2026 Cowboys Draft Chatter Thread

[Cowboysrock55]

@Cowboysrock55 I went back and watched Auburn/Georgia and if anything they were trying to keep Faulk fresh for 3rd down by resting him on earlier downs. That's why I only half listen to these chuckelfucks like Broaddus, they barely know what they're looking at these days regardless of the fact that he was a shitty scout 50 fucking years ago until Parcells got rid of him.

Faulk was really impressive that game too and outplayed Freeling (a dark horse top 10 pick supposedly) pretty good.

Yeah I just don't know if I can bring myself to watch entire games of no splash plays, no sacks, just hard to watch a guy make 2 tackles the entire game to study how he is doing. Only 5 TFLs on the entire season is pretty rough. Georgia he barely even shows up in the stat line. One tackle. But I'll bring myself to watch, maybe the Georgia game is a good choice.

Where are you getting the all-22 to watch?

 

[Simpleton]

Yeah I just don't know if I can bring myself to watch entire games of no splash plays, no sacks, just hard to watch a guy make 2 tackles the entire game to study how he is doing. Only 5 TFLs on the entire season is pretty rough. Georgia he barely even shows up in the stat line. One tackle. But I'll bring myself to watch, maybe the Georgia game is a good choice.

There are games where he doesn't do much and just plays the run really well, some of that is scheme, some of that is because he isn't a great pure speed rusher, but that Georgia game wasn't one of those.

The stats look empty but he kind of dominated as a pass rusher, could've easily had 2-3 sacks but the QB ducked out of it, etc.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

There are games where he doesn't do much and just plays the run really well, some of that is scheme, some of that is because he isn't a great pure speed rusher, but that Georgia game wasn't one of those.

The stats look empty but he kind of dominated as a pass rusher, could've easily had 2-3 sacks but the QB ducked out of it, etc.

Positive news on Faulk is he is like one of the youngest players in the draft. He is barely 21 years as of this month. So when you think about it, 4 years from now he would be as old as Mesidor. Like an entire college career younger.

I say this because I'm sure his body still has room to develop and the rawness makes more sense.

 

[Simpleton]

Positive news on Faulk is he is like one of the youngest players in the draft. He is barely 21 years as of this month. So when you think about it, 4 years from now he would be as old as Mesidor. Like an entire college career younger.

I say this because I'm sure his body still has room to develop and the rawness makes more sense.

This is a clip of some all-22 view of the Faulk vs. Freeling matchups:

I didn't listen to the actual commentary, and I don't totally agree with the "score" at the end, but Faulk definitely won several reps out of only about 10-15 against a guy who seems to be a top 20 lock, maybe even top 10 according to some.

On the one where he says Freeling won (barely) Faulk actually got a hand on the QB's shoulder at the top of his rush, which I could easily argue is a win for Faulk.

Faulk did way more damage against their other OT's though.

 

[boozeman]

This is a clip of some all-22 view of the Faulk vs. Freeling matchups:

I didn't listen to the actual commentary, and I don't totally agree with the "score" at the end, but Faulk definitely won several reps out of only about 10-15 against a guy who seems to be a top 20 lock, maybe even top 10 according to some.

On the one where he says Freeling won (barely) Faulk actually got a hand on the QB's shoulder at the top of his rush, which I could easily argue is a win for Faulk.

Faulk did way more damage against their other OT's though.

In a normal year, Freeling is probably not the Brady Bottle Lock top of the first type. He is the tallest midget in a mediocre tackle class.

Now, please cease this Faulk faggotry at once.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

This is a clip of some all-22 view of the Faulk vs. Freeling matchups:

I didn't listen to the actual commentary, and I don't totally agree with the "score" at the end, but Faulk definitely won several reps out of only about 10-15 against a guy who seems to be a top 20 lock, maybe even top 10 according to some.

On the one where he says Freeling won (barely) Faulk actually got a hand on the QB's shoulder at the top of his rush, which I could easily argue is a win for Faulk.

Faulk did way more damage against their other OT's though.

Yeah although I'm not sure I can give the guy a win for cutting inside and running directly into the guard. There was one player there that I thoight was good. The majority of it was pretty uninspiring to me.

 

[Rev]

In a normal year, Freeling is probably not the Brady Bottle Lock top of the first type. He is the tallest midget in a mediocre tackle class.

Now, please cease this Faulk faggotry at once.

Its #12 pick Faulk, sir.

 

[Simpleton]

In a normal year, Freeling is probably not the Brady Bottle Lock top of the first type. He is the tallest midget in a mediocre tackle class.

Now, please cease this Faulk faggotry at once.

Yea he's really a guy who goes in the 20's most years, probably similar to Guyton.

On the other hand Faulk isn't a guy who will be rushing off the edge 1 on 1 against LT's in the NFL very often either, or at least he shouldn't be, so beating a guy who projects as an NFL LT in that manner is impressive.

 

[Simpleton]

Yeah although I'm not sure I can give the guy a win for cutting inside and running directly into the guard. There was one player there that I thoight was good. The majority of it was pretty uninspiring to me.

They were often 3 man rushes, even Myles Garrett isn't going to consistently win if he's rushing off the edge with 2 OL staring at him because there are 5 OL (plus maybe a chip) to block 3 rushers.

Also keep in mind that Faulk is about 10 lbs. away from being the size of a small DT, you don't see many guys that size beating LT's with inside spins that leave them lunging.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

They were often 3 man rushes, even Myles Garrett isn't going to consistently win if he's rushing off the edge with 2 OL staring at him because there are 5 OL (plus maybe a chip) to block 3 rushers.

Yeah I'm not saying he should have won but I'm not going to give him a "win" for running into guys and getting blocked. Maybe no one gets the win. I don't know.

 

[Simpleton]

Yeah I'm not saying he should have won but I'm not going to give him a "win" for running into guys and getting blocked. Maybe no one gets the win. I don't know.

For me I can't blame Faulk for schematic things like rushing 3, which is almost an impossible situation to get pressure in. That's the kind of stuff that people are talking about when they say prospects were constrained a bit by scheme/alignment, most notably at Georgia.

If the LG was blocking or somewhat preoccupied with a 4th rusher, as often is the case, Faulk has a free run at the QB twice and it's a highlight reel type play against a 1st round LT.

I don't think Faulk is some boffo edge rushing prospect, but if you start thinking of him as an interior player (4i/3T/5T) who can bounce around, the picture starts looking different.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

If the LG was blocking or somewhat preoccupied with a 4th rusher, as often is the case, Faulk has a free run at the QB twice and it's a highlight reel type play against a 1st round LT.

Or the LT knew he had help to the inside and Faulk should have known that as well by the play call of his coordinator.

 

[Simpleton]

Or the LT knew he had help to the inside and Faulk should have known that as well by the play call of his coordinator.

That's one way to look at it but I don't think it takes away from Faulk physically winning the one on one battle, even if a LT knows they have help inside they would just set far to the outside to steer them back in, that's not what those plays were.

It's also not the sort of rush lanes (or lack thereof) he'd see in the NFL. On a few of those plays he was almost triple teamed with the LG inside and a lurking RB to chip.

In the NFL he'd more than likely be manned up 1 on 1 vs. OG's, which should be a mismatch early on in his career.

The other thing is if you watch the game you'll see way more impressive wins against their other OL, I don't think you can expect a 275 lb. guy to whip a 1st round LT all over the field unless they're a lock top 5 pick.

 

[Simpleton]

As an aside, Osa weighed in at 282 at the Combine, a guy like Mykel Williams who was considered a massive DE prospect was 260, Calijah Kancey was 281.

Faulk weighed in at 276.

People should wipe their minds of the perspective of Faulk as primarily an edge rusher and all the things that go along with that (lack of elite burst, etc.). I think he has the potential to develop into a big time edge rushing threat if everything clicks, but if you look at him as an interior player who can provide scheme versatility the conversation is much different.

 

[Genghis Khan]

As an aside, Osa weighed in at 282 at the Combine, a guy like Mykel Williams who was considered a massive DE prospect was 260, Calijah Kancey was 281.

Faulk weighed in at 276.

People should wipe their minds of the perspective of Faulk as primarily an edge rusher and all the things that go along with that (lack of elite burst, etc.). I think he has the potential to develop into a big time edge rushing threat if everything clicks, but if you look at him as an interior player who can provide scheme versatility the conversation is much different.

The problem is that Osa wasn't a first round pick.

If you're talking about a lot of excuses and projections with Faulk then it's a pretty hard sell in the first.

 

[Simpleton]

The problem is that Osa wasn't a first round pick.

If you're talking about a lot of excuses and projections with Faulk then it's a pretty hard sell in the first.

My point wasn't that he's an Osa-level prospect, it's that you have to look at his pass rushing ability more from the perspective of an interior rusher.

Leaving a first round LT lunging with inside moves is not what you see out of many guys who project as interior rushers in the NFL.

I think there are lots of projections as a 4-3 DE, but my point this entire time is that the projection is different and much cleaner if you look at him as a 3-4 DE/interior player who has the ability to play some 3-4 OLB as an elite edge setter.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Faulk weighed in at 276.

At freshly 21 years old I would imagine he will add more bulk to that frame. Plus I feel like some DEs drop a little weight this time of year to run and workout better. The upside is there. But watching those clips just shows me a guy who really isn't aware of the bigger picture. He kind of runs down the middle of the guy most the time and either goes left or right if the Olineman tips one direction or the other.

Some guys look highly technical they have pass rush moves. This guy looks as basic as they can get. Just kind of running game around. Too raw for my taste in the first.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

In a normal year, Freeling is probably not the Brady Bottle Lock

~ near gorilla ~

 

[Simpleton]

At freshly 21 years old I would imagine he will add more bulk to that frame. Plus I feel like some DEs drop a little weight this time of year to run and workout better. The upside is there. But watching those clips just shows me a guy who really isn't aware of the bigger picture. He kind of runs down the middle of the guy most the time and either goes left or right if the Olineman tips one direction or the other.

Some guys look highly technical they have pass rush moves. This guy looks as basic as they can get. Just kind of running game around. Too raw for my taste in the first.

I'll argue for Faulk at 20 all day, I think there's enough there to take him over a guy like Howell who is a bit of a one trick pony. It's a risk/reward calculation but I think Faulk could have one of the higher ceilings in the class combined with a pretty solid floor if you're talking about him as a run stuffing, interior rushing 3-4 DE.

Not interested at 12 really, but if the top 6 are gone I think we're all going to be underwhelmed with the options there. It might come down to Thieneman vs. a RT for me, but given the Steele restructure I wonder if RT isn't a consideration at all.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I'll argue for Faulk at 20 all day, I think there's enough there to take him over a guy like Howell who is a bit of a one trick pony.

I have way more faith in Howell being an above average starter than Faulk. Faulk looks more like the defensive version of Guyton to me. Size, athletic traits but raw as hell and looks like he has no idea what he is doing most of the time. Maybe he develops, but if he doesn't he is no better than guys you can find in the fourth or fifth round.

But if our coaches can teach this guy and develop real skills, I also think he could be a really good 3-4 DE.