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Who besides CeeDee Lamb is going to catch passes for the Cowboys?
Who besides CeeDee Lamb is going to catch passes for the Cowboys?

New York Times

time03-05-2025

  • Sport
  • New York Times

Who besides CeeDee Lamb is going to catch passes for the Cowboys?

With the 2025 NFL Draft now behind us, all 32 teams have made most of their personnel moves ahead of the new season — but that doesn't mean every roster need has been filled. For instance, take a look at the Cowboys' roster: Beyond CeeDee Lamb, Dallas doesn't have another reliable wide receiver on the roster. Advertisement On the latest episode of 'The Athletic Football Show,' Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen discussed which pass catchers could step up for the Cowboys in 2025. Watch the full discussion below. A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on YouTube below or in 'The Athletic Football Show' feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Robert: We thought the Dallas Cowboys might draft a receiver 12th overall if one was on the board, but they didn't draft a receiver at all, and didn't address it in free agency either. Who is catching passes for the Cowboys? Derrik: I was certain they would draft a receiver at some point, and I think they really wanted Tetairoa McMillan. There was a lot of reporting and talk about it, so that's clearly who they wanted to get at 12. But when he wasn't there, they did the Cowboys thing of, 'All right, we don't necessarily know what we want, so let's just throw another pick at the offensive line and that will probably be fine.' They did lose Zack Martin this offseason, so I don't think reloading there was a bad strategy. But they didn't really attack pass catchers at all, it just wasn't something they cared about. They did take a running back in Jaydon Blue, who is probably going to help them out a little bit in the backfield. But they didn't take any starters at either tight end or receiver who are going to help them. They're still going into this season with CeeDee Lamb, which is fantastic because obviously he's one of the most explosive players in the league. But they're still waiting for the Jalen Tolbert breakout, and it's the final year of his contract, so at this point it's probably not going to happen. If it was going to happen, we would have seen it by now. Last year, midway through the season, they traded for Jonathan Mingo. But when you think about it, a Carolina Panthers team, which didn't have that much going forward at the pass-catcher room, was willing to trade away Mingo even though it was a different coaching staff that drafted him. Behind that, they've got Ryan Flournoy who they drafted in the sixth round last year. As a wide receiver four, that's a cool idea. But when you don't have a good wide receiver two or three, that's not as fun of an idea. We knew outside of CeeDee Lamb they didn't have many options, both in terms of having good floor options and good ceiling options. And they didn't take anyone in the draft to make me feel better about it, so it's still a spooky pass-catching group to me. Advertisement Robert: We thought they might take a receiver at 12, and I think everyone assumed they would try to draft a running back on Day 2 because the only moves they'd made at running back were one-year contracts for Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders. It sounds like Williams, based on the way that things have unraveled here, will be the starting running back unless it's Jaydon Blue. But I'm not sure how good you feel about that. Derrik: I don't think Blue can be at his size, that's also the issue too. Robert: Yeah, that's just not what he is. I don't know how that room comes together, so a little bit surprising based on what we thought they might have done. Then with the receiver group, they didn't do anything, they didn't draft a receiver at all. My assumption is they're looking at this with the mindset of, 'Jonathan Mingo is the offseason addition we made at receiver.' All right, we'll see how it goes… Derrik: I don't love that… Robert: I don't know how I feel about that either (laughs). My concern here is that we're going to get to Week 6 again, and my response to all of this is going to be, 'I think KaVontae Turpin should be getting more snaps.' Which is the exact same thing we were saying last year. Just playing it out, doesn't that seem to be the place we're going to land again with the lack of juice the rest of this group is bringing to the table? Derrik: It's either that, or does Parris Campbell have anything left? Which, again, you're asking a similar type of bad question in terms of trying to find the explosiveness. The only thing I can assume is that once Tetairoa McMillan was gone, maybe they just didn't love Matthew Golden or any of the other receivers there, and that's fine. You take Tyler Booker, and the idea is, 'Maybe Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe take another step. And even though Booker is not going to be as good as Zack Martin, if he can at least be a good rookie, then maybe the offensive line will be better, and we can run the ball and leverage that into better offense.' But it feels like you're asking a lot from Guyton, who was really up and down last year. You're also asking a lot of Booker, who is replacing one of the best guards of the last decade. Again, Booker might be good, but that's asking a lot. Then I still don't love what they have at running back. So even if your idea is, 'The offensive line and run game will allow the passing game to be better,' you still need around four things to go right for that to even be true. You can listen to full episodes of The Athletic Football Show for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube. (Photo of Jonathan Mingo: Cooper Neill / Getty Images)

The Ravens have four draft directions — which will they take?
The Ravens have four draft directions — which will they take?

New York Times

time22-04-2025

  • Sport
  • New York Times

The Ravens have four draft directions — which will they take?

Just two more sleeps remain until the 2025 NFL Draft kicks off in Green Bay and, soon enough, all the speculation about who goes where will finally be put to rest. The Baltimore Ravens, coming off a 12-5 season and their second consecutive AFC North title, head into the draft with 11 picks, starting at No. 27 overall in the first round. Advertisement Will they use that pick on a pass rusher, bolster the offensive or defensive line, or perhaps add another cornerback after selecting Nate Wiggins at No. 30 last year? On the latest episode of 'The Athletic Football Show,' the final installment of our 'On the Clock' series, Robert Mays was joined by CBS Sports' Mike Renner to discuss which direction the Ravens should go with the 27th pick. A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on YouTube below or in 'The Athletic Football Show' feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Robert: Let's get to the Ravens at 27. You have four options for Baltimore. With the guys on the board, I didn't want to tighten it up because I think you could make a justifiable argument for any of these four directions. Option one is to draft any of the pass rushers who are top-10 talents, according to some people. You can take Shemar Stewart or Mykel Williams here, who are still on board, or you can take James Pearce Jr. I'm not sure what your current board looks like, but I think you had him ahead of both of those guys on your initial big board. Mike: I did way back going into the season, but I do worry about the off-the-field stuff, and I worry that he's just a little bit stiffer. How I have them ranked right now on my final board is Mykel, Pearce and then Stewart. I'm right there with you that I could see any team buying into either of them as top-10 talents, because they are truly all physically gifted in some way, shape, or form. I just lean toward Williams because he shows the closest thing to an NFL skillset right now. And it's not as if he doesn't have tools that could reach a high end at the NFL level. My comp for him is Carlos Dunlap, He's just a real good power end. For Baltimore, the interior flexibility is nice for that defense as well, so that's where I'm going. Advertisement Robert: That was just option one by the way… which was one of those three pass rushers, so let's keep going. Option two: You draft Tyler Booker or Grey Zabel, and they step in as your left guard from day one. Obviously, Andrew Vorhees started the season there last year but got hurt. Then Patrick Mekari stepped in, but now he's gone, so they don't really have the interior depth that they've typically had on their roster. Option three is a cornerback of your choosing. Once again, they bring in Chidobe Awuzie, but how good do you feel about that if that's a day-one outside corner for you? Option four is you draft Derrick Harmon or Kenneth Grant because it's a similar thought process to the interior of the offensive line. If you look at it right now, they don't really have a lot of bodies behind those starters with Travis Jones and Madubuike. So you could draft a guy to be a rotational piece now, who could step into a bigger role next year, because Travis Jones is in the final year of his contract, so that's available to you. Again, a pass rusher of your choosing, being Tyler Booker or Grey Zabel, a cornerback of your choosing, or Derek Harman or Kenneth Grant. What are you doing if you are Baltimore? Mike: This one's tough. I think corner is my least favorite of those because they drafted one in the first round last year. Back-to-back years using a first-rounder on a corner — and even a few years ago using one on a safety — is just a lot of resources on a position where ROI is generally not as much as an edge in the first round. You can find corners later, but it's hard to find high-end edges later. As I'm thinking of this, the highest guy on my board is Derrick Harmon. Obviously, I've heard that he might fall due to medical concerns. But I think the fact that Harmon would be third fiddle right out of the gate, versus Mykel Williams being able to conceivably be a starter from day one, at least an early down starter, probably pushes that for me a little bit towards him — and the fact that Madubuike is not going anywhere anytime soon. With Harmon, as much as I think he could play a little nose and play some of that, he's not replacing Travis Jones' skill set on the nose full time. So I'll go with Mykel Williams, that's the pick. Robert: That makes total sense, and this would just be a classic Ravens thing where a guy who is 12th on everybody's boards is sitting there at 27. You and I were talking about this a little bit yesterday. You weren't necessarily surprised that these guys who are pumped up as maybe top 12 prospects have fallen in an exercise like this because no one's had the stomach to be the one to swing on them. Mike: Yes, it's a unique class because there are such high-end athletes with such little production. You usually get one or two of these guys, like your Tyree Wilsons, your Travon Walkers. But this year, it's four or five, it's a handful. There are so few guys who have both in this draft class. It's Abdul Carter, and then that's it in terms of who has the traits and the production. Advertisement Robert: Maybe you can make an argument for Mike Green, but there are a ton of concerns there and the competition level. So there's a question mark with everybody on some front. Mike: That's why I have Mike Green and Jalon Walker as my next two edges after, just because you want both at the end of the day. And again, when I'm stacking up Mykel versus the other two, he's just closer in my opinion to an impact player at the NFL level, and I could see it with him very easily. Whereas with the other two, you're really squinting for reps, where you're like, 'That'll work against NFL tackles consistently.' You can listen to full episodes of 'The Athletic Football Show' for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube. (Top Photo:)

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