Let’s first talk about Jalen Tolbert. I’m not going to lie. I was thinking it would be a good move to pick him in the 2nd round last year. Can you imagine the flack Jerry and the front office would have gotten if Tolbert was drafted in the 2nd round instead of Sam Williams? I liked the Tolbert pick last year, but I’ve since soured a bit having not seen him play much at all after preseason. But I’m excited to see what he makes of the opportunities he may get this year. We have our top 3 guys ready to roll, and I think we’re in good shape there. Jalen Tolbert also looks to be in very good shape. But I still worry about our depth at WR, which brings me to Jalen Moreno Cropper.
There’s just something l like about this kid. He’s a baller. To me, he looks like the kind of player who can actually come in as an UDFA and produce year 1. He probably won’t be your number one or number 2, but he makes a perfect #3 or X type WR, and I think he could potentially be the perfect back up and 4th WR. At this point, my two favorite WRs behind Gallup are probably Cropper and Fehoko.
And then there’s Jalen Brooks, who I wasn’t even aware of until after the draft, but I also think he looks like a nice prospect. He also looks like he’s serious about the game, and plays faster or looks faster on video than his time says on paper. Guy also has a strong core, which means he’s ready for an NFL workout regimen.
And then there’s Simi Fehoko, a former Stanford standout who has Polynesian roots. This is Simi’s last shot to make our roster, in my opinion. If he’s cut, we may see him go to the practice squad and he may be called up if there are injuries, but he really needs to show something this year or Dallas will be happy to move on from him. If I were Simi Fehoko, my number one priority would be working on my weaknesses as much as possible. More dog, less cat, Simi.
Our fourth-round pick has the same last name as Simi, but Villiami Fehoko claims there is no relation. I spotted Fehoko earlier this offseason and really liked what I saw. But like with the TE group, a lot of the defensive line players seemed to blur together, and I never really attempted to rank them based on their strengths and weaknesses. I do, however, love the Fehoko pick. In fact, it’s probably my favorite pick, because I have a feeling that he ends up being a nice player in the NFL, and particularly for the Cowboys.
And then there’s Tyler Smith. Man, to come in and have the year like he had was just phenomenal. I have my theory about why they didn’t play Tyron Smith at LT: because they didn’t want to expose how much Tyron has declined and just how much better Tyler is. They also didn’t want to slight Tyler because he earned the starting position, in more ways than one. But most importantly, his work ethic and positive outlooks showed up on the field. Love his nasty streak. I can foresee Tyler becoming a HOF player. Just my gut feeling.
That’s not to take anything away from Tyron Smith. He’s good in his own right. And who in the NFL would make a better swing tackle than Tyron Smith? He wasn’t great when he returned last year. But he was dealing with recovering from what sounded like a pretty serious injury and he wasn’t terrible either. So I’m also really looking forward to seeing how he comes along this year. And I hope they can find a way to keep him healthy.
And that concludes my thoughts on the law office of Jalen, Jalen, Jalen, Fehoko, Fehoko, Smith and Smith.
