Project Mazi

[CalPolyTechnique]

The Cowboys stated philosophy is that they expect their 1st round picks to compete for starting snaps and be impact players.

Mazi was neither of those things. In fact, they got next to nothing from this draft class. Schoonmaker probably had the most “impact” just in terms of snaps and contributing as a blocker but that’s it.

 

[deerhunter11]

It really don't matter if Mazi weighs 336 or 290 , look at the film ,rewatch the playoff game against the Packers.Dallas Dline formation is spaced out wide ,there is a hole you can drive a truck through at the snap .Not to mention we have a 210 lb LB.No wonder we can't stop the run.Marquise Bell needs to play safety ,he's a hell of a player .Lack of free agent signings are killing this team ,Linebackers should have been signed .They sure were needed against the run.I think you need to sign freeagents ,but we are cheap and when it counted the most it killed the Cowboys.

 

[fivetwos]

They were due to bust a first rounder.

No one hits on every pick but the Joneses seem to think they will.

They’ve gotta stop ignoring early free agency and being ridiculously arrogant about their draft ability.

Counting on any rookie to fill a gaping hole in the starting 22 is bad business, but exactly how they operate and why they end up with huge holes that better coordinators exploit eventually.

 

[Cmac]

1st pick is called a project.......tells you all you need to know.

 

[DuncanIso]

1st pick is called a project.......tells you all you need to know.

I think they move him to DT3 and fry to fix his technique.

Obviously a bust. But his career could be salvaged.

 

[DuncanIso]

.

They were due to bust a first rounder.

No one hits on every pick but the Joneses seem to think they will.

They’ve gotta stop ignoring early free agency and being ridiculously arrogant about their draft ability.

Counting on any rookie to fill a gaping hole in the starting 22 is bad business, but exactly how they operate and why they end up with huge holes that better coordinators exploit eventually.

the Mazi pick felt rushed.

Like they didn’t know who to pick.

 

[Cmac]

I think they move him to DT3 and fry to fix his technique.

Obviously a bust. But his career could be salvaged.

Has a 1st pick ever been placed on the practice squad? Just wondering.

 

[Carter]

.

the Mazi pick felt rushed.

Like they didn’t know who to pick.

I still believe they were set to take Kincaid the TE in the first. That guy came up everywhere in regards of the Cowboys predraft and the Bills traded into the spot before the Cowboys pick and took him at 25. You could see the panic in the draft war room when that happened. I think they really had no real Plan B set up

This had huge impact as now they felt the need to reach for a DT, that they would have taken in the 2nd most likely and Mazi was the BPA on that position because Carter and Kancey were gone already and they didnt want to spend a 1st on one of the other TE.

Than they hoped that LaPorta, Mayer or Musgrave would fall to them at 60 and somehow there was a run on TE in the 2nd and all were gone when the Cowboys picked so they had to settle with Schoonmaker.

For whatever reason they thought a TE needed to be drafted just because Schultz left. You could already see that Ferguson was the real deal and Hendershot was a decent backup already.

I think the Cowboys wanted to go like this:

1. Kincaid
2. DT

 

[Pola_pe_a]

Guy has freaky athleticism that doesn’t translate. His is extremely slow of the ball which let‘s linemen into his body. He doesn’t bring his feet so it mitigates his power. He also has zero pass rush moves. If he can’t use bull rush he doesn’t have a second move,
I don’t think he’ll ever be much of a pass rusher but if he works in his get-off and bringing his feet with him he can be a good run stopper.
I think he’s an example of a team falling in love with testing, having a position of need and not trusting the tape enough. Eagles. did the same with Nolan Smith.

 

[DuncanIso]

They still need a DT1.

Hankins is UFA soon.

It’s gonna cost $$$$$ to keep him.

Maybe they draft another DT1?

 

[Carter]

They still need a DT1.

Hankins is UFA soon.

It’s gonna cost $$$$$ to keep him.

Maybe they draft another DT1?

Hankins is an aging declining player that has settled for multiple 1 year deals in the range of 1-1,3 M.
He will cost almost nothing to extend.

I bet he takes another 1yr / 1 M deal from the Cowboys.

 

[tm1119]

This is why you don’t draft players in the 1st round that freely admit they don’t love football.

 

[blueblood70]

https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/article283341863.html
Smith, who has lost weight during the season and weighs no close to the 328 pounds the Cowboys have listed on the roster, got a good learning experience experience against the Bills.

https://www.audacy.com/1053thefan/s...disappointing-season-cowboys-playoff-pressure

Starts at 11:47 about weight loss. At 15:19 they mention too he's under 300lb.

Once again let me explain something to you I don't care what you're reading show me the proof he was 327 at the combine you can't get away from that number because they weigh everyone at the combine for a reason So what is he now and show me some proof.. Are you on a scale next to this dude are you in his bathroom I mean are you stalking him in the weight room show me some damn proof he didn't lose 40 lbs I mean by your amount 28 that's a whole lot different then 40 so when we start exaggerating it becomes a lie because when you exaggerate a little I'm gonna have to say you exaggerated the whole thing is absolutely false...

And by the way most players lose 10 to 15 lbs in the NFL in training camp from what they were in college just because it's a lot more work and they even make a bigger jump and add some muscle in the second year but again unless you have absolute proof I don't want to hear it anymore these are more conspiracy theories that people just float around because they heard it and then it becomes all of a sudden went from 20 lbs to 40 lbs...

So again and even if this is true it's even more proof that Dan Quinn's defenses just don't work long term they're opportunistic they are boom or bust and I've been saying it all year people's poo poo the idea that I said that this defense isn't good unless it gets turnovers if they get a big sack a big turnover that's the only way they make actual consistent stops meaning they don't force a lot of punts and 3rd downs unless they turn the ball over against the better teams Dan Quinn's been the biggest problem this year in our losses go look since mid season to that playoff game everyone keeps talking about Mike McCarthy they keep talking about Prescott they keep talking about problems with players well the problem starts with the defense not being able to stop anyone and if he asked or advised mazi to lose that much weight again that's another reason we can wish Dan Quinn goodbye and I'll buy him a fruit bouquet and then he can move on....

 

[blueblood70]

And I know McClay deserves a lot of credit but this is the guy he fought for in that draft room. That scares me

this is gonna be the 17th time I've had to say this and I'm really getting tired of it sometimes nose tackles well we could just say any player but in this case let's just go with nose tackles because this seems like the hardest position to judge because they don't have a big stat line you you they get caught in the wash it's hard to even find them it replays you don't know what their assignments were you don't know who blew the assignment what they were supposed to do and what really happened secondly we picked this guy 27 in the first round his rookie year was very much like the guy the Eagles took 13th overall Jordan Davis, literally had the same type of rookie year...

they were kind of ghosts, that guy played a lot better this year in his second year ie this year, so when you say it scares you maybe you should stop trying to get in the head of a scout, a GM ,or a coaching staff because that's where you're going wrong!!

you don't know what you're talking about I mean big Jordan didn't do **** he's working here either and he was taking way higher I mean that sounds like a big waste of a pick by Howie Roseman who I thought was king around here that makes all these big moves can't go wrong never does anything wrong blah blah blah... If you don't believe me go look it up look at the stat sheet for Jordan Davis from 2022 and you'll find out it was almost as sad as mazzy and even if it is a slightly better, he was picked 13th overall imagine what kind of player you could have got 13th overall instead of a nose tackle that didn't do anything his rookie year???

We need to give Mazi three seasons and then the Cowboys can cut the dude if he makes no progress but in the meantime, stop trying to make things true that aren't because you're just spreading rumors all this weight loss and that he's doing nothing and it was a bad pick we don't know that yet...

 

[Chocolate Lab]

To be blunt, he's as bad a first rounder as I've ever seen. He can't play a lick.

Forget the happy talk that he wasn't drafted to get sacks, stats, etc. Just watch the game. He gets blown backwards with ease. He looks like an undrafted camp body out there.

He's virtually unplayable, and the team knows it. There's a reason spare players like Gallimore and Golston were out there ahead of him in his first playoff game. And as soon as he came in, they got big runs right over him.

I don't know how you salvage him. You probably can't. Maybe if he has a huge attitude change, maybe gets scared into wanting it more, you eventally get a part time rotational player out of him.

 

[Davidlee1973]

Cut your loses now. Only guys from the entire defense that played this year, I would bring back would be
Dlaw, Hankins, Swill, parsons, LVE if healthy, diggs, bland, Gilmore, bell, resign Armstrong. That’s it

 

[eromeopolk]

On a day where everybody on defense was an F minus, somehow he ended with the lowest grades. I wish I was surprised. The club certainly bares responsibility (not only for the pick) but the whole weight loss, out of position, what is his function on defense fiasco. Season is over. Let see if someone can salvage this kids career because right now it looks to be headed south in a hurry.

If the Jonesboys told Mazi Smith to lose weight, then they are the idiots...read....
https://www.si.com/college/michigan...smith-jim-harbaugh-big-ten-ohio-state-playoff

 

[Cowboys5217]

This is why you don’t draft players in the 1st round that freely admit they don’t love football.

It's also why you don't reach for players in the draft.