Cowboys Exec Puts Pressure on Struggling Young Players After Draft
By Cem Yolbulan
The Dallas Cowboys failed to make the necessary reinforcements in free agency or the draft, disappointing some fans in the process. Not only Jerry Jones & Co. was unable to add significant talent in the offseason, but they also let a few key starters go, including Tyron Smith, Tony Pollard, and Tyler Biadasz.
This naturally puts a lot of pressure on the rest of the players on the roster. And it seems like the Cowboys' top brass isn't shying away from putting that pressure on their young players.
In his latest statements to the press, Cowboys VP of Player Personnel Will McClay was brutally honest about what they expect from their young players.
Cowboys Put Pressure On Young Players on the Roster For Next Season
Cowboys VP of player personnel Will McClay on the need for recent draft picks like NT Mazi Smith, TE Luke Schoonmaker, LB DeMarvion Overshown and DE Viliami Fehoko to make a jump in 2024: "Those guys have to make a jump for us to succeed, and they've been in the system for a…
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) May 1, 2024
When referring to the team's 2023 draft picks, McClay relayed his expectation that they would take a significant step forward. Now that Mazi Smith, DeMarvion Overshown, Viliami Fehoko, and Luke Schoonmaker have been in the organization for a year, the Cowboys are reportedly expecting them to "step up".
"When you draft players, those players don't always immediately step in and fill that role. But when you're drafting a player, you're drafting him for the four to five years of their contract, and you're trying to get a return on investment. We need those guys to take a jump now based on the cap and the way things are. And they just have to step up. At the end of the day, that's exactly what it is."
- Cowboys Player Personnel VP Will McClay
McClay is partially right. Smith and Schoonmaker were very disappointing in their rookie seasons. Fehoko didn't get on the field at all and Overshown missed the entire season with an injury. Getting nothing out of your first four draft picks is clearly a problem.
However, expressing this publicly and putting young and inexperienced players in the spotlight like this is a risky move. It is still way too early to put this kind of pressure on these young players as it could easily backfire. Whether it does remains to be seen.
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