2026 OTAs and Minicamp Thread...

Chocolate Lab said:
I love Barham so far just from his interviews. Dude has to be halfway scary to the media guys just with the intensity he looks at them and the answers he gives.

Can't remember the last really good defensive player we had who had a real mean streak like that. Even guys like Ware, Sean Lee, Micah, now Quinnen... they all seem like mostly nice guys. Barham seems like he wants to hurt you.
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He's from the legit ghetto so it's no surprise.
 
Chocolate Lab said:
Barham seems like he wants to hurt you.
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I love that. Makes me think of one Randy White. Top 3 most favorite Cowboys player ever. I remember plain as day the game where he took that dude's helmet off and beat him with it. I had never seen anything like that in my young life in regards to sports. He is a big part of what made me fall in love with football. Anyway, that's the vibe I get from Barham.
 
Simpleton said:
He's from the legit ghetto so it's no surprise.
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So he came from a…broken home? Perhaps he was a product of the streets.

But he was Schottenheimer’s Kid’s boy. The one player he did not wanna miss out on.
 
boozeman said:
So he came from a…broken home? Perhaps he was a product of the streets.

But he was Schottenheimer’s Kid’s boy. The one player he did not wanna miss out on.
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No idea what his family situation was like but it's definitely possible. District Heights is a particularly bad area.
 
Chocolate Lab said:
I love Barham so far just from his interviews. Dude has to be halfway scary to the media guys just with the intensity he looks at them and the answers he gives.

Can't remember the last really good defensive player we had who had a real mean streak like that. Even guys like Ware, Sean Lee, Micah, now Quinnen... they all seem like mostly nice guys. Barham seems like he wants to hurt you.
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I was thinking the same thing watching his interview. I'm sitting here drinking my coffee and I'm a little scared haha. Who knows what kind of player he'll be, but damn his intensity really shows up.
 
boozeman said:
I realize it is a stretch, but this player is the boom or bust for this class IMO.
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I don't know if he really has high bust potential. Like this isn't a Mazi Smith totally useless player kind of floor. But I think he could be awesome or he could just be a rotational/backup/special teams piece. Basically I think worst case is he is a tweener that isn't really good enough to be a full time LBer or good enough to be a full time Edge but a guy who plays just in certain subpackages. Maybe plays some edge in pass rushing downs or just some in short yardage downs as a LBer. But I think no matter what he will have utility.
 
Cowboysrock55 said:
I don't know if he really has high bust potential. Like this isn't a Mazi Smith totally useless player kind of floor. But I think he could be awesome or he could just be a rotational/backup/special teams piece. Basically I think worst case is he is a tweener that isn't really good enough to be a full time LBer or good enough to be a full time Edge but a guy who plays just in certain subpackages. Maybe plays some edge in pass rushing downs or just some in short yardage downs as a LBer. But I think no matter what he will have utility.
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Yeah, my concern is coverage.

We’ve got some guys that might have to come off the field in Overton and Barham if he’s stiff in coverage. There’s only so much we can ask Downs to do to cover for others. An ILB has to do everything in the modern NFL, run pursuit.penetration, rush, coordinate, and cover. I think Barham may have great potential for all but maybe the last
 
ravidubey said:
Yeah, my concern is coverage.

We’ve got some guys that might have to come off the field in Overton and Barham if he’s stiff in coverage. There’s only so much we can ask Downs to do to cover for others. An ILB has to do everything in the modern NFL, run pursuit.penetration, rush, coordinate, and cover. I think Barham may have great potential for all but maybe the last
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Overton won't be in coverage.

Maybe I misunderstood what you meant.
 
Genghis Khan said:
Overton won't be in coverage.

Maybe I misunderstood what you meant.
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Barham's coverage was my concern.

Overton is definitely limited but for other reasons.

One advantage of position flex in a multiple defense is you can have the same guys play from totally different formations without much substitution, if any and thus be less predictable.

But Overton isn't one of those guys. He's a very specific fit, as 3T out of 4-2-5 or similar formations. So he has to come off the field in most other situations.

And back to Barham, if he can't cover his world shrinks a lot, he won't be able to play ILB except on run plays, short yardage, and vs the pass when he's a designated blitzer-- and it telegraphs what he's going to be doing the same way as a RB who can't pass block on 3rd down is forced to go into a pattern.

However if he can cover, then he has great position flex and can play all three downs because he can do anything and from any of our formations.

I'm very curious to see how Parker deploys Gary, because he's not exactly the guy I want covering wheel routes on the edge either. Gary and Overton are like a biscuit apart, but Gary's an EDGE and Overton's a 3T. I think both have limited flex.
 
NFL Draft Buzz had Barham's coverage grade at 61%, FWIW, clearly his weakest phase compared to elite run defense and solid pass rush.

Draft Nation had him “solid in zone” coverage, but struggling in man, especially when having to do anything like flip hips or run with athletic RBs, TE's, or slot WRs.

So, fine dropping into hook/curl or short zones, but pray when he's isolated-- which is exactly what offenses will try to do.

This guy is not a natural 'in-space' LB, so he needs Overshown beside him and Downs behind him, or he needs to be blitzing.
 
I didn't even know we had a Shiyazh Pete, but the guy is a trip in a good way. If he doesn't make it, he can always run for President. Maybe the most well-spoken player I've ever heard.

 


I am not entirely comfortable with entrusting the Mike role to Barham, but there are some options. I guess the Wagner thing is dead and they are going to roll with this arrangement.
 
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