuff we’re being coached to do now, I’m making this play, I’m making that play.’ Just seeing there are going to be a lot more opportunities based on the stuff he’s having us do,” Odighizuwa said.
You can tell me that this is what all these guys are supposed to say and do to support a new staff member, but it really seems like the players are buying into this new culture that is happening right now.
Kaiir Elam could wind up as one of the more essential Dallas Cowboys acquisitions – RJ Ochoa, Blogging The Boys
The Cowboys are taking multiple risks on the depth chart at cornerback this season, and revitalizing former first-round pick Kair Elam is one of them.
Kaiir Elam could be a prominent member of the secondary this season
Any time Cowboys brass has spoken since acquiring him, they have made sure to mention cornerback Kaiir Elam. We know that the Cowboys hold their scouting process very near and dear to their hearts. Given that they thought highly of Elam when he was entering the league and went to the Buffalo Bills in the first round, it is pretty chalk for them to fall in line with their own previous line of thought.
Nobody is in the business of overreacting to anything from OTAs at the end of May, but Thursday saw Elam draw a starting position on the outside. He seemed to make the most of it in the limited action that OTAs provide.
The cornerback room is one of those with extreme boom or bust qualities for the team as far as the 2025 season is concerned. Trevon Diggs is a question mark of sorts in terms of returning from injury. The same is true for Shavon Revel, although he is obviously new to the team in that he was just drafted. Bodies are in all likelihood going to be necessary across the attrition that is the season which means that Elam could play a critical role.
Beyond just being a literal necessity, it is also interesting to consider how important Elam’s presence could be from a what-the-Cowboys-want-to-do perspective. Again, these were just OTAs, but it is curious that DaRon Bland saw work primarily in the slot. If you recall this is where the Cowboys wanted to play him in 2023 before Trevon Diggs was lost to injury and they were forced to put Bland outside opposite of Stephon Gilmore at the time. Perhaps Elam’s presence can help allow the team to move Bland where they prefer, give Revel more time to recover and have insurance behind Diggs.
Unheralded Cowboys draft pick already proving to be huge steal at OTAs – Cameron Ellis, The Landry Hat
It isn’t easy for any linemen to make waves in unpadded OTA practices, but seventh-round pick Jay Toia is off to a good start by doing so.
There’s never a bad time to hop on the hype train, though, which probably explains why Bleacher Report put together a big list of rookies that are already making headlines during their first few weeks of organized activity in the NFL. And the best news? A Cowboys player – at an important position, no less – made the list.
Cowboys rookie Jay Toia could already be making a real push for Mazi Smith’s job
“The Cowboys chose UCLA’s Jay Toia in this year’s seventh round. The 6’2”, 342-pound rookie is a powerful, old-school nose tackle capable of eating up blocks, resetting the line of scrimmage and allowing those around him to make plays while he does the dirty work … The Cowboys coaching staff has already taken notice of his effort and skills by giving him “repeated work” with the first-team defense, according to Tim Hamm of Athlon Sports. Again, no team is running in full pads yet. Players are constantly being rotated into the mix. Where Toia actually stands won’t be determined until live sessions during training camp.”
Like Bleacher Report mentions, it’s just OTAs. Depth charts aren’t official, and no one’s ever made or broken their career after a few days hitting the sled in shorts.
The fact that Toia is playing well, apparently, is worth celebrating – the Cowboys desperately need a lift at that position – but it’s probably best for everyone’s collective sanity if the assumption isn’t that they’ve already found Mazi Smith’s replacement just yet.
But the fact that a Cowboys’ seventh-rounder is already making news shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s not like Toia’s some top-50 pick who’s expected to be a Day 1, three-down starter right away.
Dallas Cowboys receive a delayed gift from Zack Martin’s retirement but it comes with a catch – Mauricio Rodriguez, A to Z Sports
The Cowboys are no stranger to using the post June 1st cut rule to manage cap space, but in the case of Zack Martin’s retirement it made little difference.
The Dallas Cowboys exploited the Post-June 1 the last few years with the releases of Ezekiel Elliott and Michael Gallup. This year, however, they had a more specific situation come up. When Zack Martin decided to retire, the Cowboys essentially had to cut him “to comply with certain terms in his contract,” per Over the Cap.
On Monday, the move opened up $1.25 million on the Cowboys’ salary cap.
While that sounds good, albeit minimal, the truth is those gains will quickly be negated because of injury guarantees, as Over the Cap founder Jason Fitzgerald explained in a recent article.
Cowboys Gain $1.25M with Release of Zack Martin
While Martin announced his retirement from the NFL, the Cowboys had to process this as a cut to comply with certain terms in his contract. His cap drops from $10 million to $8.8 million in 2025, but he should also receive an injury payment of $1.255 million that negates the small savings. Martin will have a $15.46 million cap charge next year due to all of the prior restructures of his contract.
– Jason Fitzgerald, Over the Cap
The news is a reminder of how complicated salary cap management is in the NFL and a bit of fun trivia about Martin’s retirement.
Ultimately, things will stay the same for the Cowboys but for now, they’ve got some savings in June 2 and were not quite left out of the party.
Trust in the Trenches: NFC East offensive line rankings for 2025 – Mike Crum, The Cowboys Wire
The Cowboys have invested heavily in the offensive line this offseason, but have some work to do to even make it the best in their own division.
The Dallas offensive line was underwhelming and negatively impacted the offense throughout the season. Their opponents outrushed Dallas by 600 yards and had 25 rushing touchdowns to six for the Cowboys. Dallas was last in rushing touchdowns and plays of 20 or 40 yards or more. They were 30th in yards per attempt and 27th in sacks allowed.
Dallas has a solid interior with All-Pro Tyler Smith, first-round pick Tyler Booker, and second-year center Cooper Beebe. T.J. Bass and Brock Hoffman played 830 interior snaps last year and had just seven penalties and two sacks allowed combined. The Cowboys’ issues are at the tackle spot, possibly the worst duo in the NFL. Terence Steele allowed seven penalties and nine sacks, with a pass blocking grade of 57.5. Tyler Guyton had a slightly better pass-blocking grade of 60.2, but his overall grade wasn’t even 50. He played 668 snaps, allowed six sacks, and was called for 18 penalties.
New offensive coaches, Klayton Adams and Conor Riley, have done excellent work in the past, and they could do wonders with the talent on the team. However, Dallas has a young line, and what they have shown at offensive tackle hasn’t been league average, let alone high quality.
Washington had an excellent season statistically, third in rushing yards and runs of 20 yards or more, fourth in yards per attempt and rushing touchdowns, and fifth in runs of 40 yards or more. None of their blockers had a run-blocking grade over 70, and only right guard Sam Cosmi had a pass-blocking grade over 70. The team had to improve the talent on that unit, so they traded multiple picks for a five-time Pro Bowl left tackle and drafted another tackle in the first round.
Tunsil had a higher PFF grade than any other lineman on the team in every category. His pass-blocking grade was 88.6, the second-best in the division behind Mailata. He is a significant upgrade for the Washington team. Conerly Jr. is a 6-foot-4, 315-pound athletic freak with excellent length. He is at his best in a zone blocking run scheme, but his most significant strength lies in his pass protection. He had a PFF pass-blocking grade of over 83 and a true pass set pass-blocking grade of 78.1 at Oregon. These two additions could solidify their tackle spots, with Sam Cosmi and Biadasz locking down four quality starters on their offensive line.
Five questions ahead of final Cowboys’ OTA viewing period – Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com
The Cowboys final OTA practice will be held today at The Star.
Can Miles Sanders make a push for RB1?
Running back is likely the position group that is impacted least by OTAs because it’s hard to tell who can separate themselves from the pack without pads on, but they’re still a big part of what’s been seen on the field in the first few OTA periods.
Last week, former Carolina Panther Miles Sanders had a great day out of the backfield in the run and passing game. He and Javonte Williams, both offseason free agent additions, are the veterans in the room and Sanders is looking to return to Pro Bowl form, which he found in 2022 with the Eagles.
Being the elder statesmen in the room gives Williams and Sanders an advantage compared to some of the other running backs available, but they’ll both still have a lot to prove before either can earn a RB1 job. One aspect to keep an eye on is catching out of the backfield, something that Brian Schottenheimer values and an area where Williams has had more success in the past compared to Sanders.
Where does Juanyeh Thomas fit in the secondary?
With Donovan Wilson spending time with the rehab group, that’s opened up opportunities for Juanyeh Thomas to take some reps with the first team defense opposite Malik Hooker at safety.
That said, Thomas has also taken snaps in the nickel cornerback spot, a spot that is still up for grabs with DaRon Bland taking a lot of reps in the position during the media viewing periods at OTAs. If Bland stays outside, could Thomas be the one to fill the need for the Cowboys defense?
