Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images What grade would you give the Cowboys signing of George Pickens? The Dallas Cowboys sent shockwaves through the NFL on Wednesday when they struck a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers. George Pickens will now line up in an offense alongside Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and all the rest. Acquiring Pickens is a move that carries both pros and cons for Dallas. It goes without saying that we are all hoping for more of the former and that he will provide strong enough play on the field to justify the roll of the dice. This is simply the way these things tend to go. For our Thursday discussion here at BTB we are curious how you feel about the trade at large. Do you think it was smart, wise, silly or a poor move? A day to sit and think on it may or may not have warped your opinion. Vote in our poll and let us know what you think in the comment section below!

Think you can figure out which Cowboys player we’re talking about? You’ll get five clues to figure him out in our new guessing game! Can you guess this free agent addition in today’s in-5 trivia game?Hey Cowboys fans! We’re back for another day of the Blogging The Boys in-5 daily trivia game. Game instructions are at the bottom if you’re new to the game! Feel free to share your results in the comments and feedback in this Google Form. If you can’t see the game due to Apple News or another service, click this game article. Previous games Wednesday, May 7, 2025Tuesday, May 6, 2025Monday, May 5, 2025 Play more SB Nation in-5 trivia games NFL in-5MLB in-5MMA in-5 Blogging The Boys in-5 instructions The goal of the game is to guess the correct Cowboys player with the help of up to five clues. We’ll mix in BOTH ACTIVE AND RETIRED PLAYERS. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it. After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did down in the comments and on social media. We won’t go into other details about the game as we’d like your feedback on it. How it plays, what you think of it, the difficulty level, and anything else you can think of that will help us improve this game. You can provide feedback in the comments of this article, or you can fill out this Google Form. Enjoy!

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports Jaydon Blue has a lot of believers. Could rookie Jaydon Blue be the Cowboys’ best running back since the prime of Ezekiel Elliott? One longtime NFL scout thinks so, and that would make the fifth-round pick an absolute steal from this 2025 draft class and a huge addition to the offense. As part of a G-Bag Nation show on 105.3 The Fan, the crew was discussing winners and losers on the Cowboys roster from the most recent NFL draft. While on the topic of whether or not QB Dak Prescott “won” with this rookie class, Blue was listed among the positives to help improve the offense and relieve pressure on QB1. Host Gavin Dawson described Blue as “a Tony Pollard-esque elusive back with receiving skills,” which prompted an emphatic response from Bryan Broaddus: “Better player, I think. Better player.” That’s no small statement from Broaddus, a former NFL scout who’s now spent many years as a Cowboys analyst and media personality. Pollard, who played here from 2019-2023, was easily Dallas’ best running back behind Ezekiel Elliott over the last ten seasons. He went to the 2022 Pro Bowl, emerging as the superior playmaker when Zeke was declining. Pollard parlayed that into a franchise tag in 2023, playing one more year with the Cowboys before joining Tennessee in last year’s free agency. He remained productive with the Titans; 1,317 total yards on 301 combined touches, and five touchdowns in 2024. Even a superficial comparison of Blue and Pollard backs up Broaddus’ projection. Blue posted faster times at the NFL combine (4.38 40-yard, 1.52 10-yard) than Pollard did (4.52 and 1.59) in 2019. That discrepancy was consistent with their pro day times, speaking to Blue having more top-end speed and explosiveness. Draft analyst Lance Zierlein rated Blue higher than he had Pollard six years ago, projecting Blue as a third-round talent while saying Pollard would go in the sixth or seventh. So given that, why did Blue fall to the fifth round this year? Remember the much-ballyhooed depth of this 2025 RB class, where it was expected for legitimate starters to be found on Day 3. Pollard’s class had some solid NFL additions like Josh Jacobs and David Montgomery, but wasn’t projected with nearly the same overall potential. Also, Blue developed a bad reputation for ball security issues that will certainly limit him without immediate improvement. One advantage Pollard had over Blue is better size. For a “speed back,” Pollard was surprisingly good at breaking tackles and keeping his balance through contact. It allowed him to become a true primary back, something Blue will have to prove he can handle over the coming years. Of course, projections are only proven right or wrong after years of evidence. Tony Pollard proved Lance Zierlein wrong by becoming a starting-caliber back. Hopefully, Jaydon Blue is going to prove Bryan Broaddus right about being even better than Pollard. This Cowboys offense is desperate for a spark, and maybe Blue is going to go a long way to providing one.

Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Here is the news from around the NFC East this week. Washington, D.C. to host 2027 NFL Draft – Commanders.com Washington’s resurgence is bringing a new stadium and the draft to the area. NEW YORK — May 5, 2025 — The NFL today announced that the 2027 NFL Draft presented by Bud Light will take place in Washington, D.C, uniting fans from around the world to celebrate one of the most- anticipated events in sports. Hosted in partnership with Washington Commanders and the local organizing committee, Events DC, the 2027 NFL Draft will take place across the District’s most iconic landmarks, including the National Mall and Pennsylvania Avenue, placing the capital at the center of America’s most celebrated sport. “The NFL Draft has become a marquee event, uniting fans across the country and around the world,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “We are excited to bring the 2027 Draft to Washington, D.C., a city rich in history and national pride. With the support of President Trump, the Commanders, Events DC, and Mayor Bowser we’re looking forward to delivering an unforgettable experience as we celebrate the next generation of NFL stars.” Over the course of the three-day event, D.C. will host a slate of Draft activities, including a variety of community events, the Draft Concert Series and the NFL Draft Experience – the ultimate free fan festival. that invites fans to participate in immersive exhibits, challenge their skills in interactive games, take photos with the Vince Lombardi Trophy; enjoy the youth-focused Play 60 Zone; shop exclusive NFL merchandise; and score autographs from current players and Legends. “The NFL Draft is one of the biggest moments in sports—and we’re incredibly proud to help bring it to Washington, D.C.,” said Josh Harris, Commanders Managing Partner. “It will bring hundreds of thousands of visitors, millions of viewers around the world, and generate jobs, tax revenue, and meaningful economic impact across the city. The Draft is a powerful reminder of how sports bring people together – and we’re honored to play a role in that. Since we started this journey less than two years ago, we’ve seen an NFC Championship Game, an agreement to return to RFK, and now the NFL draft in Washington. Thank you to President Trump for your leadership, to Mayor Bowser for your partnership, and to Commissioner Roger Goodell for your support in bringing the Draft back to the nation’s capital. We look forward to welcoming the football world to Washington in 2027. Today is a great day for the DMV, and I can’t wait to see what the future brings.” Eagles rookie eager to follow in his father’s massive footsteps – Dave Zangaro, NBC Sports Philadelphia Football is family for Philadelphia’s sixth-round pick. Eagles rookie Myles Hinton didn’t watch his father play football but is eager to follow in his massive footsteps. Back in his prime, Chris Hinton probably could have wrestled an alligator and lived to tell about it. Of course, he didn’t. But, in true dad fashion, that’s what he told his son. Eagles sixth-round pick Myles Hinton chuckled at rookie camp last week when explaining that his father, the former Pro Bowl offensive lineman, told him when he was a kid that the scar on his leg came from wrestling a gator. It was actually a surgery scar from a football injury. “I don’t know how old I was when I realized it was a fake story,” Myles Hinton said. Hinton also didn’t really realize how good his dad was at football until he was around 13. The rest of the football world, meanwhile, was very aware. While many remember Chris Hinton as the player who once got traded for John Elway, Hinton had a near-Hall of Fame career of his own. Dad was the No. 4 overall pick in the 1983 draft out of Northwestern. He played 177 games over 13 seasons in the NFL, was a seven-time Pro Bowler and has been a Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist. But Chris Hinton’s last NFL season came in 1995 and his second son Myles wasn’t born until 2002. “He didn’t talk about it much,” Myles said last week. “But once I started really getting into football and playing O-line for real, like really understanding what was going on, is when I kind of understood that he was that guy. So I do some research on him, watch YouTube videos and whatnot. But yeah, dude, it’s crazy.” When Myles got old enough, he and his dad sat down to watch some old film. Chris Hinton’s first college game at Northwestern was actually against Michigan. So Myles got to watch his dad — then a tight end — play at the Big House, which became home for Myles in 2023 after transferring from Stanford. How the Josh Allen Process Led the Giants to Jaxson Dart – Albert Breer, Sports Illustrated Jaxson Dart is a name to watch for the Giants. But he was careful about visiting one school and, interestingly enough, it was Ole Miss. Schoen was sensitive with that one because his daughter is a student there, and he didn’t want his staff to think he was using the quarterback project for personal reasons. “In hindsight, I’m like, I could have definitely spent more time with my daughter this fall,” he joked. But he did eventually get to Oxford for the Egg Bowl over Thanksgiving weekend. And when he got there, as with all the quarterbacks, Schoen trained his eyes on Dart’s every move—particularly what he was doing when he wasn’t on the field. On the Vaught–Hemingway Stadium sideline, Dart gave Schoen everything he needed to see. “What really stands out about Jaxson is his passion for the game, leadership amongst his teammates and how he can cross sides of the ball,” Schoen says. “Like, he’s not just sitting over with the offense the entire time. You see him interacting with the defense as well. That’s a

UDFAs are going to be fun to track for the Cowboys this season. The Dallas Cowboys call the undrafted free agents they sign after the draft their “second draft”, and not just because they think it’s a funny name for a bunch of no-name camp bodies they sign to fill up the roster. They call it their second draft because the Cowboys don’t allow their scouts to “come off grade” after the draft. If they have a grade on a guy before the draft, they have to stick with it after the draft. Which means that after the draft, they try and sign every guy still left on their draft board, as the Cowboys feel those players effectively amount to extra draft picks. And the Cowboys have traditionally done quite well with this approach. Everybody knows how the Cowboys developed UDFAs like Tony Romo and Miles Austin into NFL superstars, but there are many more UDFAs on the roster in Dallas. Last year alone: 10 former UDFAs started at least one game for the Cowboys: Terence Steele (17 starts), Rico Dowdle (15), Cooper Rush (8), Brock Hoffman (7), Hunter Luepke (4), T.J. Bass (3), Josh Butler (3), and Kavontae Turpin (2) all started at least one game for the Cowboys 7 former UDFAs (Brandon Aubrey, Markquese Bell, Princeton Fant, Jalen Moreno-Cropper, Brevyn Spann-Ford, Juanyeh Thomas, Tyrus Wheat) all saw playing time Jon Machota of The Athletic reports that in the post-draft press conference, Stephen Jones said the Cowboys were “fired up” to have added five college free agents who were on their draft board. Jones did not share the names of those players. “That’s huge,” [Stephen Jones] added. “One of them was at the top of our board at the end of the draft. Those things, obviously they’re up there for a reason. We think a lot of them, and that’s important. We take a lot of pride in the college free agency after the draft as well. We think that’s the second draft, and there’s a lot of good players we’ve gotten that weren’t drafted that came here as college free agents and did really well.” In a recent article here on Blogging The Boys, we looked at how the Cowboys have built and maintained an advantage in signing undrafted free agents and saw that the team had consistently been one of the top spenders in the league on UDFAs, and not just recently. Over the last three years the Cowboys had one UDFA player each year that made more than $200,000 in total guarantees (signing bonus + guarantees) for signing with the Cowboys. 2022: S Marquese Bell, $215,000 2023: OT Earl Bostick, $220,000 2024: TE Brevyn Spann-Ford, $245,000 This year, per Todd Archer, the Cowboys have, not one, but two players eclipsing $250K: 2025 UDFA Class Player POS College Guarantee Signing Bonus Total GTD Alijah Clark DB Syracuse $234,000 $25,000 $259,000 Justin Barron LB Syracuse $234,000 $20,000 $254,000 Mike Smith Jr. DB Eastern Kentucky $175,000 $15,000 $190,000 Rivaldo Fairweather TE Auburn $150,000 $15,000 $165,000 Zion Childress DB Kentucky $125,000 $10,000 $135,000 Tyler Neville TE Virginia $100,000 $10,000 $110,000 Josh Kelly WR Texas Tech $60,000 $7,500 $67,500 Bruce Harmon DB Stephen F. Austin $35,000 $5,000 $40,000 Traeshon Holden WR Oregon – – $3,000 $3,000 Total $1,113,000 $110,500 $1223,500 Why $234,000 for Alijah Clark and Justin Barron? Todd Archer explains: The $234,000 guarantee is what a player would make on a practice squad this season. We may never find out who the five college free agents are who were left on the Cowboys’ draft board, but the table above gives us a pretty good idea. And it might also give you a leg up as you try to figure out who your pet cat (late-round or undrafted rookie) will be this year. The Cowboys need all the help they can get to have a successful 2025 season, and the 2025 UDFA class could well be part of that. Judging by the amount of money the Cowboys have spent on their UDFA players this year, they are banking on it.

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Here is how George Pickens can help the Cowboys After months of anticipation and speculation, and a complete lack of moves during the 2025 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys have finally added a viable starter at wide receiver opposite CeeDee Lamb. They traded for Steelers receiver George Pickens on Wednesday, and the move already has fans divided. Our own RJ Ochoa broke down the pros and cons of the trade, and it’s easy to understand why one of the most controversial wide receivers in the NFL has provoked such a reaction. No one is questioning the talent. Let’s start there. Listed at 6’3”, Pickens is one of the tallest receivers in the league, and he plays like it. Nobody had more receptions on passes thrown 20+ yards downfield than Pickens last year, and the Steelers understood his value as a deep threat. Only nine other receivers ran a higher rate of go routes and deep fades. That’s not all, though. Check out Pickens’ success rate by routes from his rookie year in 2022 to his second season. George Pickens Success Rate by Route 2022, courtesy of Reception Perception George Pickens Success Rate by Route 2023, courtesy of Reception Perception Pickens remained elite on deep routes, but expanded his route tree efficiency. Per ESPN Analytics, Pickens posted a 48 open score as a rookie – open score measures a receiver’s ability to create separation on routes – but upped that figure to 70 in 2023 and 68 in 2024. He’s also proven to be one of the best run-blocking wide receivers out there. Among full-time starters at the position, Pickens’ run blocking grade of 63.6 from Pro Football Focus ranked sixth, ahead of bigger names like A.J. Brown and Amon-Ra St. Brown. That hints at the biggest concern for Pickens, though. He’s a great run blocker because he loves the physicality of the sport, but sometimes he loves it too much. Pickens has garnered a reputation as a bit of a headcase, a ticking time bomb waiting to go off, with multiple explosions each season. He’s been rather public in the past about not getting enough targets, often stoked rumors that he wanted out of Pittsburgh, and got in numerous fights and squabbles with opponents; while Pickens has never been suspended, the NFL has handed down 10 fines over his three seasons totaling $123,989. Cowboys fans will surely remember one of those moments. I had completely forgotten about this , and then Jourdan Lewis calling George Pickens “weak” after the game Lewis, the former Cowboys corner,said this morning about the trade: “Confirmation, God wanted me in Jacksonville.” #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/ioOCLnuVaj — Kevin Gray Jr. (@KevinGraySports) May 7, 2025 So how can Brian Schottenheimer, a first-time head coach, figure out Pickens’ strong personality when Mike Tomlin, of all people, couldn’t? Well, as Schottenheimer himself said in his introductory press conference, he’s great with people. Look to his time in Seattle, in fact. Schottenheimer has already taken steps to implement similar things from Pete Carroll’s Seahawks dynasty, one of which includes being unafraid to bring in talented players with strong (or, as some may characterize it, volatile) personalities. One such player was DK Metcalf, whose player profile is in many ways very similar to that of Pickens. Metcalf had a huge frame and great long speed with perhaps too much passion for getting physical with defenders. In fact, Metcalf – who, coincidentally, was traded to Pittsburgh earlier this offseason – has 14 fines as a pro totaling $207,043. Despite that, Carroll wanted to take a chance on Metcalf. And the first offensive coordinator to work with Metcalf in the NFL was none other than Schottenheimer. Metcalf exploded onto the scene as a rookie, finishing with 900 yards and seven touchdowns. He leveled up the next year, hitting 1,303 yards and being named a second team All Pro. Schottenheimer was let go after that season, and while Metcalf has remained productive, that 2020 season is still the best of his career. Also of note: only one of Metcalf’s 14 career fines happened during the two years Schottenheimer coached him. The lone fine was for excessive celebration, too, hardly on the same level as the many taunting and brawl fines Metcalf has received since then. Obviously Metcalf and Pickens are different personalities, and the best way to manage one player is not the same as the best way to manage another. Schottenheimer certainly understands this, too. But it does speak to his ability to work with a player that many consider very similar to Pickens. Schottenheimer can even have that conversation with Pickens. He can point to Metcalf as a success story, and tell Pickens that if he buys into what the Cowboys are building, he can have the same kind of impact in Dallas. That, combined with Pickens playing on the final year of his deal, creates a perfect scenario in which the newest Cowboy can get it together and put forth the best year of his career (so far).

Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports Which Cowboys leadership figure do you trust the most these days? It feels like the public approval rating on the Dallas Cowboys has improved significantly over this offseason. The improvement is partly because of the depths they had fallen to last season. Over the last few months we have seen the Cowboys address their roster by a number of different methods. There have been free agent signings, trade acquisitions and most recently the NFL draft. If you are someone who feels like things “feel” better these days, who do you attribute this the most to? To be clear we are talking about the leadership in charge of the organization as somebody (theoretically at least) had to have won in some sort of conversation to get even the tiniest flame burning once more. Is your answer Will McClay? I imagine that he will be the common favorite. Maybe you believe that Brian Schottenheimer has to be the correct choice given that he is the newest member of the group. Perhaps you believe that Jerry Jones or Stephen Jones deserve their flowers. We want to know. Vote and let us know in the comments below!

Photo by Logan Bowles/Getty Images The latest news around the Dallas Cowboys Tyler Booker on pressure of being Cowboys’ first pick of Schottenheimer era: ‘I’m a natural born leader’ – Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com Tyler Booker is ready to bring his natural leadership to the Dallas Cowboys. “To be the leader of this [rookie] group, I take a lot of pride in that,” said Booker. “I’m just a natural born leader so, with my fellow rookies, I’m excited to continue to learn and grow with them.” Coincidentally, or rather fated, depending upon your belief system, Booker is joining a Cowboys’ organization that is undergoing a sweeping change within the coaching ranks after recently coming face-to-face with a similar situation in Tuscaloosa. Nick Saban announced his retirement in the days following the conclusion of the 2023 season, forcing Booker to reevaluate his future in the program. Would he follow some of his Roll Tide compatriots and enter the transfer portal for a program with a more proven and stable coaching situation in 2024, or would he stay put and weather the storm and, in the process, potentially help the incoming head coach, Kalen DeBoer, lead the team forward. He’d ultimately choose to stick around, and his explanation as to why further solidifies his view on what it means to be a leader — now also able to take lessons learned from that transition to helping Schottenheimer in one of his own.. “This last year helped me a lot,” Booker said. “Not just as a football player, but as a man. Going into [last] year with a lot of uncertainty and having to weather the storm, and then just not having the success that I wanted, that I was the same person every day. Even when we were losing the games that we shouldn’t have lost, I was the same person. I was the same Tyler Booker, every day. “That taught me how to be resilient even more than I already was. I feel like this last year, that last year at Alabama added more to who I am as a man.” Ex-Dallas Cowboys QB at peace with past as he helps those to avoid his mistakes – Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram Catching up with Quincy Carter. Quincy Carter’s ‘Why” Carter said he is a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, and follows their 12-step recovery process. One of his sponsors is former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson. Carter is a grandfather now, and has seven children who live in Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, North Dakota and Mississippi. “Six moms,” he said. “It ain’t personal. I tell it.” Carter returned to Georgia where he now runs his own foundation, and coaches young people and players. His approach with the kids, who range from middle school to college, is to just tell his truth. Unvarnished. No trick photography, or Instagram filters to make it look pretty. He was an NFL player who used drugs, and it derailed his career. “I put a lot of work in and I drove myself to be that guy on the field but when I came off the field I started that weed thing,” he said. One detail to Carter’s time with the NFL that most people didn’t know, or forgot, was that under Parcells, Carter put in the time. He worked at it; he stayed late, studied film, and in 2003 he was an improving NFL quarterback with a future. Maybe not Tom Brady’s future, but a future. “I had picked up the weed thing my first couple of years when I played minor league baseball, and it followed me to college and into the NFL,” he said. “I had a secret life going on. I would sit here and say, ‘Oh, thank you Lord,’ and then going out and doing things I had no business doing.” And that went well beyond a marijuana joint. His aim now is to deter any kid from trying any of it, even if it is legal. Because even if it’s legal, it can be lethal. The Cowboys still need to decide on a starting nickel cornerback – Connor Livesay, Blogging the Boys While the Cowboys front office nailed the draft, there are still questions about who will be the team’s starting nickel without Jourdan Lewis. The issue? None of those players are primary slot cornerbacks. Elam and Revel played primarily on the outside in Buffalo and at East Carolina. Both guys are taller, longer, and fit the boundary cornerback profile more. Mukuamu has seen some time in the slot for the Cowboys over the course of his four-year career in Dallas, but his lack of experience (three starts) and ideal fit to be a full-time nickel cornerback leaves the Cowboys with an interesting hole to fill. Over the last five years, the slot corner position has gone from being just another corner to one of the most valuable positions in the National Football League. With so many of the best wide receivers in football spending a lot of time in the slot, having a quality slot defender or outside cornerback that can comfortably follow wideouts into the slot has become extremely valuable. With Trevon Diggs unlikely to be ready for the start of the season, and Shavon Revel still rehabbing from a torn ACL suffered at the beginning of the 2024 season, the Cowboys will need to figure some things out in their secondary during training camp. There are still a few quality slot cornerbacks on the free agent market like Mike Hilton and Asante Samuel Jr. that the Cowboys could look to sign to fill their slot need, or hold them over until Diggs and Revel get back up to full strength. For now, it looks like the Cowboys will give many of their corners a shot in training camp to win the starting nickel role. Or they could move DaRon Bland back inside if they think they have a pair to play on the outside. But do not

Photo by M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images When you look at what the Cowboys are trying to do, selecting the Boston College edge rusher seems obvious. With each new day, the mission of the 2025 Dallas Cowboys becomes clearer. The team’s new head coach, Brian Schottenheimer, doesn’t want any ambiguity about what the team plans to do, and so far, they are sticking to a well-defined script. This includes decorating the roster with the right type of players. This type has different meanings. With the draft behind us now, we understand the emphasis on the player’s character. Their most recent draft haul is littered with strong leaders, guys who are passionate about football, and fierce competitors who have a deep-rooted desire to destroy their opponent. Another common theme that has shown up with the new players they’ve acquired along the defensive line is that they want to take the ball away. Back on St. Patrick’s Day, we wrote about how the team’s offseason decisions show that they are serious about taking the ball away. As luck would have it, their actions matched their words as they have thrown a lot of resources at players who are very good at going after the ball. Osa Odighizuw and his long arms were retained at a huge price. Free agent adds Dante Fowler and Payton Turner weren’t just QB sackers, but guys who also stripped the ball away. We even shared a video montage of all this splashiness on X that is nearly three minutes long if you are interested. It wasn’t that long ago that the Cowboys’ defense was masterful at taking the ball away. Under Quinn, they finished first in the league in back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022 in takeaways. Unfortunately, that advantage has dipped as of late. The defense has finished 12th in takeaways in each of the last two seasons. New defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus is here to fix that. During his four years as the Indianapolis Colts‘ defensive coordinator, his squad finished in the top 10 in takeaways every year. They also finished inside the top 10 in fumble recoveries in three of those four seasons. Even in his last season as head coach of the Chicago Bears, when they weren’t good at very much, they still finished fourth in the league in forced fumbles. Make no mistake about it, his guys get after the ball. And that is the new focus in Dallas. We’ve seen it in free agency, and now we’ve seen it in the draft. The Cowboys surprised everyone with the selection of Boston College edge rusher Ezeiruaku with their second-round pick, but when you look closely, his selection shouldn’t have been all that shocking. Why? Because he’s the exact type of player for Eberflus’ defense. There were 16 edge rushers taken in the top 120 players of the draft. NONE of them had more sacks than Donovan Ezeiruaku.NONE of them had more forced fumbles than Donovan Ezeiruaku. He is the epitome of a splash player. pic.twitter.com/cIz1vHZbuM — Dan Rogers (@DannyPhantom24) May 4, 2025 Ezeiruaku had 30 total sacks in college and eight forced fumbles. That is impressive, and is why he’s continually been heralded as one of the great value picks in the draft. For what he does, he couldn’t have landed in a better spot. The Cowboys have a plan, and they are committed to it. The work done in repairing the defensive line this offseason has been impressive. They understand that the ability to consistently get after the quarterback can mask many deficiencies in the secondary, which we’ve seen firsthand. The Cowboys enter the new season with many concerns at cornerback due to several players not being fully healthy, so they will be relying heavily on the guys in the trenches to get it done. The good news is they are laced with splash-makers on the defensive line, not just at the top, but deep within the trenches. Micah Parsons and his pride of pass-rushers can be seen as far as the light touches. With all the pieces in place, how can you not feel good about the Cowboys’ defensive line?

Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images Cowboys should leave no stone unturned searching for WR help. NFL teams are always trying to upgrade their roster one way or another. They are continuously on the lookout for players they can acquire to do just that. It’s a never-ending process and one that is continuously monitored 24/7, 365 days a year. Even now, after the 2025 NFL Draft and free agency, teams are considering trade/cut candidates around the league. The Dallas Cowboys are no doubt still putting in the work for talent acquisitions to upgrade their roster and are more than likely monitoring the roster status of several potential trade/cut candidates from other teams. That could be the way they find wide receiver help after they decided to bypass it in the draft. In fact, there are a few second-year receivers they could possibly be keeping an eye on. Ja’Lynn Polk, New England Patriots Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Despite just entering his second-year in the league, Ja’Lynn Polk could potentially find himself as a trade/cut candidate if he can’t prove to the new coaching staff in New England he’s worth keeping around. The former 2024 second-round pick had a disastrous rookie season and now has no one in his corner under the new coaching regime. On top of that, the Patriots currently have somewhat of a logjam at WR after drafting Kyle Williams in the third-round this year and also signing Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins in free agency. All three of them are likely ahead of Polk on the depth chart right now, making him potentially expendable. If true, a Day 3 pick could possibly secure his services. Per Dane Brugler’s 2024 draft guide: Polk must continue developing as a route runner, but he is natural athlete addressing the football, with three-level instincts and Pro-level toughness. A potential NFL starter, his game is reminiscent of Josh Palmer’s when he was coming out of Tennessee. Javon Baker, New England Patriots Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Just like the previously mentioned Polk, Javon Baker is another second-year receiver who may be one and done with the New England Patriots. Everything we said about Polk applies to Baker as well and probably much more so considering he was a 2024 fourth-round pick by the Patriots. Considering the differences draft status between the two, he’s much more likely to be a trade/cut candidate the Cowboys should continue to monitor. Per Dane Brugler’s 2024 draft guide: Baker is a loose-striding athlete with ball-tracking skills, although his tape is full of inconsistencies and question marks that didn’t allow him to consistently showcase his talent. He projects as a developmental Z receiver with starting upside. Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images Jalen McMillan’s roster status with Tampa Bay Buccaneers seems to be somewhat in question after they drafted Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson this year. Egbuka’s addition is especially concerning for McMillan as they are both considered at their best playing from the slot, thus making the former 2024 third-round pick potential trade candidate. Due to injuries at WR for the Buccaneers last year, McMillan is the most proven WR on this list, catching 37 passes for 461 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie. His fit with the Cowboys is somewhat questionable though considering he’s predominantly a slot WR, but he could still upgrade Dallas’ receiving corps if he ends up being a trade/cut candidate. Per Dane Brugler’s 2024 draft guide: McMillan will need to prove he can handle the physicality of playing inside at the next level, but he has three-level potential as a pass catcher and be an intriguing option for a team that prioritizes length and speed from the slot. Stylistically, his game reminds me of a juiced-up Jakobi Meyers.