Seventh-round NFL draft picks face an uphill battle in the attempt to stick on a 53-man NFL roster. Jay Toia of the
Dallas Cowboys might be about to buck the odds.
"Jay Toia might be the only actual run-stuffing defensive tackle on the team. Mazi Smith could take a third-year jump, but he is no longer a 330-pound player. Toia is a 340-pound big-bodied interior defender, and the team lacks anyone else to fill that type of role. The Cowboys tend to keep their draft picks, but have cut seventh-round prospects in the past. Toia will not be one of those players. Dallas doesn't have enough options at defensive tackle to lose Toia to waivers."
Jay Toia is clearly benefiting from flaws in the Cowboys' overall process of roster construction. Toia happens to occupy a position and role for which Dallas did not build or develop any depth. Seventh-round NFL draft picks are meant to provide options, but usually as a Plan B or Plan C. Jay Toia might wind up being the Cowboys' Plan A.
There is certainly some irony here: The Cowboys -- who have not been to the NFC Championship Game in nearly 30 years, the longest drought of any NFC team -- are mismanaging their roster so badly that a seventh-round pick suddenly becomes a favorite to make the 53-man roster.
Jay Toia isn't in a position to complain, that's for sure.
Jay Toia is benefiting from the Cowboys' subpar roster construction. He walked into the right NFL situation for him
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