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The Dallas Cowboys started their rookie mini camp on Friday, bringing in all of their draft picks and UDFA signings, along with several of their offseason signings with little league experience. In all, 31 players were participants, most getting their first taste of the Jason Garrett way. While they were getting busy on the field, Stephen Jones was busy off the field.
Several players moved from the practice field to the board room after, as the club inked seven of their eight draft picks, starting with RB Tony Pollard. After Pollard, all other picks signed their deals except for Connor McGovern, the third-round pick.
The rookie wage scale, part of the current CBA since 2010, has eliminated most of the negotiations for draft picks, slotting them into neat pre-packaged salary windows and taking the sting out of the process. Dallas used to wait until training camp to ink their players, but no more. McGovern will soon be in the fold.
While the draft had a defensive flavor, as expected, McGovern and Pollard stand out as offensive picks , along with Ohio State’s Mike Weber, drafted in the seventh round. Offense sells tickets and rules the NFL, and the picks were meant to provide cover, specifically for star running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Pollard has been seen as a gadget guy, someone who will provide Dallas with an X-factor, an ability to do several things that will leave an opposing defense guessing.
That’s not all he has in the tank though, according to running backs coach Gary Brown. According to the Dallas Morning News, he’ll be more.
Pollard, and Jones, have compared the runners skillset to that of Saints star Alvin Kamara.
Kamara began his career as a compliment to incumbent Mark Ingram, and the two flourished together. Ingram isn’t near the same caliber back as Elliott, and Pollard will not likely be as dynamic as Kamara, but the relationship could still mirror what New Orleans has done. Some.
Brown continued, “We understand what Zeke is to our football team and to our organization and to our success,” running backs coach Gary Brown said after the Cowboys’ first rookie minicamp practice Friday at The Star. “I think it’s important for us as an organization to make sure that we can maximize his ability to help us go out and win championships. The way to do that is to take a little off of him. We’ve got to make sure we take care of that guy.”
Garrett cautioned not to read too much into the amount of Elliott’s workload that would be siphoned off, though.
Gallery
Grading all 8 Cowboys draft picks, one by one
Continue reading...
Several players moved from the practice field to the board room after, as the club inked seven of their eight draft picks, starting with RB Tony Pollard. After Pollard, all other picks signed their deals except for Connor McGovern, the third-round pick.
The rookie wage scale, part of the current CBA since 2010, has eliminated most of the negotiations for draft picks, slotting them into neat pre-packaged salary windows and taking the sting out of the process. Dallas used to wait until training camp to ink their players, but no more. McGovern will soon be in the fold.
While the draft had a defensive flavor, as expected, McGovern and Pollard stand out as offensive picks , along with Ohio State’s Mike Weber, drafted in the seventh round. Offense sells tickets and rules the NFL, and the picks were meant to provide cover, specifically for star running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Pollard has been seen as a gadget guy, someone who will provide Dallas with an X-factor, an ability to do several things that will leave an opposing defense guessing.
That’s not all he has in the tank though, according to running backs coach Gary Brown. According to the Dallas Morning News, he’ll be more.
“I think he has the ability to adapt to what we do,” Cowboys running backs coach Gary Brown said Friday after the team’s first rookie minicamp practice. “I know people think he’s going to be this gadget guy. He’s more than that. He’s bigger than what you think he is and he runs powerful for a guy that you think is a gadget guy.
“I think he can do all our runs. He can do a lot more too.”
Pollard, and Jones, have compared the runners skillset to that of Saints star Alvin Kamara.
Kamara began his career as a compliment to incumbent Mark Ingram, and the two flourished together. Ingram isn’t near the same caliber back as Elliott, and Pollard will not likely be as dynamic as Kamara, but the relationship could still mirror what New Orleans has done. Some.
Brown continued, “We understand what Zeke is to our football team and to our organization and to our success,” running backs coach Gary Brown said after the Cowboys’ first rookie minicamp practice Friday at The Star. “I think it’s important for us as an organization to make sure that we can maximize his ability to help us go out and win championships. The way to do that is to take a little off of him. We’ve got to make sure we take care of that guy.”
Garrett cautioned not to read too much into the amount of Elliott’s workload that would be siphoned off, though.
“Make no mistake about it, Zeke Elliott is going to be a huge part of what we do,” Garrett said. “But if we can take a few snaps off of him here and there and be able to put a running back in that we can trust to do some of the things that he’s done for us, we certainly want to embrace that opportunity.
“But he’ll be the featured guy in our offense like he has been. He’s a great player.”
Gallery
Grading all 8 Cowboys draft picks, one by one
Continue reading...