FRISCO, Texas – Now that the NFL Draft has ended, the Cowboys are expected to sign a group of undrafted rookies to their 90-man offseason roster.
Though not official, 14 undrafted free agents have announced via social media that they plan to sign with the Cowboys in time for next weekend's rookie minicamp. Here's a closer look at two:
OL Nate Theaker, Wayne State (6-5, 315)
Nasty finisher. Consistently playing well after the whistle on tape. Initial quickness off snap. Quick footed. Gets into man well. Gets movement with leverage and drive. Stays after his block. Dominates his man. Can wash his man out of the play. Gets out well in space. Stays on his feet and blocks. Tends to play with straight legs. Will get his hands inside but tends to be late. Aware to help when necessary. Strength wasn't bad but has a history of back problems. Can hold his man in place. Was better than anyone he played at Wayne State. If he has a trait flaw, he tends to play a little high out of his stance and he could get away with that in college but not in the NFL. Step up in NFLPA game and wasn't bad at guard. Could line him up at guard or tackle but his short arms will likely mean that he plays inside. Started an impressive 33 games during his college career.
OT Dan Skipper Arkansas (6-10 311)
Rare height for the position. Amazing that he is able to play being this tall. Outstanding football intelligence. Hard to fool him with movement. Does a really nice job of communicating with his teammates and executing his assignments. Hard to see his initial quickness due to his length but there is some there. Doesn't have great foot speed/acceleration or burst but does have the ability to recover when out of position. Shows range with his length. When he kicks outside, he can make it difficult for the rusher to get around him. The way he handles quickness is to push his man wide and run him around the quarterback. Patient blocker. There are snaps where you see him off balance but somehow he manages to right himself and get back in position. Not the strongest player in the upper/lower body. He will get rocked back at times. Jonathan Allen and Myles Garrett got him this way. Is not going to get much movement in the running game one-on-one. Gets into his man and holds along the line. There are snaps where you see him peeking into the backfield looking for the ball while holding his block. Not a bad player when it comes to getting out in space. Is more likely to try and cut his man instead of staying on his feet. Speed quickly to the corner gave him problems. If a rusher gets under him – it's a bad situation. Tape was not terrible against quality competition.
