The Cowboys Draft Plans REVEALED?! - Kris Kretschman Show

On today’s episode of the Kris Kretschman Show, we break down some HUGE comments coming directly from the Cowboys front office that could shape the direction of this team heading into the season.

Stephen Jones spoke on George Pickens and what his future could look like with the Cowboys, and the message might not be what fans were expecting. We dive into what was said, what it REALLY means, and whether Dallas is making the right call here.

We also react to Stephen Jones discussing the Cowboys’ linebacker plans, and whether this team is doing enough to fix one of its biggest weaknesses heading into the season. Are the Cowboys being aggressive enough… or are they playing it too safe again?

Plus, Brian Schottenheimer talks about the importance of the nickel position and the possibility of adding to it. With today’s NFL being so defense-heavy in the secondary, this could be a MASSIVE key to the Cowboys’ success.

Plenty to break down in this one — what the Cowboys are saying publicly might be telling us more than we think.

Make sure to like, subscribe, and turn on notifications for more Cowboys content daily!

Transcript

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Hey, what's going on, everybody? Welcome to the Chris Crotchman Show for March 31st, 2026. And on today's episode, we will be talking about some of the things that are coming out at the league meetings with some of the stuff that Brian Schottenheimer said, some of the things that Stephen Jones said as well. Um, but before we get into the episode, please make sure to hit that like button, subscribe. I would greatly appreciate it. And without further ado, let's get into the episode. So I want to start off with Steven Jones' comments about George Pickens and actually his lack of comments, saying that he has nothing to comment on at the current moment when it comes to George Pickens. And I'm gonna be honest with you, I know a lot of Cowboys fans were upset when he said that, but I kind of like that he said that because I would prefer if these negotiations, just like every other negotiation, stayed private. I don't need to hear about figure amounts being discussed between the team and the agency. I don't need to hear about any of that stuff. Let's start reaching out to agents here if they haven't already. Let's make sure that you know there's good communication here that you're negotiating in good faith because George Pickens is the type of player that you want on your team for the long term. George Pickens is one of the most talented receivers in the league. I'm gonna keep saying that. George Pickens makes it happen. When you look at the most talented receivers in the NFL, I think George Pickens is the third most talented receiver in the NFL. Not saying that he's the third best, there's a difference between being talented and putting it all together, right? But when it comes to pure talent, what George Pickens does at the catch point, the fact that, like, so here's the thing when I talk about talented, like when I talk about talent, right? George Pickens' ability to create explosive plays is unlike anybody else in the league. And there is nothing that offensive coordinators, offensive play callers chase more than explosive plays. And when it comes to explosive plays, George Pickens, I think, makes it happen more than anybody else in the NFL right now. And it's not just what he does down the field, obviously, that's incredible, but it's what he does after the catch. Like, I'm gonna be 100% honest with you. When you compare him and CeeDee Lamb's ability after the catch, I think George Pickens, he might be right there with CeeDee Lamb. I think the difference between the two is that CeeDee Lamb is a little more shifty and a little more elusive than George Pickens. George Pickens will just run through your face. That's what he's gonna do when he gets the ball in his hands. And he has like this nimble, the these like nimble feet to him as well, right? It's kind of funny because he's such a big guy, but he's he's very nimble in the way he moves, it's like effortless to him. He's he's an insanely good player, insanely good player. And that's why, like, when you hear some of these figures, like maybe he's gonna be approaching that 40 million range. I'm there with George Pickens. That's how good I think he is, because I think we look at this this situation with the receiver position as what it is now compared to what it's gonna be in three years from now. CeeDee Lamb, I think he's 27 years old at the current moment. In three years, CeeDee Lamb's gonna be 30, and he's not gonna have the same type of athletic juice that he had when he was 27 or when he was 26 or when he was 25. That's just how things work. George Pickens in three years is gonna be 28, right? He's going to be in the prime smack dab in the middle of his prime. So when I look at what he's going to be three years from now and compare that to what CeeDee Lamb's gonna be three years from now, George Pickens, if he's not already the best receiver on this team, is going to like without a doubt be the best receiver on this team. And that contract that he's gonna sign this year, if they do decide to come to an agreement this year, is going to look like pennies on the dollar in three years when this guy is looked at as maybe the best receiver in football. That's how talented this guy is. It's not Cowboys fans hyping him up, it's just who he is, and he's shown that talent for years. The problem is he did not have a quarterback in Pittsburgh. They like, and it's not even that they didn't have a quarterback, like people will say, and and I'm a big Marvin Harrison Jr. fan, you know, like Ohio State uh fan, right? And not only that, he went to St. Joe's prep here in uh Philadelphia. So, you know, I I have a soft spot for him, uh, you know, when it comes to Marvin Harrison Jr., but it it's not like George Pickens didn't have a quarterback to the extent that people say like Marvin Harrison Jr. didn't have a quarterback, where it's like, okay, Kyler Murray's not bad, he's not great, but like he could still distribute the ball. In Pittsburgh, they literally did not have a quarterback, like it it was bad, and he was still putting up thousand-yard seasons, and then he gets with what I think is a top five quarterback, and he just makes it happen. But what's interesting about this George Pickens situation is that July 15th deadline is gonna be very, very interesting because you know, George Pickens, I don't think he's gonna hold out of training camp. George Pickens will play on the tag, like David Mulagetta. I think he understands the climate of what's going on right now in the league when it comes to George Pickens. There's still like if the Cowboys are unconvinced about signing him to an extension, they're not the only team that you know would be unconvinced about signing him to an extension. Because, you know, like he still has some some bad PR on him from Pittsburgh, right? Like, and I even heard a rumor where and and and this was on 105 through the fans, so like if they're reporting this, I believe it 100% because they're not just gonna go out on the biggest airways in in the state and just speak out of line. They said that George Pickens was able to talk to other teams, and apparently when they when they talk to other teams, they kind of told them the same thing that the Cowboys told them when it was just like, yeah, but like we were we're not sold, right? So that's where other teams are coming from. So this isn't just the Cowboys thing. So the Cowboys, like, I'm not I don't have the type of information that the Cowboys have, right? So like I tell people this all the time, yeah. You know, like even Broadest says it all the time as well, and he's 100% right when he says it. The media is at a disadvantage compared to the teams because the media looks at this situation and they say, I would sign him like like like me, like I'm saying, like anywhere, even if it's 40, I would sign him to that because I think he's that good. But the Cowboys would probably hear what I'm saying and say, like, dude, there's there's no reason to sign him to a 40 million dollar contract because nobody else is gonna offer him that contract. So there, you know, you're you're overvaluing what his market is. I don't think I'm overvaluing the player, I really don't. Like JSN went for $42 million a year. I think as a talent, George Pickens is more talented receiver than JSN. Like, I I really believe that. And I know it's like a trend for people to say that about JSN. JSN is one of the most talented receivers in the league, but I just think that highly of George Pickens. I think that when you compare their their skill sets, George Pickens is a guy who could play isolated as that ex receiver and get busy, get flat out busy. Unlike I think pretty much anybody in the league outside of Jamar Chase and Justin Jefferson, like he's that good. So I'm not overvaluing the player when I say maybe like I would sign him to a $40 million contract. I don't think I'm overvaluing that player. I think what is happening is that the market is looking at George Pickens and they don't think he's a $40 million player, which is why you hear the reports about him seeking, you know, contract negotiations from other teams and them not getting the number that they want, which is why I think it's very realistic that George Pickens ends up playing on the tag. I don't think that this is a cut and dry situation where it's a no-doubt about it that George Pickens is gonna play uh is gonna get an extension this offseason. I hope that's the case. I want George Pickens here for the long term. I want this story to just be nipped in the butt. We signed George Pickens to a long-term extension, and you know, we think about it like we think of CD or Doc Prescott, where it's like, yeah, the negotiations, they were what they were, but the player is on the team, and that's all we really care about at the current moment, right? Like that's what I I I hope this would be. But you know, we'll we'll see. I think it's a very realistic possibility that he would play on the tag, and not only that, he would welcome that with the way his market is at the current moment. I I think that's what's gonna end up happening here. Like, I think he I think he's probably gonna play on the tag. If if I had to make a prediction right now, I think he plays on the tag because I think it's beneficial to both sides, I think it's beneficial to Pickens, and I think it's beneficial to the Cowboys to to have him on the tag because of like I don't think the Cowboys are afraid to pay him the type of money that he wants to get paid. I think what the Cowboys are afraid of is that you only saw it for one year and they want to see it for another year before they extend him to a long-term contract, right? Like they want to feel better about their investment, which I understand. Um, we'll see how we'll see how it works out at the end. But you know, very interesting to say the least, I hope he gets an extension. Like that's where I'm at right now. I hope he gets an extension and and and we don't have to talk about this any longer. We don't have to spend an entire season just like we did last year saying extend him, extend him, extend him. Like, but the Cowboys, they have their reasoning for this, and and and we'll see what happens here. Hey, quick break. Please make sure to hit that like button, subscribe. I would greatly appreciate that. And let's get to the next topic. So I want to talk about Steven Jones' comments about the linebacker position. One thing that he was saying is that this is something that they're gonna address maybe before the draft, maybe they do it during the draft, maybe they do it after the draft. There was a report that Jordan Brooks is a name that the Cowboys reached out for. That was from Omar Kelly of the Miami Herald, who put out that report. Yes, the Cowboys they're they're interested in adding a linebacker. I I've said it, you know, I said it yesterday. Look, the cowboys are going to add a linebacker, guys. Do not worry about that. They will add a linebacker this offseason. There's no doubt in my mind about that. They're not going to look at this room and say, Yep, we're good here. Even Brian Schottenheimer said it. He said, Look, we're thin there. We got to add players there, and they're going to do that, but they want it to make sense. The free agent linebackers that were out there, they had a few guys that it made sense for them, but the figure amount for them didn't make sense. I wish they would have made, you know, here's the thing, right? This is where I'll give the Cowboys the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they got to a point with N'Kobe Dean where they kept on trying to uh, you know, negotiate against the the Raiders, where they're like, all right, let's keep up in the price, let's keep up in the price, let's keep up in the price. And I think what happened was that, you know, N'Kobe Dean had teammates on the Raiders that he wanted to play with again, and that's what swayed him, right? Like, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt from that perspective. So when you're looking at the linebacker position for the Cowboys, they still have to address it. Maybe it's something they do before the draft, maybe they trade that third round pick to Miami for Jordan Brooks, maybe they do it during the draft, maybe they trade up and go get a Sonny Styles, maybe they trade up and go get an Arval Reese, or maybe they stay at pick 20. I wouldn't love this, but maybe they go pick uh CJ Allen or you know, Jacob Rodriguez is a name that I'm starting to hear. Like I don't know how interested the Cowboys are, but that's a name that I'm starting to hear some first round buzz around. I still don't think it happens, to be 100% honest with you. I he's probably a second or third round guy, but that's a name that people are starting to talk about. So that might be the way they address this during the draft. After the draft, they could still go out and trade again. A guy like Jordan Brooks is a name that you know, I think teams are that the cowboys will be interested in. Uh, maybe after the draft, maybe a linebacker falls to a team in the second round, maybe CJ Allen, right? Like maybe CJ Allen falls to a team that's already linebacker heavy, but they really like the player. And now a team has excess players at the linebacker position, and the cowboys are like, hey, look, we're interested in one of your linebackers. So, you know, they're waiting to see when this makes sense. And maybe it doesn't make sense for them right now to go out there and trade for a linebacker. Maybe the price is a little too steep at the current moment to go out there and get a guy. It's interesting to see how this plays out, but they're going to make a move here because right now they said that they have three linebackers on the roster, off-ball linebackers. So, what I'm wondering is obviously there's Overshone and there's Shamar James. Who is that guy they consider the third linebacker? Is it is it Barron, the undrafted free agent, I think from last year? Is it Maris Liafau? Is that the guy? Like, I know they talked about him being an outside backer, but is that like a name, right? So they have to address the position. And you know, I I talked about this. I would trade up for Arval Reese. I I I really would. Like, if he gets to pick three, I'm I'm I'm I'm turning on the phone and I'm trying to trade up to pick three for Arval Reese. Because the way I look at this is somebody, I think a commander's fan said, I hope that you guys mortgage your future to trade for a project edge. I don't think R. Val Reese is just a project edge. I completely disagree with whoever that was. I completely disagree with what that person said. Rval Reese is a guy that day one is going to come in. He's going to be one of those rookies that could potentially make an all-pro team as rookie season. That's how good R. Val Reese is as an off-ball linebacker, right? Like when you watch his tape as an off-ball linebacker, he's physical as hell, he makes plays in the backfield, instincts out of the behind. Like, that's what makes R. Val Reese special. So when when like you hear uh the Jets are interested at pick two in R. Val Reese, the reason why is because the floor is so damn high with him, and the ceiling is high as well. He's a high floor player who also has a high ceiling, and the high floor is this guy could be a uh an all-pro off-ball linebacker as early as his rookie season. Like, we've seen rookies get all pro honors, and that's the type of player he could be. But his ceiling is extremely high as well. Because if he does work as a pass rusher, like if you can turn him into a pass rusher, I mean, this guy could be one of the best pass rushers in the league. Like, I think the way teams are looking at this is he like he could be Fred Warner, but not only could he be Fred Warner, he could also be like a Micah Parsons type player. He like you could find a combination of the two and and like like mold it into a player, and that's what R. Val Reese is. That's what I think the appeal of him is. So trading up there, I think that would make a lot of sense. Sonny Styles is a name that you know that makes a lot of sense if the Cowboys want to trade up there. But I think the Cowboys want to address this position, and I I think the main reason why maybe like so here's the thing, right? I think they put in an offer for Jordan Brooks, but I think what the Dolphins are doing is hey, we'll keep this here, we'll we'll keep this tucked away. We know you're interested, we know you have an offer. Let's see what happens during the draft. Because if the Cowboys don't get a player in this draft, maybe the Cowboys go back to them with a better offer, and they're saying, Oh, okay, now this is an offer that we're more interested in because the Cowboys would be more willing to give up more assets. At the current moment, they may look at that trade and say, Hey, we still have the draft coming up, we still have some avenues we can explore from that perspective, right? Like they can they can still explore trading up, like I said, for a Sonny Styles, they can still explore trading up for an Arval Reese. Maybe they trade back in the first round, and it would make a lot more sense to draft the CJ Allen. My thing with CJ Allen is, and you know, like I feel like um there's people who are big time CJ Allen fans that that don't get what I'm trying to say when it comes to him. CJ Allen is a fine player, he is a he is a very good linebacker, he's gonna be a good linebacker in the NFL, right? My problem is not that if you draft him at pick 20, that you're not drafting a good player. My problem is if you draft him at pick 20, there's gonna be premium positions that are still on the board when it comes to you know a corner like Avion Trell that we're gonna talk about in the next topic. Uh a guy like Akeem Mesador, who I think could be a 10-sack guy. Same thing with R. Mason Thomas. Like those guys, I think, are just better players. I think Caden McDonald is a better player than CJ Allen. The reason why I would have a problem with drafting him at pick 20 is because I think there are better players at more premium positions than CJ Allen. But if you step back in the draft and pick up, maybe you pick up another third round pick and you draft CJ Allen as well, I'm cool with that. I'm I'm I'm all on board with that. That's where I come from when it comes to the CJ Allen uh uh talk and him potentially being the guy that the Cowboys pick, right? Like, it's not that he's not a good player. I think he's a good player, I think he's worthy of a first round pick at the back end of the first round or front end of the second round, something like that. But pick 20 is where I draw the line. But like to go back to what Steven Jones said, they know this position is not good enough right now, guys. Like, I I I I said it on my TikTok, guys, they're gonna add a linebacker, it's gonna happen. They understand the deficiency that they have at that position, they're not gonna ignore it. I promise, I promise, I promise you guys, they're not gonna ignore it. It's the it's I think that linebacker this year is as glaring of a need as wide receiver two was last year. And prior to the draft, people were yelling at the Cowboys because I didn't address the position. During the draft, people were yelling at the Cowboys because they didn't address the position. And then after the draft, the the plan was revealed because they traded for George Pickens, and that was a better idea than anybody else had. Prior to the draft, you heard names like Devontae Adams and Stephon Diggs as potential fits for wide receiver two for this team. During the draft, you heard Teterella McMillan and Matthew Golden. Now, obviously, they would have drafted McMillan if he was there at pick 12, but Matthew Golden was a name that people were talking about at pick 12, and the Cowboys were like, No, no, no, we're good, we're good. We don't want to draft that player, and they they they passed up on the player, and so did everybody else, uh, up until the Packers did, I think at like pick 21 or something like that, right? And then after the draft, it was revealed, no, we had a bigger plan than anybody else even thought of, which was trading for George Pickens. They traded for George Pickens, and it was a fantastic, fantastic trade that they did. And and he's an all-pro player, like so their plan was better than any plan that we had. So that's where I look at this and say, guys, they they understand they're gonna address it. Give them a second, you know, let the draft play out. And once the draft plays out, I think you guys will be very happy with what they have in store when it comes to addressing the linebacker position. Hey, quick break. Please make sure to hit that like button, subscribe. I would greatly appreciate that. And let's get to the next topic. So, last topic of the episode, I want to talk about Brian Schottenheimer's comments about the nickel position. And what I find very interesting is how much emphasis they're putting on this, right? Because usually the Cowboys are a team where they love their premium positions, they love their edge rushers, their corners, their, you know, uh offensive linemen, their wide receivers, the quarterbacks. Like that's where they put a lot of eggs in when it comes to the draft and their draft philosophy, right? They want and and that makes sense. That makes sense, by the way, as well. Like, I am of the same belief, but I think the way they're looking at this is the nickel position, which is something that Brian Schottenheimer talked about at nauseum, something that Christian Parker has talked about. They want to add that position because they think in today's NFL, that is one of the premium positions for a defense. And it's it's interesting because Schottenheimer talked about Seattle and he talked about the two nickel players that they have when it comes to Nick Eamon Wori and Devin Witherspoon. And, you know, I'm not saying just because he brought up those two names that they're not interested in Dylan Thieneman, but they didn't bring up a nickel player like Dylan Thieneman, like the type of archetype that he has. And I think the reason why is because I think they might be looking at this saying, well, we have Jalen Thompson and we feel like he can do everything that Dylan Thieneman can do. So maybe drafting him wouldn't be the best use of resources because we think we already have a player that can do what he does. So maybe they're looking at another nickel player like somebody of the mold of Nick Eamon Wori and Devin Witherspoon. And if that's the case, two names that come to mind just instantly, instantly, are Emmanuel McNeil Warren, the Toledo safety, and Avion Terrell, the Clemson corner. You know, because when you talk about a guy that compares to Nick Eamon Wori in this draft, that's Emmanuel McNeil Warren. When you talk about a player that compares to what Devon Witherspoon can be for a defense, that would be Avion Terrell. So those two names, I think you gotta keep a keen, a keen eye on when it comes to pick 20. Because I think those are two names that are 100% in play for the Cowboys at pick 20 because they want to add a nickel. Player that can do the type of things that Brian Schottenheimer was talking about with Seattle. And like, look, does that take Dylan Dieneman completely off the board? No, I still think he would be a great fit on this defense because what Cooper DeGene is for the Eagles defense, that's what Dylan Dieneman would be. I would just throw him in the slot any single anytime you play uh, you know, your nickel, I would just throw Dylan Dieneman in the slot. And on base downs, I would just have Jalen Thompson and Dylan Thieneman over the top. And I would just rely on extremely good communication on the back end when it comes to that, right? Like those two are going to be able to really communicate on the back end and really help the defense out from that perspective. So that's what I think Dylan Dieneman can provide. Um, no, Avion Terrell is a guy who he's just so interesting to me. You know, does he fit the the height, weight, speed thing that the the cowboys, the the the measurements is what you would say about Avian Terrell. I don't know if he does, but if the Cowboys are comfortable with that, I think they'd get a great player with Avian Terrell. I think they'd get a great player with Emmanuel McNeil Warren. I think both these guys are outstanding football players. And if they're trying to add a player like that to their defense, because obviously they look at this and they say, we want these guys in bunches, we don't just want one, we want multiple guys, right? That's why Schottenheimer talked about Seattle, that's why he talked about uh Devon Witherspoon and Nick Eamon Worry, because those are two guys that would fit that nickel role, and you can you know have them do different things, right? Like, you know, with the way Seattle plays Nick Eamon Wori, they essentially play a 4-3 defense, like um majority of the time, but it's 4-2-5, it's considered like it's gonna go on the box sheet as you know, nickel, which is why, like, when you see Seattle leading the league in 4-2-5 defense in terms of how many times they use it, the reason why is because Nick Emanwori plays in the box, and they they look at Nick Eamon Wori as like a hyper athletic linebacker in Seattle because the way they built their team is they're stout up front and they have safeties on the back end that they feel comfortable playing there, so they don't have to put Nick Eaman Wori there. So it's essentially like a 4-3 look where they have you know three guys uh uh playing as pretty much off-ball linebackers, but it's a 4-2-5 technically because uh Nicki Manwori counts as a defensive back. So, you know, what they do is because they're stabbed up front, Nicki Manwori can run free and and be that hyper athletic linebacker that generates tackles for loss in the backfield because he's consistently being kept clean. So that's what Seattle does with Nikki Munwori. That's what the Cowboys could do with Emmanuel McNeil Warren. So, you know, when when Brian Schottenheimer talks about what Seattle had with their nickels, they have them in bunches, right? They have the two guys, and that's what I think the cowboys are after. Maybe they look at Jalen Thompson as a guy who can be, you know, a guy who plays in the nickel, right? Like when you're in your uh when you're in when you're in nickel and like you're playing two safeties over the top, maybe they look, maybe they feel comfortable with Malik Cooker and PJ Locke being the guys over the top, and they throw Jalen Thompson in the slot and have him play there, right? Maybe that's what they do. And and maybe they're they're looking at this saying, like, we want to find another guy that can do that. But you know, like Jalen Thompson to me, the type of nickel player he is, like with this like breed of you know, nickel players that are in the NFL, he's more of like a Minka Fitzpatrick type compared to like a Devin Witherspoon or a Nick Eamon Wori or like a Cooper Dejean, right? So, you know, I think pick 20, they're gonna find that nickel player that they want for their defense. That's where I think they're going, pick 20. I don't think it's gonna be linebacker, I don't think it's gonna be a pass rusher, even though I love our Mason Thomas and Akeem Mazador. I think those guys are fantastic players. I would be all for, all for drafting those guys at pick 20. But I think they are very, very interested in the the two guys that I mentioned, Avion Terrell and uh Emmanuel McNeil Warren. I almost called him Nick Eamon Wori because he plays so much like him. I mean, this guy, and go watch the Kentucky tape. Go watch Emmanuel McNeil Warren's Kentucky tape because what he did against Kentucky, he was the best player on the field. His ability to make tackles in the open field. I'm talking like big, like a very big running back, like very well built in the open field. It's him and Emmanuel McNeil Warren on this one rep. And Emmanuel McNeil Warren knocks his socks off in the open field. Like the running back is on the ground, did not did not fight forward because he was knocked on his behind, and Emmanuel McNeil Warren is on both feet. Like he's he's so difficult to defend in the run game because he slips around guards because he's so agile, and he he's very good with his footwork, right? Like, so I think he has outstanding instincts as well. So, like when his instincts, let's just say there is a lapse there because everybody has mistakes, right? He makes up for it because he's so nimble on his feet. Like, even you know, he doesn't really get flat footed, right? Because he's very nimble on his feet. So it's like, oh, they're running a read option, quarterback doesn't have it. I'm gonna go back and and and and go make a tackle on the running back. So, like stuff like that. And again, the way he's able to work around guards because he's so flexible and because he's so good on his feet and he stays on his feet, it's very impressive to say. So I I think that would be a great pick as well. So, you know, both of those guys, look out for those two players in this upcoming draft. So that's gonna be it for the episode. If you guys haven't already, please make sure to hit that like button, subscribe. I would greatly appreciate that. And I look forward to talking to you guys tomorrow, and I will see you then.