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Report: Cowboys giving Aldon Smith a second chance - Charean Williams, PFT
Jerry Jones is trying to resurrect a career again. Aldon Smith has had plenty of run-ins with the law, he’s battled alcohol and drug issues, and has been indefinitely banned from the NFL. He’s sober now and applying to be reinstated, and will sign with Dallas.
Aldon Smith hasn’t played since 2015, but the Cowboys are rolling the dice the pass rusher still can play.
Smith has reached agreement with the Cowboys, Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reports. It’s a one-year, $4 million deal [$2 million base, $2 million incentives], according to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.
“Clean and sober now, incredible how much he’s turned his life around,” Glazer said on Wednesday night’s Fox Football Now.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has given second chances to plenty of players, including Alonzo Spellman, Dimitrius Underwood, Greg Hardy, Rolando McClain and Randy Gregory, with mixed results. Smith will become the latest.
He has served multiple suspensions under both the substance-abuse policy and the Personal Conduct Policy. Smith’s latest suspension arose from an alleged hit-and-run, DUI and vandalism incident in 2015.
There is still a question of Smith being reinstated.
A league source said that Commissioner Roger Goodell is yet to determine Aldon Smith’s eligibility to return to play in the #NFL, and that his unresolved status is the same as that of #Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory in terms of the reinstatement process.
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) April 2, 2020
Film room: 5 defensive ends in the NFL draft who fit the Cowboys, including a great value in Round 2 - John Owning, Dallas Morning News
It is almost a given Dallas will draft a defensive end this year. Could any of these five fit?
As a run defender, Chaisson shows an impressive ability to defeat blocks despite a lack of sand in his pants, doing a good job of using length and leverage to stack blocks on the edge. One of his more impressive plays from last season was against Georgia, when he defeated potential top-10 pick Andrew Thomas on the edge before stringing the running back out to the sideline. Despite a considerable length disadvantage, Chaisson proved that an understanding of how to use length is much more important than just having long arms in the first place.
Still, he has some rawness to his game, which is a big reason why his college production (just 9.5 career sacks) doesn’t match his outstanding skill set. Chaisson needs to tune up his hand technique and footwork. For example, he tends to loop his arm-over technique way too high, giving blockers free access to his ribs to knock him off course. Chaisson also telegraphs his two-hand swipe with an exaggerated swinging of his arms.
On top of that, he also has a troubling injury history: A torn ACL ruined his 2018 season and an ankle injury hampered him early in the 2019 season. Nevertheless, the fact that Chaisson did his best work against the highest-caliber competition he faced should ease any concerns fans may have about the raw edges to his skill set. In his last four games, when he faced Texas A&M, Georgia, Oklahoma and Clemson, he accumulated 4.5 total sacks while posting at least four pressures in each game. If the Cowboys are looking for a player with a similar skill set to replace Quinn, there may not be a better realistic option in this class than Chaisson. You just can’t teach his speed, bend and natural feel for leverage.
3 reasons CJ Henderson would be a perfect pick for the Cowboys - Grant Afseth, NFL Analysis Network
If still on the board, C.J. Henderson seems like a no-brainer at 17.
Add a dynamic playmaker in coverage. It never hurts a team to add talent to the cornerback position, especially when potentially selecting a great prospect in the NFL Draft could be on the table. That’s the situation the Cowboys could be in when they are on the clock with the No. 17 selection if CJ Henderson is still available.
There aren’t often opportunities to land a corner that has a great blend of athleticism and size like Henderson. Based on the measurements and athletic testing at the NFL Scouting Combine, he is 6’0″ with a 75 7/8″ wingspan and ranked in the 92nd percentile in SPARQ testing.
While Henderson didn’t record an interception in 2019, he is a legitimate playmaking threat. The explosiveness he has as an athlete will enable him to jump routes when appropriate, recover after getting beat, and just check some of the better receivers in the game, in general.
It may take Henderson a bit of time to sharpen his skill-set in the nuances of the cornerback position a the NFL level. However, playing in a secondary role on the boundary would enable him to adjust the next level against easier matchups out of the gate.
Bucky Brooks: Scouting Report on Gerald McCoy - Bucky Brooks, Dallascowboys.com
Former NFL scout Bucky Brooks gives his breakdown of one of the newest Cowboys, Gerald McCoy.
McCoy is a versatile defensive tackle with a game built on strength, power, and explosiveness. After entering the league as an ultra-athletic, one-gap penetrator with exceptional first-step quickness and burst, he has transitioned into more of a power player in his later years. As a pass rusher, he wins with a combination of outstanding initial quickness and superb hand skills at the point of attack. McCoy will work a series of arm overs, bull-rushes, and two-handed swipe maneuvers to separate from blockers at the line of scrimmage. He gives great effort to finish at the quarterback but he lacks the stamina or endurance to consistently finish at the ball.
As a run defender, McCoy is stout at the point of attack against single blocks and double teams. He generally holds the point and isn't easily moved off of his spot. The veteran will hustle to the ball as a sideline to sideline player but his effort wanes as he logs more snaps during the game.
What’s Up: An Opportunity For Joe Jackson? - Staff, Dallascowboys.com
Could second-year defensive end Joe Jackson make a real impact in 2020?
What's Been Good: Not only did he make the 53-man roster, the rookie defensive end stayed there for the entire season.
You can laugh if you want to, but that's a heck of an accomplishment for a Day 3 draft pick. The Cowboys drafted Jackson's University of Miami teammate, Michael Jackson, seven spots higher than Joe – and he was released and ultimately wound up with the Detroit Lions.
Unless you're talking about a top 15-20 draft pick, it's tough for a rookie defensive end to make an impact. At 6-4, 285 pounds, Jackson clearly has the frame to do so. The fact that he showed enough potential for the previous coaching staff to keep him around is encouraging.
Should the Dallas Cowboys Avoid Drafting Players With Injury Concerns? - Brian Martin, Inside The Star
If a player like Javon Kinlaw is on the board at 17, should Dallas pass due to injury concerns?
I don’t know about you, but I think the Dallas Cowboys should avoid drafting players in the Top 100 with any kind of serious injury concerns. Without the same kind of medical reports they’re used to the risk involved heightens more than in years past.
I decided to identify a few of the players who could be draft in the Top 100 with injury concerns below. There’s no way of knowing whether or not any of these prospects are on the Dallas Cowboys radar right now, but it wouldn’t surprise me.Let’s take a look…
K’Lavon Chaisson, EDGE, LSU. K’Lavon Chaisson missed all of 2018 due to an ACL injury and suffered through ankle injuries in 2019. As a potential Top 15 pick who could slide to the Dallas Cowboys in the first-round, they better have done their due diligence about this trend of injuries in consecutive years.
Javon Kinlaw, DT, South Carolina. Javon Kinlaw underwent hip labrum surgery after the 2018 season and had to pull out of the 2020 Senior Bowl due to knee tendinitis – something that many believe could be a serious issue. Those issues are pretty big red flags, especially for someone who has to battle it out in the trenches.
‘Mr. Cowboy’ tournament, Final 4: Vote here for Dallas’ greatest player of all-time - Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas Morning News
The ‘Mr Cowboy’ tournament is down to the Final Four.
Two things to note: One is that players needed five years of experience in Dallas to be included. I don’t see any way to put Dak Prescott or Ezekiel Elliott in this bracket. They haven’t done enough yet, but who knows how they might finish? Let time settle that one.
In addition, a player like Deion Sanders is a No. 7 seed based on the five years he played here. If we took his entire career into consideration — all those game-changing plays made elsewhere — clearly he would be much higher. But this is a Cowboys bracket.
The other is that I honestly didn’t go out of my way to create matchups like the 8-9 quarterback contest in the Landry region or the 5-12 best friends battle in the Murchison region. They just happened.
Some of you may note that a three-time winning Super Bowl quarterback is not a 1-seed. Could that be a mistake? Of course it could. And you can decide if he should win his bracket and march into the Final Four.
BTB Podcast
The Cowboys made a big move on Wednesday night when they signed Aldon Smith. What does that mean for 2020? We discuss on The Ocho.
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