Drafted by Cowboys 1st Round - Pick 26 - DT Mazi Smith - (Michigan)

[reddyuta]

People are making a lot of good points but I wanted to get my 2 cents worth in as well.

First, regardless of how he turns out as a player I am happy to see the Cowboys select a DT in the first round for the 1st time in over 30 years. It tells me they see the problem we have been seeing and they addressed it in the draft.

What I really like about him is he appears to be a hard worker. That makes him more of a sure thing than even Jalen Carter who frankly had some yellow flags around him. The Eagles taking Carter at 9 sounds great but only if Carter is nothing like all the pre-draft publicity he received.

I think Smith's floor is going to be a solid if not spectacular DT. He is the kind of strong guy they have needed for some time. His upside is he will be a force in the middle who will command attention from offensive lines.

As for negatives, the biggest negative is it takes DTs a year or two to develop, sometimes 3. It takes a commitment from the team that drafts them. I prefer to fill this spot in free agency but the Cowboys don't do free agency so we have Mazi Smith who will develop into a stud in 2 or 3 years then become a free agent 2 years later. In any case, I don;t expect much out of Smith in 2023, but in 2025 he will earn his 1st round draft status.

the more i watch the more i question Michigans DLine coaches.NTs win with leverage and this guy rarely plays with leverage,either they didnt bother correcting him or he is not coachable.

 

[Beast_from_East]

Because stopping the run really doesn’t matter.

Explosive plays are all that matters. Not run stuffing.

With premium picks we need big play players.

This pick did squat for us.

Stopping the run doesnt matter?

Dan Quinn and Micha Parsons seem to think otherwise since they were texting each other all afternoon about drafting this guy.

They seem to think stopping the run is kinda important.

 

[kevm3]

I've watched and listened to some interviews of Mazi Smith. Seems like a humble, hard-working player. A bit of an introvert. He spent the night watching the draft at home with his mother - no big party. He's understated in his interviews, and stresses that he wants to get to work.

In an interview in Michigan by Wolverine beat writers, he was asked what he says to NFL coaches. His reply was a little surprising. Instead of tooting his own horn, he deferred, mentioning that the NFL coaches were pretty smart, and he was more interested in listening to them talk about how he could improve his game. This kid is going to be very teachable, and should blossom under Dan Quinn.

The guy is an athletic freak and apparently coachable. I think people are more down on him because the sexier names were still on the table.

I think this move is finally signifying that the FO is finally starting to 'get it' and drafting football players with a theme. I wasn't excited for Tyler Smith last year because I heard about all the penalties, but Tyler Smith played tough on the tape. This guy doesn't seem to be a finesse guy either, so with Quinn's coaching, I'm sure he can really make an impact on this team.

He's not undersized, a finesse player, nor does he have 'work ethic concerns'... He could pan out well imo.

 

[Dallasfann]

Trust this front office to draft first round talent. All for this pick. I wanted dt so bad in the first round. So happy.

 

[kevm3]

This is an interesting video that was made about a month ago:


Who knows how they will turn out in the league, but the Mazi pick may actually pan out quite well

 

[SlammedZero]

I'm stoked!! I about fell out of my chair when it showed the Cowboys selected a DT.....in the 1st round!!!!

Can't wait to see this defense take the next step.

 

[big dog cowboy]

I wonder how true this is

 

[Kwyn]

his tape against Ohio state is only slightly better.

Agenda much?

 

[Kwyn]

I've watched and listened to some interviews of Mazi Smith. Seems like a humble, hard-working player. A bit of an introvert. He spent the night watching the draft at home with his mother - no big party. He's understated in his interviews, and stresses that he wants to get to work.

In an interview in Michigan by Wolverine beat writers, he was asked what he says to NFL coaches. His reply was a little surprising. Instead of tooting his own horn, he deferred, mentioning that the NFL coaches were pretty smart, and he was more interested in listening to them talk about how he could improve his game. This kid is going to be very teachable, and should blossom under Dan Quinn.

He was a two time team captain. I hope for m him to be a no nonsense low key leader

 

[Chappy]

I feel the same way as Micah and we drafted for need regarding a top run stopper and that's what we got. Our D was torched against the run all season and Smith was best available come our pick. He can still disrupt the QB but it wont be his role on D early and RBs will go nowhere near him as he just stuffs early down plays with run stops to keep us out of 2nd down and 2 when opposing RBs grab large chunks of yardage on early downs.

I didn’t want a TE in the first round anyway and we can get one tomorrow if need be.

 

[TequilaCowboy]

Guy i wanted was Bijan with a move up...but he went even faster than i thought.... so this appears to be the best alternative to strengthen the D line in the middle which is one of the weaknesses. So i can't complain. Was fearing they may get suckered into getting one of the TE's, esp Kincaid. glad that didn't happen,

 

[Haimerej]

Good luck to this kid. These fans are brutal.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Horrible. This may be worse thenTaco. Wasted pick.

They both went to Michigan. Taco only started his senior year after barely seeing the filed before that. Mazi broke out as a sophmore and was a leader from the start.

Further, Mazi is a physical freak. 30" vert, 9' broad and 34 reps at 325 lbs. Taco was good in terms of size but he was mediocre athletically.

I can understand not liking the value because right now he projects as a 2 down player but I cannot help but feel that this really completes the defense.

 

[IrishAnto]

based on the TCu game i am not impressed one bit.hope i am wrong but this pick will go down the Taco way.

You can't judge a player on one game.
Got to look at the whole body of work and even then it's still not the NFL.
So give him at least a couple of years.
Then you can judge him.

 

[Texas_Pete]

Good pick. Not sexy, but necessary. Paired with Hankins, we'll finally see potent run defense.

Which DT on the roster right now won't be by week 1? I'm thinking Gallimore.

 

[Whyjerry]

Good pick. Not sexy, but necessary. Paired with Hankins, we'll finally see potent run defense.

Which DT on the roster right now won't be by week 1? I'm thinking Gallimore.

A muck it up interior defender is usually not a sexy pick but they really needed a talent infusion there. I preferred trading down and getting Ika or Benton. They didn’t but at least they addressed one of the glaring needs. Onto G, RB and TE.

 

[CowboyoWales]

I need to watch more tbh. I don’t see a pass rusher so far or a guy that collapses the pocket.

That's what so so many Cowboys fans miss....it's not all about following the ball, it's the facilitators (like Mazi) that creates:
1) longer 3rd downs
2) Greater chance for the no.1 ranked pass rush to do their thing.
3) Even if he's on the field on 3rd downs, we now have the option to scheme pass rush from MLB (maybe Micah....or Wilson), straight down the middle with Mazi creating the lane.
4) We face two of the top 5 running teams in our division.
5) Look how much better LVE looked when we fielded Hankins....if he's clean from blockers his game's elevated.

Its more than the player, it's how we've improved one of the TWO big organizational weakness......and there was nobody available that moved the Offensive needle.

 

[Hadenough]

I like the pick and I bet Parsons does too!

 

[America's Cowboy]

Mazi Smith pick is such bad value..

Likely a 2 down player lol. Like it’s 1992.

You keep showing everyone how wrong you are in your football assessment. Sad.

 

[phildadon86]

Is Mazi going to play outside linebacker and completely change his position like Parsons?

What Parsons put on tape in college didn’t match with what he turned into starting with the Chargers game his rookie year.

Lol here you go again. Trying to justify your big time whiff as a talent evaluator