2026 Cowboys Free Agency Thread…

ravidubey said:
Gary and EZ are placeholder starters on the edges for now, one is older and fading and one is almost completely unproven.
Click to expand...
Just curious on how you’d view a draft pick since you consider EZ as unproven. When we drafted him last year in the 2nd, he was looked at as a steal. Then played basically out of position with his hand in the dirt on the line. This year he’ll be back playing standing up. He’s now got a year in an NFL program and going back to his natural position.
 
NoDak said:
Just curious on how you’d view a draft pick since you consider EZ as unproven. When we drafted him last year in the 2nd, he was looked at as a steal. Then played basically out of position with his hand in the dirt on the line. This year he’ll be back playing standing up. He’s now got a year in an NFL program and going back to his natural position.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I am really looking forward to what he does this year. He showed nice flashes last year even though he was out of position, which to me shows incredible athletic ability.
 
ravidubey said:
Yeah, and big time.

Gary and EZ are placeholder starters on the edges for now, one is older and fading and one is almost completely unproven.

Ironically Williams remains our top pass rush threat at the moment as he is not only one of the biggest but also one of the quickest. Getting an elite DT like this in his prime is going to be transformational.

But we need to draft a rusher in the 240-265 range to take full advantage. That will truly open things up. The more of these guys we draft the better, and there is a deep class of them in this draft.
Click to expand...

You just assume that a rookie edge rusher will come in and be better than Ezeiruaku?

That's a 50/50 proposition at best, which isn't really a good or bad thing, but a rookie will be more unproven unless we somehow get Reese or Bailey.
 
Simpleton said:
You just assume that a rookie edge rusher will come in and be better than Ezeiruaku?

That's a 50/50 proposition at best, which isn't really a good or bad thing, but a rookie will be more unproven unless we somehow get Reese or Bailey.
Click to expand...
We need to do our best to upgrade the spot. We thankfully got Gary before he would have hit FA, and adding a first round pick should get us a lot closer to where we need to be.

Mesidor for example is similar to EZ, and you've got to believe one of them is going to be a player. We need a rotation without compromising talent. But there are going to be some solid pass rushing choices in the 3rd and 4th who are not as good but could develop and give us scheming options.
 
ravidubey said:
We need to do our best to upgrade the spot. We thankfully got Gary before he would have hit FA, and adding a first round pick should get us a lot closer to where we need to be.

Mesidor for example is similar to EZ, and you've got to believe one of them is going to be a player. We need a rotation without compromising talent. But there are going to be some solid pass rushing choices in the 3rd and 4th who are not as good but could develop and give us scheming options.
Click to expand...

Sure, I get wanting to layer guys on top of each other, I hope we spend a high pick on the position.

I just think that barring adding a vet like Greenard it's likely that Gary and Ezeiruaku will be the starting OLB's.
 
NoDak said:
Just curious on how you’d view a draft pick since you consider EZ as unproven. When we drafted him last year in the 2nd, he was looked at as a steal. Then played basically out of position with his hand in the dirt on the line. This year he’ll be back playing standing up. He’s now got a year in an NFL program and going back to his natural position.
Click to expand...
I'm excited for him and for us if he starts putting it together. The guy didn't generate a lot of pressure last year but you got the feeling he was getting closer each week. I got the impression he needs other pressure players around him to really contribute himself, that he's not going to be a creator or lead pressure guy any time soon. Fingers crossed though, but the light didn't turn on last year.
 
Simpleton said:
Sure, I get wanting to layer guys on top of each other, I hope we spend a high pick on the position.

I just think that barring adding a vet like Greenard it's likely that Gary and Ezeiruaku will be the starting OLB's.
Click to expand...

Yep and I still want to draft a guy. Preferably on the first two days of the draft. We will use multiple guys. We don't have a Ware or Parsons who is going to play 90% of snaps. So you'll want to rotate and keep your pass rushers fresh. You'll want pass rushers to bring in passing situations so that you can shift Gary potentially inside to rush the passer and bring more speed off the edge.

And pass rushers are extremely valuable. And if you hit on a guy 2 years down the road when Gary is walking out of the building, you now have a young guy in place to produce. As opposed to where we are this offseason. And maybe young guy ends up better than Gary or EZ. And suddenly one of those two guys becomes more of a rotational piece.

No matter how you look at it we need more pass rush. I hope EZ can do that this year all on his own. But I'm certainly going to try and bring more help.
 
Cowboysrock55 said:
Yep and I still want to draft a guy. Preferably on the first two days of the draft. We will use multiple guys. We don't have a Ware or Parsons who is going to play 90% of snaps. So you'll want to rotate and keep your pass rushers fresh. You'll want pass rushers to bring in passing situations so that you can shift Gary potentially inside to rush the passer and bring more speed off the edge.

And pass rushers are extremely valuable. And if you hit on a guy 2 years down the road when Gary is walking out of the building, you now have a young guy in place to produce. As opposed to where we are this offseason. And maybe young guy ends up better than Gary or EZ. And suddenly one of those two guys becomes more of a rotational piece.

No matter how you look at it we need more pass rush. I hope EZ can do that this year all on his own. But I'm certainly going to try and bring more help.
Click to expand...
If we could walk away with Malachi Lawrence with that 92nd pick, BISPs all around.
 
I would try not to draft another guy just like Eze, a guy who is productive but a little undersized and may lack the athleticism to reach that next level. A guy who is more a technician.

I keep coming back to Malachi Lawrence. Taller, heavier, faster, more explosive than Eze. I'm guessing he didn't get the best technical coaching where he was.

Edit, dammit NoDak
 
Chocolate Lab said:
I would try not to draft another guy just like Eze, a guy who is productive but a little undersized and may lack the athleticism to reach that next level. A guy who is more a technician.

I keep coming back to Malachi Lawrence. Taller, heavier, faster, more explosive than Eze. I'm guessing he didn't get the best technical coaching where he was.

Edit, dammit NoDak
Click to expand...

Well I do agree on Malachi like both you boys. I doubt he makes it to 92 but I really like the player. I think he is a perfect fit for OLBer in this defense. And if he did make it to 92 obviously I'd be running up with the card to turn in. I can't pretend to know who will fall to 92. All I know is that someone really good on defense will fall to 92 that I would love.
 
Cowboysrock55 said:
Well I do agree on Malachi like both you boys. I doubt he makes it to 92 but I really like the player. I think he is a perfect fit for OLBer in this defense. And if he did make it to 92 obviously I'd be running up with the card to turn in.
Click to expand...
I bet he's more borderine first round when its all said and done. Someone is going to take a chance on the measurables. And it's not like he has big red flags like some guys some years. He looks like he plays hard.
 
Chocolate Lab said:
I bet he's more borderine first round when its all said and done. Someone is going to take a chance on the measurables. And it's not like he has big red flags like some guys some years. He looks like he plays hard.
Click to expand...

If I had to guess I think he ends up going in the second round. He has some really good pass rushing plays in college. So he isn't just a measurables guy. But when you factor in the measurables with what I thought was really good film, yeah some team could fall in love and take him even higher. It's hard to pin a lot of these players. There are a lot of guys I really like who I could see going late first all the way to the third round.
 
Simpleton said:
You just assume that a rookie edge rusher will come in and be better than Ezeiruaku?

That's a 50/50 proposition at best, which isn't really a good or bad thing, but a rookie will be more unproven unless we somehow get Reese or Bailey.
Click to expand...


I think the difference is that we've seen a year of Ezeiruaku in the pros and it was honestly underwhelming. Maybe that changes with the new scheme and his fit in it, but at this point even after a full season he's still just a projection. We're a little foolish if we rely on that.

I don't think most people are "assuming" a rookie would be better but it would certainly be wise to add talent to the position.
 
Genghis Khan said:
I think the difference is that we've seen a year of Ezeiruaku in the pros and it was honestly underwhelming. Maybe that changes with the new scheme and his fit in it, but at this point even after a full season he's still just a projection. We're a little foolish if we rely on that.

I don't think most people are "assuming" a rookie would be better but it would certainly be wise to add talent to the position.
Click to expand...

Agreed on all accounts. I think you have to be patient with rookie pass rushers though. Very few seem to come into the NFL and dominate. Not saying they never do but many NFL pass rushers don't hit their stride until year 2 and beyond.

I'll give an example. Demarcus Lawrence as a rookie, 0 sacks. Year 2 he put up 8 sacks. Year 4 he is a double digit sacks guy. Year 5 double digit sacks guy.

I would have loved EZ to get us 6-8 sacks as a rookie. I would probably feel better about him. But we don't know how the hip injury effected him and frankly he was making a lot of splash plays, he just wasn't racking up the sacks. The scheme was terrible.
 

6.​

2025 team: Buffalo Bills | Age entering 2026 season: 31

What he brings: Bosa has played in at least 14 games over the past two seasons after injuries limited him to a total of 13 games from 2022 to 2023. Averaging 36.3 snaps per game for the Bills, he had 5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles and 42 pressures. Bosa should be viewed as a situational rusher who can still win with speed-to-power. His effort level also leads to production late in the play.



Could he be an option?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom