Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy’s assessment of their 2020 NFL draft picks
As if he didn’t have enough on his plate already, leave it to Dallas Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones to don his reporter hat after the 2020 NFL draft and asked coach Mike McCarthy to assess all seven of the team’s picks.
It was McCarthy’s first draft as coach of the Cowboys. Here is what he said:
Round 1 (17): WR CeeDee Lamb, Oklahoma
McCarthy: “The first thing that comes to mind when I think of him is that he’s dynamic. His ability to step into the offense and play all four positions at the wide receiver slot. I think he is a natural fit for how we want to play offense. He is dynamic with the ball in his hands. I really enjoy the way he goes after the football. We are very, very excited about his addition to the offense.”
Round 2 (51): CB Trevon Diggs, Alabama
McCarthy: “It doesn’t take long when you are watching the tape. He’s smooth, long, athletic. We are putting such an emphasis on turnover ratio – that will be a big part of our daily focus as a football team, and this young man goes and gets the football. The way we want to play the game, particularly on the back end, I think he is also an excellent fit.
Round 3 (82): DI Neville Gallimore, Oklahoma
McCarthy: ”The first thing that jumps out to me on the film is sideline-to-sideline. He is active in his pursuit; his ability to penetrate. I think he has versatility to play different techniques from B-gap to B-gap in our number schemes that we will be utilizing there, too. He is a very good fit for our defensive line group.”
Round 4 (123): CB Reggie Robinson II, Tulsa
McCarthy: “Reggie Robinson is someone that we were all excited about and the opportunity to pick him there. I remember the first time I watched the tape on him at Tulsa, and you are wondering why he is not part of the conversation with the other guys up there in the first two rounds. Obviously, his size, his strength, his ability as another big corner to play with length. You bring both him and Trevon into our secondary group; excellent additions.”
Round 4 (146): C Tyler Biadasz, Wisconsin
McCarthy: “We jump to Tyler and to have another Wisconsin center — not to put any pressure on him — he is what you are looking for. You talk about our history and tradition of offensive line play in Dallas, and he comes from an excellent program and college there in Wisconsin. As far as running the show, making the calls [he can do both]. He plays with great power; you can see it in the angles. He is a natural center. That is why the importance of going up and getting him there at the end of the fourth round was awesome. We were excited about all the picks, but it was great to get that done.”
Round 5 (179): DE Bradlee Anae, Utah
McCarthy: “Bradlee. Just a tough, hard-nosed [player]. Every year as a coach, you don’t watch a whole lot of college football, but I have watched more Utah defensive tape here in the last three months than I think I ever have in my whole career. What a great defense they had with a number of excellent players and prospects. This guy, he leads the charge. He is tough, hard-nosed; he brings that dimension. He plays the game the right way. The ability to play the closed end — he gives us flexibility also there on the defensive front.”
Round 7 (231): QB Ben DiNucci, James Madison
McCarthy: “Ben DiNucci, quarterback out of Pittsburgh, Pa., there at Pine-Richland High School. He started at [University of Pittsburgh] and then went to James Madison. Very accurate — reminds me of a young Marc Bulger, someone that just, as you look for comparables, he is a young man that has played the position his whole life. He will be an excellent addition to our quarterback room as you continue to develop that room with our other two young guys and Dak.”
“That really wraps up our seven guys,” McCarthy said. “It is a great class. It was great the way it fell, and I’m really looking forward to get these guys and the other free agents that we are working on right now, getting them here in Dallas to get going.”
