Depth Chart: Cowboys Not Short of Options at DE

[TheMarathonContinues]

Mazi was not good in college and has poor lateral agility and tends to be late off the snap.

Does Jerry even know what lateral agility is and how it affects a player's success? I doubt he does, as he drafted and counts on players such as Jalen Tolbert, whose failures to be better come down to exactly that.

I’m not gonna scapegoat Jerry on this one….he pays millions to scouts….McClay as well. Mazi doesn’t strike me as a guy Jerry wanted. The pounded the table for a DT….and no matter how good or bad he was in college he was a good prospect. He should’ve been much more productive then he is. A lot of it is self inflicted by the Cowboys changing coaches and asking him to lose weight.

 

[cald0d30s0]

Parsons’ and friends…

 

[nalam]

I’m not gonna scapegoat Jerry on this one….he pays millions to scouts….McClay as well. Mazi doesn’t strike me as a guy Jerry wanted. The pounded the table for a DT….and no matter how good or bad he was in college he was a good prospect. He should’ve been much more productive then he is. A lot of it is self inflicted by the Cowboys changing coaches and asking him to lose weight.

That is correct during Quinns time, but no excuses for last year , he cant even hold the point of attack at LOS with weight back (even with coaching confusions the guy should know basic NT job , otherwise doesnt belong in NFL)

 

[plasticman]

Before anyone starts talking trade strategy, we should probably wait to see who is left standing at the end of training camp.

I guarantee it won't be 9 DEs.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

That is correct during Quinns time, but no excuses for last year , he cant even hold the point of attack at LOS with weight back (even with coaching confusions the guy should know basic NT job , otherwise doesnt belong in NFL)

I can’t call it. I don’t claim to know if he can play or not. I just know with all these coaching changes and with his weight fluncating it’s impossible to see where his game is at. He may stink. But he was raw when he got here and that’s a recipe for disaster.

 

[Pass2Run]

You beat me to it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happens.

The thing is, we can only have so many in the field at once. At some point, it's overkill.

I guess we'll see how they play it.

 

[blueblood70]

https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/depth-chart-cowboys-not-short-of-options-at-defensive-end

Here's what we have:

Micah Parsons
Dante Fowler
Donovan Ezeiruaku
Sam Williams

Payton Turner
Tyrus Wheat
Luigi Vilain
Earnest Brown IV

I think they will keep the top 6 with Micah taking a LB spot. But then again, I can't shake this feeling Sam Williams may be the odd man out.

If he realizes his potential you're wrong the man is too good yes his speed his first step,,,,, The man has natural athletic ability and instincts so maybe he gets a fresh start with this coaching staff and I don't think he's the odd man out some of them guys are not pass rushers they're more in the run fits I mean after Sam Williams that whole list down there are guys that are better at stopping to run they're not exactly natural pass rushers.

It's why you were right the first time sam Williams gives the Cowboys along with the other three guys opportunities that be interchangeable and have them all on the field at the same time like you said Sam could take over Parson's spot for a couple plays parsons can play off the ball linebacker if needed occasionally and they can do all kinds of things..

 

[beware_d-ware]

Between Micah and Fowler, I think we'll be all right. Fowler's quietly been a good 3rd down rusher for a very long time.

Other than that, we have our flotilla of 2nd rounders, and they're all still unproven.

 

[thunderpimp91]

If he realizes his potential you're wrong the man is too good yes his speed his first step,,,,, The man has natural athletic ability and instincts so maybe he gets a fresh start with this coaching staff and I don't think he's the odd man out some of them guys are not pass rushers they're more in the run fits I mean after Sam Williams that whole list down there are guys that are better at stopping to run they're not exactly natural pass rushers.

It's why you were right the first time sam Williams gives the Cowboys along with the other three guys opportunities that be interchangeable and have them all on the field at the same time like you said Sam could take over Parson's spot for a couple plays parsons can play off the ball linebacker if needed occasionally and they can do all kinds of things..

This is exactly the issue Sam Williams is up against. You typically only keep 9-10 Defensive linemen. 4 of them will likely be DTs, so it probably comes down to if they want to keep 5 or 6 ends. Ezeiruaku, Fowler, Kneeland and Parsons are likely to be locks on the roster. That could leave just 1 spot left depending on how the Cowboys want to open the year roster wise. Good chance they would like to see another run defender like Payton Turner over a guy like Williams who would possibly be the 4th option as a pass rush specialist.

 

[Zekeats]

I'm hoping Kneeland makes a huge impact this season.

Ha, a guy who didn't get sacks in college and doesn't get sacks now is gonna make a huge jump to nowhere.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Folks wanting to cut or trade Sam Williams are silly. We haven’t even started training camp yet. You can almost someone is going to go down with a serious injury. You don’t unnecessarily trade depth.

 

[Mikexike]

I'm hoping Kneeland makes a huge impact this season.

he is my breakout player this year!

 

[Jarntt]

Sam Williams was expected to take on a bigger role last season and be one of the keys to our pass rush. Somehow without even playing a snap he became a guy we should cut?

If you want to say he won't recover from his injury (he mostly likely will) at least that is an argument to make as is him doing something stupid to get himself cut for character or disciplinary reasons. But, as far as football goes, he played more snaps and had more sacks than Fowler did the last season that they both played here. He was only in year two then and now hopefully is a little more seasoned (and mature) and Fowler is now going to be 31 when the season starts. Sam Williams isn't getting cut unless he does something dumb

 

[Pass2Run]

Folks wanting to cut or trade Sam Williams are silly. We haven’t even started training camp yet. You can almost someone is going to go down with a serious injury. You don’t unnecessarily trade depth.

I mean, what if we get equal value for a player at DT?

Don't get me wrong. I like Sam's potential.

 

[Pass2Run]

I too think Williams could be on the hot seat. He is coming back from an injury that often takes multiple years, and I also wouldnt be shocked to see the Cowboys go light at DE in order to keep an extra DT on the roster. Solomon Thomas gives you some position flex to bump out to DE as well.

I also wouldnt be surprised if they looked to keep 7 backers. I know thats a little bit of an old school approach to keep 7, but the strength of the LB position for Dallas is the depth at the position over having a couple of studs at the top....plus the body type of a LB is perfect for special teams.

Solomon Thomas was a low key good signing. Probably my favorite in hindsight. I like him at end on run downs.

I didn't think they'd draft a round 1 guard so I figured Jones might see action here and there.

Either way, Solomon Thomas may not be a 3 overall player. But if you get him round 3, he's a hit. So I wouldn't call him a bust. He can be a part of a good defense like he was in San Fran.

 

[jazzcat22]

Wheat, Villian, Brown are the 3 out. If they keep 6, all others will of course make it.
That depends on how many they keep at other positions.
9 or 10 OL, or just even 8.
2 or 3 QB’s, 3 or 4 TE’s, 3 or 4 RB’s. 9 or 10 or even 11 DB”s. 5 or 6 WR’s. 5 or 6 LB’s. Or any combination of.

 

[Pass2Run]

I’m not gonna scapegoat Jerry on this one….he pays millions to scouts….McClay as well. Mazi doesn’t strike me as a guy Jerry wanted. The pounded the table for a DT….and no matter how good or bad he was in college he was a good prospect. He should’ve been much more productive then he is. A lot of it is self inflicted by the Cowboys changing coaches and asking him to lose weight.

I always saw Mazi as a 3rd or 4th round pick. After he was drafted I thought maybe the Cowboys knew or saw something I didn't.

We'll know this year. To be fair, he's not nearly as bad as what people say. And he's still young. He'll never be a pass rusher and fans are judging him by stats, which is not why we drafted him. We drafted him to blow up the run.

 

[kskboys]

I’m not gonna scapegoat Jerry on this one….he pays millions to scouts….McClay as well. Mazi doesn’t strike me as a guy Jerry wanted. The pounded the table for a DT….and no matter how good or bad he was in college he was a good prospect. He should’ve been much more productive then he is. A lot of it is self inflicted by the Cowboys changing coaches and asking him to lose weight.

It is part of the duties of a GM. It's all on him. The 3 super bowls, the 30 years of flailing miserably, all of it. That is what the role of a GM entails. Those scouts you're blaming? Who hires them.........

 

[kskboys]

I always saw Mazi as a 3rd or 4th round pick. After he was drafted I thought maybe the Cowboys knew or saw something I didn't.

We'll know this year. To be fair, he's not nearly as bad as what people say. And he's still young. He'll never be a pass rusher and fans are judging him by stats, which is not why we drafted him. We drafted him to blow up the run.

I haven't seen anyone judging him by the stats. Who are you referring to?

 

[kskboys]

Solomon Thomas was a low key good signing. Probably my favorite in hindsight. I like him at end on run downs.

I didn't think they'd draft a round 1 guard so I figured Jones might see action here and there.

Either way, Solomon Thomas may not be a 3 overall player. But if you get him round 3, he's a hit. So I wouldn't call him a bust. He can be a part of a good defense like he was in San Fran.

Curious. Where did you hear he's a run stopper? I've heard the opposite.