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New York Times
07-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Rookie minicamp observations: Why Cowboys are so excited about their Day 2 draft picks
FRISCO, Texas — Regardless of how you feel about the Dallas Cowboys using another first-round pick on an offensive lineman, it's difficult for anyone to argue with what they did on Day 2 of this year's NFL Draft. Earlier this week, The Athletic 's Mike Sando wrote a review of the draft classes of the 16 NFC teams with thoughts from NFL team executives. 'They got the best guard in the draft, and they get a pass rusher opposite Micah Parsons who can actually win with speed,' an exec said about the Cowboys' draft. 'Their pass rush is going to be a pain in the ass to deal with. The corner they got in the third might have gone in the back end of the first round if he'd never gotten hurt.' The pass rusher that executive was speaking about is second-round pick Donovan Ezeiruaku. The corner is third-round pick Shavon Revel Jr. Both have a chance to make an impact as early as Week 1. Both were in attendance for Dallas' rookie minicamp at The Star over the weekend. Cowboys second round pick DE Donovan Ezeiruaku — Jon Machota (@jonmachota) May 3, 2025 Rookie minicamp practices don't offer much in terms of evaluating performance on the field. The players were not in pads and they did not conduct team drills. The portion of Saturday's practice open to reporters was stretching and then some individual work. What was noticeable about Ezeiruaku was his size. He's listed on the roster at 6-2, 248 pounds. All of Dallas' other edge rushers are at least 6-3. Being a little shorter than the other top edge rushers in this year's draft class might have caused him to fall to the second round. These are the heights and weights of the four edge rushers drafted in the first round: Abdul Carter (third overall) 6-4, 250; Mykel Williams (11th) 6-5, 267; Shemar Stewart (17th) 6-5, 267; James Pearce Jr. (26th) 6-5, 245. Ezeiruaku's production at Boston College was never a question as he recorded 16 1/2 sacks, 20 1/2 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles in 12 games last season. He uses his long arms (34 inches) and athleticism to get by offensive linemen. 'He's very explosive bending around the corner,' Cowboys vice president of player personnel Will McClay said. 'He's got length to be able to engage with tackles, but his array of moves and his determination, leadership and who he is, we're going to maximize that. He wants to be the best of the best and he's going to do that, and he's going to bring others with him. He's got skill plus that drive.' The edge rusher group is a deep one in Dallas. Along with Parsons, there is Dante Fowler, Sam Williams, Marshawn Kneeland and now Ezeiruaku. There will be packages to get more than two on the field at the same time, but it's also a good area to have depth considering how injuries significantly limited Dallas' 2024 pass rush. Parsons, Williams, Kneeland and DeMarcus Lawrence combined to miss 40 games because of injury last season. 'I'm coming here to work and do whatever the coaches ask me to do,' Ezeiruaku said. 'If they ask me to stand up or play over the top of the guard on some type of passing situation, or stand up and be on the edge, I'll do that to the best of my ability.' Height was also noticeable with Revel, but for the opposite reason. He looked every bit of 6-2 as he worked off to the side on the resistance cords. To compare to other Cowboys starting cornerbacks, Trevon Diggs is 6-2 and DaRon Bland is 6-0. Revel, who is working back from a torn ACL and partial meniscus tear in his left knee during practice at East Carolina in September, was moving well and did not appear to be limited on Saturday. At the moment, the plan is to have him remain a limited participant through the start of training camp where he will likely begin on the physically unable to perform list. But there is confidence that he will come off the PUP list during camp and be ready for the start of the season. 'Right now I can pretty much do everything,' Revel said. 'I'm running straight line. Cutting, haven't got too much into that. Just trying to take it day by day, trying to take it slow.' Cowboys third round pick CB Shavon Revel Jr. — Jon Machota (@jonmachota) May 3, 2025 A healthy starting trio of Bland, Diggs and Revel looks good on paper. However, Diggs is also working his way back from a significant knee injury that could cause him to miss the start of the season. If he's not ready for Week 1, Dallas could be looking at a starting trio of Bland, Revel and either Kaiir Elam or Caelen Carson. The Cowboys could also make a move to add another veteran cornerback. Either way, there's a good chance that Revel ends up being an immediate starter at one of the outside corner positions. 'He was the top guy on our board,' Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said of picking Revel in the third round. 'He obviously had the injury issue. We knew that's probably why he was still available, because he might not be ready to go Day 1 of minicamp, Day 1 of training camp. You get a guy like that sitting there with his production and it was obvious that was the right thing to do.' Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was caught on camera doing a little dance in the team's draft room right after the Revel pick. Part of it was because they got a player they considered in the second round. Another reason for celebration was the combination of what they did with their top three picks, Tyler Booker, Ezeiruaku and Revel. 'The thing that I saw was a relative picking players that really fit,' Jones said. 'I'm not going to say it was need, but really fit to the leadership and to the ethos of what we would like to be able to claim that was (Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer's) first (draft) class. And I'm telling you, those three picks that we made right there, their makeup, to have that in Schottenheimer's first class will set a tone in terms of what's to go and it happens, it's there. … These are guys that are really the type of people that you want on the team and lead. These guys have that Michael Irvin stuff relative to leadership. And these guys are working to make everybody better. That was a common thread among those three picks.' (Photo of Donovan Ezeiruaku: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
New York Times
07-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
One way to stop Patrick Mahomes, slow Saquon Barkley plus key Super Bowl matchups
Inside: Matchups that decide the Super Bowl, making sense of the NFL's MVP and three perfect foods for Sunday. Let's jump in. This article is from Scoop City, The Athletic's daily NFL newsletter. Sign up here to receive it directly in your inbox. Defense can still win championships. See teams like the 2007 Giants, last season's Chiefs, etc., whose pressure and coverage altered Super Bowls by forcing quarterbacks to linger in the pocket. Since 2013, Super Bowl-losing QBs have taken 0.3 seconds longer to get rid of the ball than their victorious counterparts (Winners at 2.7 seconds, losers at 3.0, per TruMedia and inspired by Mike Sando). The six teams with the longest time to throw went 0-6. Overall, faster is better. It's a small difference, but life is a game of inches, and so is football. And that margin isn't just because trailing teams have to take deep shots. Even if you exclude the fourth quarter of those past 11 Super Bowls, the time difference is nearly the same (losers are at 2.98 seconds per pass, while the winners are at 2.75). So delaying Patrick Mahomes might be the Eagles' best shot to win: It should be great news for DC Vic Fangio. His Eagles have flustered QBs with the NFL's third-slowest throwing time: 3.24 seconds, right around Mahomes' difficulty zone. This defense has been even better in the playoffs, dragging Jayden Daniels, Matthew Stafford and Jordan Love to an average of 3.32 seconds per pass, about 0.4 seconds worse than their combined regular-season average (2.9). Advertisement The problem? This game is strength on strength. Fangio's defense is known for limiting explosive plays and forcing offenses to settle for shorter looks, but the Chiefs thrive on methodical drives, evidenced through their explosive-play rate (32nd), drives per game (tied for 30th) and success on third downs (second). That's where Andy Reid comes in. When he's not busy chartering planes for cheeseburgers, he's 8-0 against Fangio-coached defenses. I'd expect KC to attack backup LB Oren Burks and the rest of the intermediate level, where the Eagles have been their weakest (they rank 15th in EPA against passes of 10 to 19 yards, but rank first or second otherwise). If you want to impress your Super Bowl viewing party, bring a stopwatch: In the opening halves of Mahomes' 26 career losses, his average time to throw was 3.15 seconds, compared to 2.92 in wins and 2.49 so far this postseason. Sunday's first half will be telling. Chiefs interior line vs. Eagles pass rush. Mahomes' protection improved after All-Pro G Joe Thuney shifted to LT in Week 15 — KC's 2.7 sacks allowed per game have dwindled to 1.2 since. Eagles DT Jalen Carter, who typically lines up across from RGs, should instead exploit Thuney's replacement and Kansas City's weakest starter, LG Mike Caliendo. The more sacks Mahomes takes, the slower he tends to throw. Saquon Barkley vs. Chiefs defense. A big reason for his explosive runs in the NFC Championship: the Commanders' poor tackling. DC Steve Spagnuolo's defense tackles well, allowing just six rushes of over 20 yards by opposing RBs this regular season. Last February, they faced a similar threat in Christian McCaffrey, holding him to 80 yards on 22 carries, and the Chiefs have not allowed a running back to go over 100 yards rushing in their last 18 playoff games. Advertisement Jalen Hurts vs. Spagnuolo's blitzes. Amidst an uneven season, one notable improvement of Hurts' game is his play against the blitz. Two years ago, Hurts outdueled Spagnuolo, throwing for 304 yards in one of the best games of his career. But in their Week 11 matchup last season, Hurts was constantly under pressure, taking five sacks and finishing with 150 yards and an INT. Which version do we see Sunday? (Here's a fun list of Spagnuolo's best playoff blitzes.) Travis Kelce vs. Eagles zone defense. Fangio calls for zone at a 70 percent clip, and against that type of coverage, Mahomes takes longer to throw. Kelce, a master at finding holes in a defense, will be invaluable. He leads the team in receiving yards against zone (616), and the Eagles are allowing 75.7 yards per game to tight ends this postseason. Kickoff is Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET on FOX. On StubHub, tickets start at $3,195, a steal compared to last year's get-in-the-building price of $6,900. Kendrick Lamar performs at halftime, cameras will be on Taylor Swift and the Chiefs remain favored by 1.5 points, per BetMGM. Giddy up. For more: Before we talk NFL Honors, Dianna shares what she heard from the red carpet. After a monster first season with the Ravens that saw Derrick Henry finish with 1,921 rushing yards — the second-best mark of his career — and a legendary offseason training regimen to defy age (he turned 31 a month ago), it's clear he has plenty left in the tank. His contract, however, is up after the 2025 season. On the NFL Honors red carpet Thursday night, I asked him: What's the plan for the future? His answer: 'I love Baltimore. I want to finish my career in Baltimore.' Back to you, Jacob. For 37 years, any MVP-winning quarterback was also an Associated Press first-team All-Pro. Last night, contrary to widespread expectations that first-teamer Lamar Jackson would win MVP as well, Josh Allen broke that streak — even though the same voters filled out both ballots. Here's how the voting finished: Here's how these same voters filled their All-Pro ballots: Why the difference? The internet was ablaze in discussion. What might have played a role: In 1987, John Elway's MVP award caused controversy, as he was a second-team All-Pro behind Joe Montana. Here's what matters: Just as '80s fans got to watch both Elway and Montana play football, we get to watch Allen and Jackson in their primes. Let's enjoy it, rather than only arguing about it. Other winners from the NFL Honors: Full list of NFL Honors winners here. As for the Hall of Fame, we saw Eli Manning left out as Antonio Gates, Jared Allen, Eric Allen and Sterling Sharpe get set to enter Canton. More here on the smallest class possible. I'll leave you with three appetizers worthy of the big game, which means you can eat them with your hands. Starting from the easiest: Mouth watering already? You're not alone. Also, all the above are gift links, meaning no subscription is needed! Our final two Super Bowl props are inspired by the ultimate prop sheet: For the last time this season: IS IT SUNDAY YET?! See you on Monday. This week's most-clicked: 10 Myles Garrett trade proposals. 📫 Enjoyed this read? Sign up here to receive The Athletic's free daily NFL newsletter, and check out our other newsletters.
