The Mazi vs Bergeron closing debate in the war room

[big dog cowboy]

True.......but at some point we have to accept Torrence was not on their radar. Remember Stephen saying couple of weeks ago some players were graded 2nd, 3rd and 4th rounders on their board that may have different grades on other teams' boards and vice versa?

 

[Jake0]

My personal preference was trade down with KC and take Avila or Bergeron

Then take Benton at 58

I had been saying for a while before the draft that we should sign Robinson to a 2 year deal, way before the Giants signed him

This would have shored up or DL with 1T and 3T and our OL and would have given us an extra rd 3 pick ( in the trade down) with which we could have still taken Schoon or a better RB

??? There was late 1st round buzz with Benton late pre-draft. It was pretty obvious there was no chance he was going to be there at 58. He did not make it to 58. I would have liked a trade down as well, but you aren't getting Benton unless you use your trade down pick. DT was very thin this draft and if you waited to 58, you can get Zacch Pickens or Byron Young (AL) that were drafted sort of close. If you wanted to get closer to mid 3rd there was Kobie Turner, Brodric Martin, Siaki Ika. Which one compares similarly to Mazi? Ika maybe? Lots of quick but weaker guys here. Mazi is way ahead of all of these guys. Pick was fine.
Also Schoon was not going to make it to a late 3rd. He's rated as a 2nd-3rd on NFL.com as is.

 

[Floatyworm]

He will starting at LG at some point. Probably in 2024. He needs to spend some time getting stronger.

I can easily see Tyron retirement, Tyler LOT and Richards LOG then.

Something tells me they should keep Richards @ left tackle...watching his pro day tape...you just don't see the explosiveness coming out of his 3pt stance to be a guard.

 

[visionary]

??? There was late 1st round buzz with Benton late pre-draft. It was pretty obvious there was no chance he was going to be there at 58. He did not make it to 58. I would have liked a trade down as well, but you aren't getting Benton unless you use your trade down pick. DT was very thin this draft and if you waited to 58, you can get Zacch Pickens or Byron Young (AL) that were drafted sort of close. If you wanted to get closer to mid 3rd there was Kobie Turner, Brodric Martin, Siaki Ika. Which one compares similarly to Mazi? Ika maybe? Lots of quick but weaker guys here. Mazi is way ahead of all of these guys. Pick was fine.
Also Schoon was not going to make it to a late 3rd. He's rated as a 2nd-3rd on NFL.com as is.

There was buzz that Seattle might take him in early 20s of rd 2 so we could trade up ahead of them with our 4th but let’s say it was the rd 3 pick, would you rather have Mazi/Schoonmaker or Avila/Benton?

 

[Aikmaniac]

No and their war room doesnt look like a home movie either.

That room looks so stuffy, uptight and corporate as you can get. Reminds me of the round table in Star Wars.

 

[conner01]

The good thing about this.......we now know LG IS a priority and they are not happy with the status quo. I'm guessing we will see a mid-level signing or trade for a tackle or guard.

It excites me to see they realize guard is important. I think they like Chuma at guard but if the opportunity arose I’m sure they’d upgrade
To me Farniok is just a center but one nice thing is we can carry that extra lineman now so a guard/center isn’t as important as it once was
It appears Tyler will be LG, at least as long as tackles stay healthy. Cuna would be backup there and tackle

 

[conner01]

At 6'8" he almost needs to be 325+ lbs or just not have enough mass for his size. He was getting bull rushed in Div2 at 310. Doesn't seem unreasonable with the peanut butter. Flozell was powerful at that height but went 340.

36" arms though. August cannot get here soon enough.

Wally struggled with strength and technique. I’m hoping he’s added some strength and maybe some pounds too. Technique though is an on the practice field thing

 

[Verdict]

One of the more interesting things about the Mazi pick is that in hindsight, if Mazi is who he appears to be screams as a massive need, meets elite measurables player, meets opportunity, which you don’t see happen very often.

In hindsight this was a very well reasoned pick by the Cowboys on so many different levels. This also says that the Cowboys are learning from their past mistakes (which I have been saying for some time—although Cowboys hater fans will insist otherwise.

But what is more amazing is that not many (if any fans) were pimping this pick, or even like the pick to begin with. Funny how so many have jumped on this bandwagon (and I think rightly so). I think this bodes well for the probability of the 1st round hit being a HIT.

Conversely the second round pick (TE) doesn’t seem to be enjoying nearly the same level of buy-in by the CZ fans. I think most CZ fans are looking at picks in round 2 and 3 with a much more critical eye. The buy in by the fans on the round 2 pick seems particularly low.

It won’t surprise me if the Cowboys turn out to be right on the second round pick, but I can’t manage to be anything other than lukewarm on the round two pick, and cross my fingers and hope for the best just like everyone else.

 

[Verdict]

It excites me to see they realize guard is important. I think they like Chuma at guard but if the opportunity arose I’m sure they’d upgrade
To me Farniok is just a center but one nice thing is we can carry that extra lineman now so a guard/center isn’t as important as it once was
It appears Tyler will be LG, at least as long as tackles stay healthy. Cuna would be backup there and tackle

I think there is a decent chance that Farniok is your starting center at some point.

 

[beware_d-ware]

I hate Mazi as a prospect. But if it's down to him or Bergeron for our 1st round pick.... I'm going Mazi all day.

Bergeron's just a power guard. You can't spend 1st rounders on low-value guards who can't pass protect.

 

[Kwyn]

Mostt of the board would have been fine. The debates in here have been TE vs RB vs OL. Nobody was talking about Mazi Smith on this board pre-draft and his selection was a shocker given the Cowboys historical reluctance to draft the position this high.

I’d remember a lot of talk about Mazi as he was the clear #1 NT in the draft.

I think it’s Bergeron who would have been the mystery pick.

 

[beware_d-ware]

Also, McClay is 100% the shadow GM and it's so fun to watch. McCarthy's all joking around, but when McClay starts talking, everyone shuts up and listens.

 

[gimmesix]

I’d remember a lot of talk about Mazi as he was the clear #1 NT in the draft.

I think it’s Bergeron who would have been the mystery pick.

This place would have exploded over not taking Avila.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

It excites me to see they realize guard is important. I think they like Chuma at guard but if the opportunity arose I’m sure they’d upgrade
To me Farniok is just a center but one nice thing is we can carry that extra lineman now so a guard/center isn’t as important as it once was
It appears Tyler will be LG, at least as long as tackles stay healthy. Cuna would be backup there and tackle

This apparently the plan going forward. My guess is they are riding with this and see how long Tyron holds up and even when goes down, how long, major time off or just a couple of games. Remember reading a nugget from a former Cowboy scout a few years ago that McClay has a list of players at every position 2-3 deep avail via trade and or free agent ( on the streets ) or practice squad around the league. It's updated throughout the season. So I'm sure they'll be prepared but as stated, they the position is fragile

 

[Creeper]

Now I would not have picked a DT in the first just because they have not picked on in e the first for 32 years, but with only 1 DT coming off the board in the first round, the Cowboys took the guy rated highly who can play today. McClay made the right argument.

But what if the Cowboys had signed Dalvin Tomlinson in free agency and Jonathan Hankins? Then they could have taken Bergeron, if they thought he was the best option at LG, and solved that problem too. With Martin getting older, they will need to address the RG position before long so having solved LG now would make that less of a problem down the road.

By not using free agency to solve gaps they box themselves in on draft day.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

Interesting take, but I almost got the exact opposite from the video. Sounded to me like they were considering Bergeron because they felt he was high value at that pick, but ended up going with Mazi because he would contribute right away. We also heard McClay say that he preferred Mazi because they had depth along the Oline.

Maybe they will shock me and still make a move along the Oline, but I'm skeptical. Partly because while they entertained Oline early on draft day it clearly wasn't a priority position, and party because finding starters on the Oline after the draft becomes pretty difficult.

I could be wrong but I thought I read somewhere Bergeron could also play guard.

 

[BoysfanfromCanada]

One of the more interesting things about the Mazi pick is that in hindsight, if Mazi is who he appears to be screams as a massive need, meets elite measurables player, meets opportunity, which you don’t see happen very often.

In hindsight this was a very well reasoned pick by the Cowboys on so many different levels. This also says that the Cowboys are learning from their past mistakes (which I have been saying for some time—although Cowboys hater fans will insist otherwise.

But what is more amazing is that not many (if any fans) were pimping this pick, or even like the pick to begin with. Funny how so many have jumped on this bandwagon (and I think rightly so). I think this bodes well for the probability of the 1st round hit being a HIT.

Conversely the second round pick (TE) doesn’t seem to be enjoying nearly the same level of buy-in by the CZ fans. I think most CZ fans are looking at picks in round 2 and 3 with a much more critical eye. The buy in by the fans on the round 2 pick seems particularly low.

It won’t surprise me if the Cowboys turn out to be right on the second round pick, but I can’t manage to be anything other than lukewarm on the round two pick, and cross my fingers and hope for the best just like everyone else.

The only reason Mazi didn't seem like a huge need is because we signed Hankins about a month into free agency for cheap. That alone should not deter us from taking a starting calbire 1T. Its so important. At Hankin's age, its not a guarantee he can play 17 games or even 3 downs. But the combination of them both (especially with Watkins gone who had a decent role), Mazi change change the look of this defense completely. I really hope the Cowboys play both of them at the same time and completely clog up that middle of the line. Make teams run to the outside where our speed will be able to take advantage

 

[links18]

Do other teams show this kind of footage

Sounded a little scripted. Or like at least they knew the cameras were on them.

 

[Jake0]

There was buzz that Seattle might take him in early 20s of rd 2 so we could trade up ahead of them with our 4th but let’s say it was the rd 3 pick, would you rather have Mazi/Schoonmaker or Avila/Benton?

I wouldn't want to use a 3rd/4th to trade up for Benton. Pre-draft I wanted Avila with a trade back though but after seeing their thought process, I think Mazi was a good choice. He's got way more potential than the 2nd/3rd round DTs. He helps Micah the most and also Micah + Quinn wanted him. After seeing the draft play out, I would have preferred Mazi/Torrence/Washington or Mazi/Schoonmaker/(Zavala or Bradford) if Torrence is a poor scheme fit. If Overshown ends up being a baller and/or some OL on the roster ends up being a quality LG/C or they get a great G/C next draft then maybe they ended up making the right choices after all.

 

[Momanpr100]

This demonstrates how much power McClay wields in that draft room. It also puts to bed all the crying about Jerry the shot caller. I hope this opened some eyes, although I doubt that's the case.

Exactly. You already got people complaining about the draft room and why they clapping lol. You see all draft rooms clapping when they get a guy they want lol