A Gil Brandt reminder about developing young players

[Bobhaze]

The late-great Gil Brandt, the Cowboys HOF former director of player personnel used to remind us that many young players that are drafted at a very young age have not fully developed or stopped growing! Guys younger than 23 are often still coming into their full adult bodies. We need to remember that when looking at how many young players we lose patience with even though they are still young and developing. How many of us were fully physically developed at 22?

Guys like former Cowboys great LT Tyron Smith, who was 20 when drafted in 2011, Zeke Elliott was 20 when he was drafted in 2016, 2022 first round pick Tyler Smith was 21 when drafted, and 2023 first rounder Mazi Smith was also 21 when selected. Young guys can be plug and play but very few 20 or 21 year olds are as ready as Tyron Smith and Zeke Elliott were.

With that in mind, there are several examples of current Cowboys who may need a little longer in the developmental oven and we may have reason to hope for improvement:

• Mazi Smith will be entering his second year as an NFL player is currently 22, and still struggling to figure out his playing weight and his role. I’m not excusing Mazi’s poor start last year, but I would like to think at 22 he still has upside. Under new DC Mike Zimmer, I’m hopeful Mazi will show some major improvement.
• Damone Clark is currently 23 but was drafted at 21 and about to start his 3rd NFL season. He has developed into a starter but IMO he’s still developing. Will be interesting to see how he does in year 3. He’s added some weight and more help possibly from FA LB Eric Kendricks, it’s not crazy to think he improves.
• Deuce Vaughn was drafted at 21 last year and now as a 22 year old has supposedly added some weight room bulk this off-season. I’m not sure he’s capable of a ton more next year, but we will see. Hope so.
• Tyler Guyton - our first round pick this year is 22. He will turn 23 later this summer but he’s only played LT a short time in college, even starting his college career as an H-back at TCU. Guyton is huge and extremely athletic, but I think he will need some time to develop. But again, he’s 22.
• Micah Parsons. Yeah he’s already great but he was drafted at 21 and at 24 is about to enter his 4th season. I believe Micah Parsons can still improve and has not reached his peak yet. If he stays healthy, there is still upside to reap.

There are several other guys on the roster who are young and probably have lots of developmental upside. I can hear the wise sage voice of Gil Brandt reminding us these “kids” aren’t done growing up yet.

 

[AmericasTeam81]

I don’t think deuce Vaughn is growing anymore

 

[Bobhaze]

I don’t think deuce Vaughn is growing anymore

 

[Runwildboys]

I don’t think deuce Vaughn is growing anymore

I wonder if Jerry marks his height on the door frame of the locker room each week to see.

 

[fivetwos]

Exactly. You’ve exhausted your college eligibility but are you still on the rise as a player?

Is your best ball ahead of you? Coaching makes a huge difference in that case IMO. Scouting of course in the first place.

The main difference? You didn’t lose them after four years in Brandts time. You had them for free until you felt like dumping them.

When it takes these guys into year 3/4 to make any impact at all, it’s a tough call as to whether to keep them.

Many mid round picks never even see the field. That’s why the Stephen model will never work on the field. It’s impossible to draft well enough, even though they seem to have convinced enough fans that that’s the case.

If you believe that they do, take a look at the Friday results of the last few drafts and tell me that isnt why this roster has so many holes.

 

[Cowboys5217]

I don’t think deuce Vaughn is growing anymore

 

[gtb1943]

Most college players now drafted are not physically mature. But any major change is rare. Getting stronger is usually the biggest change since few college programs have a weight and strength program the NFL does.
Better coaching is also a major factor; unfortunately that is questionable with the Boys.
Both Landry and BP said give a player 3 years. Though of course some explode and some fizzle right away.

 

[Praxit]

...wow, Vaugh is 22? Thought he was older than that.

Well, wishing him luck.

 

[Coogiguy03]

Yeah micah still hasn't reached his peak i'm sorry, the sacks are fine at times, but what more can he do besides sacks???? Take over a game for once!

 

[calicowboy54]

man i hit a 3 inch growth spurt at 22 i went from from 5’6 to 5’9

 

[Bobhaze]

man i hit a 3 inch growth spurt at 22 i went from from 5’6 to 5’9

So if that same growth happens for Deuce, he will be up to 5’8”, lol!

 

[beware_d-ware]

The only guy there that I see up-and-comer development potential with is Clark. LBs usually take a couple seasons before things start slowing down for them, and he's basically only played for 1 season. He's got the goods physically, so if the game starts slowing down for him, he could really become a player.

Guyton is a total unknown. Mazi was the exact same guy he was at UMich, with all the same flaws but worse. His arrow is pointing dramatically down. Deuce is a sub-NFL athlete... no RB with his size-speed combo has ever become a contributor in the Combine era. On the plus side, Parsons is on a Hall of Fame trajectory, and I just don't know how you improve from 3x All-Pros in 3 seasons.

 

[Rayman70]

in today's league Gils thinking no longer has value. Teams expect to win now and don't have the time to wait on a player. Deuce Vaughn must be good right now, not down the road. Thats why he needs to play. Training wheels must come off of these guys now.

 

[Rayman70]

The late-great Gil Brandt, the Cowboys HOF former director of player personnel used to remind us that many young players that are drafted at a very young age have not fully developed or stopped growing! Guys younger than 23 are often still coming into their full adult bodies. We need to remember that when looking at how many young players we lose patience with even though they are still young and developing. How many of us were fully physically developed at 22?

Guys like former Cowboys great LT Tyron Smith, who was 20 when drafted in 2011, Zeke Elliott was 20 when he was drafted in 2016, 2022 first round pick Tyler Smith was 21 when drafted, and 2023 first rounder Mazi Smith was also 21 when selected. Young guys can be plug and play but very few 20 or 21 year olds are as ready as Tyron Smith and Zeke Elliott were.

With that in mind, there are several examples of current Cowboys who may need a little longer in the developmental oven and we may have reason to hope for improvement:

• Mazi Smith will be entering his second year as an NFL player is currently 22, and still struggling to figure out his playing weight and his role. I’m not excusing Mazi’s poor start last year, but I would like to think at 22 he still has upside. Under new DC Mike Zimmer, I’m hopeful Mazi will show some major improvement.
• Damone Clark is currently 23 but was drafted at 21 and about to start his 3rd NFL season. He has developed into a starter but IMO he’s still developing. Will be interesting to see how he does in year 3. He’s added some weight and more help possibly from FA LB Eric Kendricks, it’s not crazy to think he improves.
• Deuce Vaughn was drafted at 21 last year and now as a 22 year old has supposedly added some weight room bulk this off-season. I’m not sure he’s capable of a ton more next year, but we will see. Hope so.
• Tyler Guyton - our first round pick this year is 22. He will turn 23 later this summer but he’s only played LT a short time in college, even starting his college career as an H-back at TCU. Guyton is huge and extremely athletic, but I think he will need some time to develop. But again, he’s 22.
• Micah Parsons. Yeah he’s already great but he was drafted at 21 and at 24 is about to enter his 4th season. I believe Micah Parsons can still improve and has not reached his peak yet. If he stays healthy, there is still upside to reap.

There are several other guys on the roster who are young and probably have lots of developmental upside. I can hear the wise sage voice of Gil Brandt reminding us these “kids” aren’t done growing up yet.

Gil is and was a legend ahead of his time. But the old guard template is just that now. Guys must come into the league and be ready at full go day 1. 3 years if they don't play good, they don't get a 2nd contract. Its not like the NFL was back in the 80's even, where teams could afford to hand out a second contract and wait on a guy to get better. Dallas might be the only team that still tried to do that and it hasn't worked.

 

[Rayman70]

The only guy there that I see up-and-comer development potential with is Clark. LBs usually take a couple seasons before things start slowing down for them, and he's basically only played for 1 season. He's got the goods physically, so if the game starts slowing down for him, he could really become a player.

Guyton is a total unknown. Mazi was the exact same guy he was at UMich, with all the same flaws but worse. His arrow is pointing dramatically down. Deuce is a sub-NFL athlete... no RB with his size-speed combo has ever become a contributor in the Combine era. On the plus side, Parsons is on a Hall of Fame trajectory, and I just don't know how you improve from 3x All-Pros in 3 seasons.

Clark was arse last year

 

[beware_d-ware]

Clark was arse last year

For rookie LBs, that's very much the norm. The guys who make it usually take a jump in year 2, sometimes year 3.

 

[plymkr]

I wonder if Jerry marks his height on the door frame of the locker room each week to see.

Probably not. But I bet he does that with Stephen. Every morning he checks his height and then says….

Who’s a big boy??????
Who’s a big boy ?????

So BIG!!!!!!!

Cuz you know, he can’t let Stephen work in the real world on his own merits. He’ll always be daddy’s boy

 

[calicowboy54]

So if that same growth happens for Deuce, he will be up to 5’8”, lol!

i’m not trying to play football

 

[Manster_Mash]

I don’t think deuce Vaughn is growing anymore

He stopped at age 8 apparently.

 

[GMO415]

The late-great Gil Brandt, the Cowboys HOF former director of player personnel used to remind us that many young players that are drafted at a very young age have not fully developed or stopped growing! Guys younger than 23 are often still coming into their full adult bodies. We need to remember that when looking at how many young players we lose patience with even though they are still young and developing. How many of us were fully physically developed at 22?

Guys like former Cowboys great LT Tyron Smith, who was 20 when drafted in 2011, Zeke Elliott was 20 when he was drafted in 2016, 2022 first round pick Tyler Smith was 21 when drafted, and 2023 first rounder Mazi Smith was also 21 when selected. Young guys can be plug and play but very few 20 or 21 year olds are as ready as Tyron Smith and Zeke Elliott were.

With that in mind, there are several examples of current Cowboys who may need a little longer in the developmental oven and we may have reason to hope for improvement:

• Mazi Smith will be entering his second year as an NFL player is currently 22, and still struggling to figure out his playing weight and his role. I’m not excusing Mazi’s poor start last year, but I would like to think at 22 he still has upside. Under new DC Mike Zimmer, I’m hopeful Mazi will show some major improvement.
• Damone Clark is currently 23 but was drafted at 21 and about to start his 3rd NFL season. He has developed into a starter but IMO he’s still developing. Will be interesting to see how he does in year 3. He’s added some weight and more help possibly from FA LB Eric Kendricks, it’s not crazy to think he improves.
• Deuce Vaughn was drafted at 21 last year and now as a 22 year old has supposedly added some weight room bulk this off-season. I’m not sure he’s capable of a ton more next year, but we will see. Hope so.
• Tyler Guyton - our first round pick this year is 22. He will turn 23 later this summer but he’s only played LT a short time in college, even starting his college career as an H-back at TCU. Guyton is huge and extremely athletic, but I think he will need some time to develop. But again, he’s 22.
• Micah Parsons. Yeah he’s already great but he was drafted at 21 and at 24 is about to enter his 4th season. I believe Micah Parsons can still improve and has not reached his peak yet. If he stays healthy, there is still upside to reap.

There are several other guys on the roster who are young and probably have lots of developmental upside. I can hear the wise sage voice of Gil Brandt reminding us these “kids” aren’t done growing up yet.

BULLET! Its hard to keep hope alive sometimes Bruh.