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[h=1]By PATRIK WALKER 2 hours ago[/h] There's a sleeper, or several, heading into training camp for the Dallas Cowboys.
One such player is Daniel Wise, the defensive lineman from the University of Kansas who didn't hear his number called in the first three days of the 2019 NFL Draft, but was one of the first players the Cowboys called the moment the event ended. The team had Wise ranked as a draftable talent, but instead opted to double down at running back in the middle rounds, followed by landing a more polished Joe Jackson (Miami, FL) and finally addressing the strong safety depth with Donovan Wilson (Texas A&M). A prototypical pass rush prospect in Jalen Jelks (Oregon) capped off the Cowboys' draft in the seventh round, but the club couldn't pick up the phone fast enough to call Wise thereafter.
A native of Carrollton, Texas — a suburb of metro Dallas located just minutes northwest of downtown — Wise is thrilled to get a chance to prove himself for a Cowboys' team he openly admits having grown up rooting for. He'll have his work cut out for him on what has morphed into a defensive line stacked with bodies, but Wise isn't showing away from the moment whatsoever.
"That's kinda what I live for," he said, speaking in mid-July from SportsCon in Dallas. "This is what I do. It's my competitive nature. It's what drives me. It's what pushes me. Just to be in the locker room with those guys, I'm already learning so much. My mindset going into training camp is just ...I'm getting ready to go get it."
Wise was mostly miscast in his time with the Jayhawks, much like Dorance Armstrong before him — a fourth-round pick of the Cowboys in 2018. Now reunited and both battling for a roster spot, the two do enjoy reuniting just one year after being on the same field together in Kansas not long ago.
"Having a former teammate [from Kansas] there and now we're teammates again, it feels good to be back together on the defensive line," Wise said. "We shared so much at the University of Kansas. As far as how we play, our playing style is something I feel goes hand-in-hand and it feels good to be back beside my man and with the Cowboys."
Now looking to carve his path onto the Cowboys' coveted final 53-man roster, Wise likely won't see much time on the edge in North Texas.
If anything, he's being asked to manage his weight in a way that allows him to flex between the two interior positions.
"My role [with the Cowboys] is to be the inside guy, the 3-tech role [right of center] and a little bit at the nose [left of center]," he explained. "As far as weight requirements goes, they gave me a weight not to go over. I'm not trying to go too light, either. I'm trying to get to a decent weight going into camp."
To a degree, none of the acclimation process into the NFL is new to Wise, by virtue of having a football pedigree. His father, Deatrich Wise, Sr. played in both the Canadian and American Football League, followed by his brother, Deatrich Wise, Jr., being selected in the fourth-round of the 2017 draft by the New England Patriots — where he still takes up residence.
The two let the rookie know what to expect before The Call, and is helping him prepare for life after it.
"I feel like I just know a little bit more about what to expect," he said. "I feel like I don't have any jitters or butterflies. Nothing's really new. I feel like I have experience from my older brother [and my dad], who's been through this process. I'm pretty level-headed and confident going into the situation."
Wise isn't one to overlook by any stretch of the imagination, and has the skill set to cost at least one of his rookie compatriots a roster spot. One thing they can do to help that process is what they're already doing, which is to try him on the interior, where his ability to be a two-gap pass rusher can be maximized.
Although utilized often at Kansas as at 5-tech (edge), there's something to be said for film that shows he can do damage on the inside. As stocked as the Cowboys are currently on the edges, and as needy as they are to create depth at the 1-tech (left of center) and 3-tech (right of center), Wise could make waves behind Hill and veterans Maliek Collins and Antwaun Woods. Collins is also heading into a contract year with no extension in place, setting the stage that much more for Wise to show the Cowboys why he could be one of the answers for the future at the position.
He was on the Cowboys' draft board, and they lucked into him still being available when Day 3 ended.
Now prepped for camp in Oxnard, CA to begin on July 26, the next task is to make the Cowboys "wise" up when it comes to his potential value in 2019.
One such player is Daniel Wise, the defensive lineman from the University of Kansas who didn't hear his number called in the first three days of the 2019 NFL Draft, but was one of the first players the Cowboys called the moment the event ended. The team had Wise ranked as a draftable talent, but instead opted to double down at running back in the middle rounds, followed by landing a more polished Joe Jackson (Miami, FL) and finally addressing the strong safety depth with Donovan Wilson (Texas A&M). A prototypical pass rush prospect in Jalen Jelks (Oregon) capped off the Cowboys' draft in the seventh round, but the club couldn't pick up the phone fast enough to call Wise thereafter.
A native of Carrollton, Texas — a suburb of metro Dallas located just minutes northwest of downtown — Wise is thrilled to get a chance to prove himself for a Cowboys' team he openly admits having grown up rooting for. He'll have his work cut out for him on what has morphed into a defensive line stacked with bodies, but Wise isn't showing away from the moment whatsoever.
"That's kinda what I live for," he said, speaking in mid-July from SportsCon in Dallas. "This is what I do. It's my competitive nature. It's what drives me. It's what pushes me. Just to be in the locker room with those guys, I'm already learning so much. My mindset going into training camp is just ...I'm getting ready to go get it."
Wise was mostly miscast in his time with the Jayhawks, much like Dorance Armstrong before him — a fourth-round pick of the Cowboys in 2018. Now reunited and both battling for a roster spot, the two do enjoy reuniting just one year after being on the same field together in Kansas not long ago.
"Having a former teammate [from Kansas] there and now we're teammates again, it feels good to be back together on the defensive line," Wise said. "We shared so much at the University of Kansas. As far as how we play, our playing style is something I feel goes hand-in-hand and it feels good to be back beside my man and with the Cowboys."
Now looking to carve his path onto the Cowboys' coveted final 53-man roster, Wise likely won't see much time on the edge in North Texas.
If anything, he's being asked to manage his weight in a way that allows him to flex between the two interior positions.
"My role [with the Cowboys] is to be the inside guy, the 3-tech role [right of center] and a little bit at the nose [left of center]," he explained. "As far as weight requirements goes, they gave me a weight not to go over. I'm not trying to go too light, either. I'm trying to get to a decent weight going into camp."
To a degree, none of the acclimation process into the NFL is new to Wise, by virtue of having a football pedigree. His father, Deatrich Wise, Sr. played in both the Canadian and American Football League, followed by his brother, Deatrich Wise, Jr., being selected in the fourth-round of the 2017 draft by the New England Patriots — where he still takes up residence.
The two let the rookie know what to expect before The Call, and is helping him prepare for life after it.
"I feel like I just know a little bit more about what to expect," he said. "I feel like I don't have any jitters or butterflies. Nothing's really new. I feel like I have experience from my older brother [and my dad], who's been through this process. I'm pretty level-headed and confident going into the situation."
Wise isn't one to overlook by any stretch of the imagination, and has the skill set to cost at least one of his rookie compatriots a roster spot. One thing they can do to help that process is what they're already doing, which is to try him on the interior, where his ability to be a two-gap pass rusher can be maximized.
Although utilized often at Kansas as at 5-tech (edge), there's something to be said for film that shows he can do damage on the inside. As stocked as the Cowboys are currently on the edges, and as needy as they are to create depth at the 1-tech (left of center) and 3-tech (right of center), Wise could make waves behind Hill and veterans Maliek Collins and Antwaun Woods. Collins is also heading into a contract year with no extension in place, setting the stage that much more for Wise to show the Cowboys why he could be one of the answers for the future at the position.
He was on the Cowboys' draft board, and they lucked into him still being available when Day 3 ended.
Now prepped for camp in Oxnard, CA to begin on July 26, the next task is to make the Cowboys "wise" up when it comes to his potential value in 2019.
