2025 Cowboys Free Agency

[Simpleton]

You think we're out on guys like Stewart? I mean, Fowler is a one-year rental at best.

Yea I forgot Stewart, he'd probably go in the first group but towards the back end of it.

 

[Genghis Khan]

That's the problem with even Kaiir Elam. You rent him for a year. If you somehow crack that potential and he has a good year? Dude is gone to another team. So it doesn't solve anything long term. Maybe it helps this year and nothing beyond.

I don't mind that though. If he truly turns out great, maybe you can replace Diggs with him. Or if they really want to puff out their chest and spend money, you could run all 3 of them long term.

And on the other hand, if he balls out but they don't want to pay him, fine let him walk. They spent very little to acquire him and the comp pick you'd get for him would probably be better than what they spent to acquire him. Meanwhile you got a year of good production out of him.

It's basically a win / win / win since we gave up so little to get him.

This isn't the Mingo situation where we gave up a very valuable asset in the 4th for a very marginal player, or a Lance situation where there was almost no way to come out ahead since you can only play 1 QB at a time.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

From reading the tea leaves I think our pick in the first basically comes down to this:

Primary options: Jeanty, Graham, McMillan, Mykel Williams, Johnson

Secondary options, maybe after a trade down: Golden, Barron, Egbuka, maybe one of the DL like Grant or Harmon.

Yep, exactly. I suspect their plan is a trade down to take a Harmon or Grant, unless Jeanty is there or someone like Graham falls to them at 12.

 

[Simpleton]

Yep, exactly. I suspect their plan is a trade down to take a Harmon or Grant, unless Jeanty is there or someone like Graham falls to them at 12.

Trading down and taking Grant, Harmon, Golden, Egbuka or Barron is probably my ideal scenario.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Yea I forgot Stewart, he'd probably go in the first group but towards the back end of it.

You're starting to scare me. Williams and Stewart are kind of nightmare scenarios for me. Total workout warriors in my book. I have also seen no indication that they are banking on DE. We have 5 DEs on the roster now. Not even including Solomon Thomas who will play there some.

Seeing some unblocked sack against Texas for Williams won't change my mind. Some lump of a turd could make some of these plays.

 

[ravidubey]

I want them to go DT in the first. They need to go DT in the first. But my fan-heart wants Jeanty and fuck the depth at RB

Even though it would be Zeke over Buckner all over again.

I guess I am a masochist

 

[Simpleton]

You're starting to scare me. Williams and Stewart are kind of nightmare scenarios for me. Total workout warriors in my book. I have also seen no indication that they are banking on DE. We have 5 DEs on the roster now. Not even including Solomon Thomas who will play there some.

Seeing some unblocked sack against Texas for Williams won't change my mind. Some lump of a turd could make some of these plays.

If it were me Stewart would be in the second trade down group, I'm just assuming if they're interested in Williams that they'd be interested in Stewart as well.

And I don't think Williams is a workout warrior, he outproduced a number of first round picks throughout his time at Georgia and if the ankle stuff is true it would explain my biggest concern, which is his ability to bend off the edge.

The thing with Williams is that you see flashes of his ability, he produced pretty well at Georgia, he kind of dominated Kelvin Banks in their matchups, and if he puts it together you basically have the prototype 4-3 DE who can play the run and give you double digit sacks.

There's a reason he was talked about as the possible 1st overall pick coming into the season.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I want them to go DT in the first. They need to go DT in the first. But my fan-heart wants Jeanty and fuck the depth at RB

Even though it would be Zeke over Buckner all over again.

I guess I am a masochist

I'm still fully on board with Graham or Harmon in the first. I think both can play either DT spot at a high level and be impact players. I'm still not sure why Harmon doesn't get more love.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

And I don't think Williams is a workout warrior, he outproduced a number of first round picks throughout his time at Georgia and if the ankle stuff is true it would explain my biggest concern, which is his ability to bend off the edge.

Not all sacks are the same. And even though he had very few. Of those few sacks they aren't impressive at all either. It's like, unblocked sack with the QB running right into him by Texas. It's a QB drifting to his side and Williams running himself out of the play but getting a hand on the QB. They are some of the least impressive looking highlights for the few of them there are. It's why I call him a workout warriors. Even though his workout appeared pedestrian for a 265 pound DE.

Contrast that with Burch who is bigger, ran faster and was more productive. And I'm left scratching my head. I know I'll die on this hill. Travon Walker will be the shinning example of see, guy who didn't make great plays in college. But there are far more Solomon Thomas type picks that never workout.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I'm still fully on board with Graham or Harmon in the first. I think both can play either DT spot at a high level and be impact players. I'm still not sure why Harmon doesn't get more love.

Probably just because he's not spectacular at any one thing, don't you think?

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Probably just because he's not spectacular at any one thing, don't you think?

6'4" 1/2, 313 pounds check.

4.95 forty time for a man that size, check.

5 sacks and 10.5 TFLs this past year, check.

Second highest pressure rate among interior DTs this past year, check.

Oh and by the way he is really strong against the run. This is the type of guy who will get drafted by the Ravens or Steelers and go consistently put up 6-8 sacks and be a stud.

 

[Simpleton]

Not all sacks are the same. And even though he had very few. Of those few sacks they aren't impressive at all either. It's like, unblocked sack with the QB running right into him by Texas. It's a QB drifting to his side and Williams running himself out of the play but getting a hand on the QB. They are some of the least impressive looking highlights for the few of them there are. It's why I call him a workout warriors. Even though his workout appeared pedestrian for a 265 pound DE.

Contrast that with Burch who is bigger, ran faster and was more productive. And I'm left scratching my head. I know I'll die on this hill. Travon Walker will be the shinning example of see, guy who didn't make great plays in college. But there are far more Solomon Thomas type picks that never workout.

He beat Banks a number of times around the edge or with an inside move on traditional edge rushes, the thing with Georgia is that they often use their full-sized DL (i.e. not the smaller LB types like Jalon Walker) in tight alignments that are similar to a 5T. Like Travon Walker he wasn't given ample opportunities to have many pure rushes off the edge and was often lining up almost something like a 3T or working off some sort of twists/stunts.

He's never going to be a speed demon edge rusher like Mike Green but I get why he's a top 10-15 guy pretty much across the board when you see the type of power he plays with and the flashes of edge rush ability.

 

[bbgun]

Cooper Rush takes his cannon arm to Baltimore

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Walker he wasn't given ample opportunities to have many pure rushes off the edge and was often lining up almost something like a 3T or working off some sort of twists/stunts.

Funny you mentioned that because I saw a number of plays where they lined him up with no hand on the ground at all more like a 3-4 OLBer. And he looked equally not explosive.

He is powerful, I agree with you there. He will be strong against the run. But seriously, I went back and watched his "sacks" against Texas and I realized that his stats are kind of a joke. They are some of the least impressive sacks.

Now I didn't go back and watch the entire games against Texas. Maybe he was doing stuff that he didn't finish and it was impressive. But the plays he made? One of those sacks Iamtdg could have gotten. Just take a step forward and let the QB sack himself without anyone trying to block you. Another he barely touched the QBs arm while running past the play and led to a fumble and sack.

You'll be hugely disappointed a year from now if we take him at 12.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

For funsie here are his 2024 "highlight"

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Burch highlights to compare, who looks more explosive and impressive to me.

 

[ravidubey]

For funsie here are his 2024 "highlight"

Always nicked up in College, have a feeling the pros will swallow him

 

[Simpleton]

For funsie here are his 2024 "highlight"

I don't think those highlights do Williams justice, although the fact of the matter is that if you have a guy that's 6-5, 260, 34+ inch arms, who put up stats comparable to Travon Walker, Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith and even Jalon Walker in the same scheme, who is dominant against the run, and who beat a 1st round LT around the edge for a strip sack the way he did at 1:07 of that video, that guy is going to be a top 15ish pick in the draft.

These highlights are more comparable to what you posted for Burch:


And like I said, you take a guy with that profile and you beat a 1st round LT like Banks around the edge for a strip sack like he did at 2:19, and then he nearly did it again at 2:25, and then he beats him clean with a crossface/swim at 2:54 in their second matchup?

That guy is going to be a high pick every year.

I like Burch a lot too, they're similar players and I'd love Burch in the 2nd, but Williams is a better physical talent and will likely be the better player. I watched the whole Burch video and I didn't see a single play as impressive as what Williams did to Banks.

 

[Simpleton]

Always nicked up in College, have a feeling the pros will swallow him

I don't think he missed any time until this year.

It's funny, you're always lusting after jumbo DL who can stuff the run while providing pass rush almost as a secondary priority, and that's exactly what Williams is at the moment.

 

[ravidubey]

I don't think he missed any time until this year.

It's funny, you're always lusting after jumbo DL who can stuff the run while providing pass rush almost as a secondary priority, and that's exactly what Williams is at the moment.

Williams certainly looks the part, but he was out with a HAS in 2024 and had foot surgery in 2023.

No. Likey.