Dallas Cowboys: A review of the 2015 rookie class
Round 5: Ryan Russell, DE
It’s hard to judge Ryan Russell‘s rookie impact when he’s played in just one game this season. And when that game involved the Cowboys defense allowing 22 second half points and allowing a second choice running back to get over 140 yards with a trio of touchdowns to boot it’s never going to be good feedback.
That second half against the Falcons was an absolute horror show, and unfortunately for Russell he contributed to that (but who didn’t?). Even early on he struggled and things didn’t improve from there. Below he was merely an on looker as DeVonta Freeman goes up the gut of the Cowboys defense, leaving Sean Lee to tidy up near the goal line.
Ryan Russell is just an onlooker as the Falcons approach the goal line
Concerns over a lack of consistency featured in draft reports about Russell pre-draft, but in many respects he put that to bed in the Falcons game by being consistently poor. Again selling himself out and leaving Freeman all the room to eat up yards. In the words of Joseph Randle- Freeman left no meat on the bone there.
Confusion for the rookie Ryan Russell again.
A groin injury is likely to keep Russell out until at least Week 8 and that’s by no means a bad thing. He wasn’t drafted as a starting defensive lineman for the Cowboys, and it was simply circumstances that propelled him into the lineup against the Falcons. With Greg Hardy now available and Randy Gregory on the mend Russell can settle in down the lower end of the depth chart.
Round 7: Mark Nzeocha, LB
Round seven is the take a flyer zone. Teams can take a risk on players without suffering a fall out should things not transpire well. The decision to draft Mark Nzeocha from Wyoming Cowboys in the seventh was taken on his potential and raw ability as opposed to any proven talent.
The German native didn’t begin playing football until late on and at college only had one standout year sandwiched between limited participation and injury.
The Cowboys have shown time and again that they will give opportunities to players with athletic ability, and Nzeocha certainly has that. Even before being placed on the reserve list for the season he was seen more as a project for the practice squad rather than one for first team reps.
"“He has no instincts, but he will test really well when healthy. Those testing numbers should get him into somebody’s camp for sure, but I don’t think he can be anything but a practice squad guy for now.”– Scout"
We’ll have to wait until 2016 to see whether Nzeocha can be another lump of clay for the Cowboys coaches to mold into an NFL level talent.
Next: Laurence Gibson & Geoff Swaim