Cowboys Monday Morning After - At Seattle

Jalen Tolbert demonstrates that he is ready to do much more in 2023

Last week we spent a lot of time looking at a preseason game by analyzing some of the more interesting rookies and getting all excited about Mazi Smith, DeMarvion Overshown, and Deuce Vaughn.

It was really fun to imagine what players could be “heavy lifters” as rookies. We focused on the positives and when you do that, you can feel optimism washing all over you – which, let’s be honest, it might be the best way to kill off these preseason weekends in August (especially if the Cowboys refuse to play any veteran regulars at all in these games).

Well, in the space of seven days, we have some follow-up materials to offer.

1. Mazi Smith had a very poor game this week which continued some of those rough edges in his game that will need improvement. But, this week, there were almost no splashy positive plays to counterbalance the negative elements to his game. When that happens, we start to realize that the young man may require some time before he is simply handed a job as a starter. They have veterans better than him right now and as a contender, they will need him to, as Stars GM Jim Nill would say, force his way into the lineup. You make us play you because you are so good right now. Otherwise, we will let the veterans do what we know they can do.

2. Third round LB DeMarvion Overshown apparently has torn his ACL and will miss all of 2023 in what is easily the biggest bummer of training camp. It sure looked like he would be an instant contributor and probably a very big one.

3. Deuce Vaughn is simply incredible and offered us yet another magical highlight run in Seattle which will probably be a regular feature. He is appearing to be too good to be true.

(Note: Don’t forget to click on the 3 stacked dots on the bottom right corner of the video screens to set the “playback speed” on slow so you can study the play better.)

Vaughn is big fun, but it does show us that your rookie class is often going through some rather tough transitions into playing professional sports that is very difficult to explain or understand.

Bill Walsh wrote an amazing text book for coaches called “Finding the Winning Edge” and in it he has an entire chapter on this matter and the conclusion which we hear so often in pro football that “the biggest jump of any player’s career will happen between Year 1 and Year 2.” For that is when they are able to finally understand the challenges better while being acclimated to all the surroundings that make this jump so difficult.

Walsh wrote, “Although organizations need first-year players (particularly high draft choices) to contribute to their team’s success, in most instances, first-year players encounter too many obstacles to overcome for them to make a significant contribution. Several factors can influence the degree to which a player has a limited role in his first year on the team, including his lack of physical maturity, whether he is prone to injuries, the fact that he may be in a survival mode in training camp, his possible lack of focus, the lack of attention he will receive in training camp, and the major changes in his lifestyle.”

As the head coach, it is important that you consider the fact that most first-year players are still maturing physically. Such a point may be somewhat difficult to grasp when the player “under the team’s microscope” is a twenty-one or twenty-two year old athlete with a highly muscular body and a reputation for being a “physical” player.

In reality, even if a first-year player is considered the prototype physical specimen, that athlete may have difficulty adapting to the physical demands of the month-long training camp and the upcoming extended season (i.e., twenty games over the course of the preseason and the regular season - even more if his team is involved in post-season play). The lack of physical maturity is even more likely to be a problem for those underclassmen who enter the draft.

The fact that a first-year player may not have the physical maturity of a veteran can lead to several possible problems. For example, all factors considered, a first-year player is more likely to suffer a muscle pull than a veteran player. Many players participating in their first training camp tend to expend more energy than is necessary, while they learn what being a professional football player involves. In addition, these players do not have a complete appreciation for the value of using the team’s athletic training staff over the course of a long, arduous season — the way veteran players do.

Hopefully, you get the idea with those few paragraphs. The chapter goes on in depth and even discusses the elements of media, family, and finances that take a rookie’s attention away from his main focus. Honestly, it all makes us marvel even more at Micah Parsons’ transition into the NFL where he was almost instantly a superstar as a very young kid. For him to be 22-years-old and win NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and 1st Team All Pro is absurd. Just off the charts absurd.

But, we should never judge normal players like that. People want Mazi Smith to be the defensive tackle version of Micah Parsons. Or at least a sure-thing rookie starter at a position of need, right? Well, Bill Walsh never expected it, neither should we.

Below, I offer you the “How they were built” chart of the Cowboys, but only a small portion of it. On here, I have included the 4-year rookie contract players from the 2020 draft until present. Also included are the undrafted free agent rookies who joined each draft class, despite not being selected.

As you can see, those Round 1 selections – CeeDee Lamb, Parsons, and Tyler Smith all were excellent immediately. The Round 2 players are definitely a mixed bag with Trevon Diggs being wonderful, but Kelvin Joseph still trying to prove his worth, and Sam Williams from the ‘22 draft probably in between.

Round 3 is not good. Neville Gallimore and Nahshon Wright are both on the roster bubble for 2023. Osa Odighizuwa is a very nice player, but Chauncey Golston has left us wanting to date. And then there is WR Jalen Tolbert from 2022 a player from South Alabama who was highly productive in college, but was able to account for 2 catches for 12 yards in his rookie season. Very disappointing, to say the least.

Back at my old gig at The Athletic, I wrote a report on Tolbert for the 2022 draft. Here are some passages:

Positives: He is a large man who is difficult to cover. Has huge hands and large frame that makes him a player who will not be bullied. He makes absurd catches and has the ability to go over guys. Has excellent releases and double moves that allow him to uncover quickly and cleanly. His stutter and go stacks the corner and it is over. He performed very well against the top competition he saw versus Tennessee and at the Senior Bowl. Has played a lot and produced so much that he is ready to go.

Concerns: There are a few things that you quickly see. His route tree is limited at this point and his drops are something to monitor. Mostly, they seem to be focus drops rather than a technical problem, but he has a bit of a rep of making the difficult look easy and the easy look difficult. He sort of goes through the motions to block.

Overall: There is a stigma with going to a smaller school that will make some look the other way, but anyone who has seen Tolbert consistently stand out against all comers will tell you he is the real deal. I would love to see more diversity to his route tree, but I guess when you do those few things that well it doesn’t need to be complicated. I am comfortable giving him a SECOND ROUND GRADE and he will be in the mix in the top 50.

As you can see, I liked him a lot and that grew even more deeply when the Cowboys were able to get him in Round 3 at pick 88. What a value play!

Guess what? I still like him. Which is why hearing people ask if he should make the team when camp began a few weeks back befuddled me. Are we serious? One year in, despite what legendary football coaches say as a warning for Year One expectations, we are ready to toss him in the nearest bin?

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Early in the 2022 training camp, Dallas was touting Jalen Tolbert as a potential starter. Now, part of this issue is they had no other good ideas after James Washington was injured and Michael Gallup was recovering, but they said it on August 2nd.

Things obviously went south in the next month because Tolbert was inactive in Week 1, which is a significant drop in faith from “starter” to “street clothes.” It also happened in Week 2, Week 4, and Week 5 which is incredible given how lean they were at the position. Even Dennis Houston seemed to be further up the ladder than Tolbert. Then, he played very sparingly in stretches, but disappeared for good in December and did not even dress in the final seven games.

Now, in 2023, the Cowboys are not counting on him nearly as much. Gallup is back healthy, we believe, and adding Brandin Cooks as well as a renewed emphasis on getting Kavontae Turpin in the offense has put Tolbert in a fight for WR4 or WR5.

Thankfully, our film study for Saturday Night will be all about him. Because we are happy to report those signs of life that lead us to believe that Bill Walsh knew this was coming. He has more than enough talent and skill. He just needed to get more comfortable and to learn the habits needed to be a solid pro. Will he get a big chance this year? We don’t know. But, this game versus the Seahawks shows us that he is far from a bust. He still has some real potential that might be ready to cook.

WR - 18 Jalen Tolbert

1Q - 9:48 - 3rd & 7 - DAL 25. Rush’s Pass to Tolbert +35 yds, 1st Down.

Above, we have the Cowboys first drive and their first downfield pass. Seattle is in 2-Man and Cooper Rush rips a nice back shoulder fade to Tolbert who is at the top of the screen. His stutter release and speed puts him on top of corner Michael Jackson with a few easy strides. That is what you love about Tolbert. One on one, he has the size and speed combo to win and to win a lot. He is a handful and a problem on these deep verticals. The defensive pass interference was declined.

1Q - 3:30 - 3rd & 4 - DAL 26 - Rush to Tolbert for 15 yards, 1st down.

This is 3rd and 4 and the Seahawks are going to play man in this situation. Again, the Cowboys are in 11 personnel with a 2x2 as Peyton Hendershot is inline on Tolbert’s side who again is wide right. Seattle is also bringing six rushers, so Rush is going to have to get the ball out pretty quickly. Here Tolbert stutters wide as if he is running a vertical and that is all he needs to win inside on the slant for an easy first down. Here, we do see him bobble the initial catch, but then secure it. I do think going over the middle requires a different type of catch skills in traffic and that is not presently his specialty. But look how easy a win he has on a slant and they convert another 3rd down to this kid. These first two plays show you his utility.

1Q - 0:31 - 3rd & 4 - SEA 40 - Rush’s pass to Tolbert for 6 yards, Call reversed to Incomplete.

Yet another 3rd down and Rush keeps looking his way. Here, Tolbert will start as the lone WR on the left (bottom of your screen) and his short motion will basically ask him to get to the sticks, find a soft spot, and turn to Rush. Rush is duress and he has to hurry a throw which is low and away. Tolbert tried to pick it off the turf, but this one will be on the QB. That throw needs to be better as Tolbert gave him the entire inside to throw and if this would have ended a drive in the regular season, it would have been a very maddening sequence because the player is open and the conversion is there.

But, again, Tolbert looks the part.

2Q - 14:26 - 2nd and 6 - SEA 28 - Rush incomplete to Tolbert.

On many early downs, the Seahawks are in Cover 6, so the Cowboys zone beater has a lot of Tolbert underneath working off of 12 personnel. This play shows the TE (84-McKeon) dragging the LB (57-O’Connell) out of the zone and then Tolbert should be an easy pitch and catch here underneath for probably another 1st down. But, the mechanics of this dropped pass are interesting.

I don’t wish to act as Tolbert’s agent here, but two thoughts on Rush’s throw: One, it sure looks like it is right off the ear of the Seattle pass rusher (95-Adams) and therefore visibility is a question and then, two, the velocity of this ball is humming. Not sure if Rush meant to throw it that hard in there. All that said, catch the ball and this conversation doesn’t happen.

2Q - 12:36 - 3rd & 5 - SEA 12 - Rush to Tolbert, 5 yards, 1st Down.

Allow me to nerd just a bit on this one. Rush is empty with a 2x3 lineup with Tolbert as the No. 2 to the right (middle) and this is another nice 3rd down conversion. Rush and Tolbert had something going on this night and given Rush’s reluctance to throw the ball into much danger, he enjoys the nibble. If you need five yards, he will pass it four. This is what keeps a backup QB employed. Nothing fancy, nothing cute, don’t prove how great you are. Do what we ask and be smart with the ball.

Well, here Tolbert will square in right off of the back of Turpin (No. 3 to this side and the most inside of the receivers). Turpin runs a post and so that gets attention at this spot on the field so Tolbert basically spots the zone LB and then makes him wrong. This means if the LB is high, Tolbert squares below him. If the LB is below him, he will head vertical (more on that in a moment). Here it is up to Tolbert to get to the sticks and the throw is right on him. First Down.

I even broke out the dots on this one so you can see the routes on the board.

The reason I wanted you to see it is that actually was run near the same spot on the field the week before when Will Grier hit Tolbert for a touchdown. Everything is the same on this play. Empty, 2x3, Tolbert lined up next to Turpin. The only difference is that Turpin runs more of a corner and that allows Tolbert to take the post himself.

And here are those dots if you would like to compare and contrast. I think we know what Dallas is interested in doing in the “High Red Zone” now.

Ok, one last play as we go through all six of the targeted passes to young Mr Tolbert.

2Q - 7:48 - 1st & 10 - DAL 42 - Grier pass to Tolbert for 11 yards, First Down.

This is just awesome. Big strong receiver shows a vertical stem. Stops. Makes space for himself by “big brother-ing” the corner (22-Tre Brown) out of the way and goes and makes an easy play. Seattle is in Cover 3 here on 1st down, so the corner has outside leverage. But, it doesn’t matter. Tolbert will out-athlete most corners, especially if he has shown some deep verticals already. They give him space and don’t seem to think that they should get too close. This is a pitch and catch. I think he has really started to show what we saw at the college level. Here is his mockdraftable profile:

I know, I know. The Cowboys don’t seem to fully need him right now, but we should definitely understand that he might be one play away. Also, he might be their ready-made Michael Gallup replacement if Gallup cannot return to his 2019 levels.

Anyway, this was the bright spot on Saturday I wanted to show you because I think any Tolbert slander out there is from folks who don’t believe Bill Walsh. I think he can be a starting WR in this league and will start to reveal that to the public immediately. In fact, 4 catches for 66 yards on Saturday is a nice glimpse.

I will get you my 53-man roster projections by Wednesday.