Cowboys insider offers two unknown names to watch during camp

Mike McAdoo, Defensive End

26-year old defensive end Mike McAdoo could not have landed in a better place to try and make a team then with the 2016 Dallas Cowboys. With both projected starters at the position out for at least the first four weeks of the regular season due to drug-related suspension, the former Arena League player has a real chance to show he belongs in the NFL.

The 6-7, 245 pound McAdoo played his college ball at North Carolina, where he recorded 29 total tackles, had 10.0 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks in 24 career games. But an academic scandal got him thrown off the team after two seasons and forced him into the NFL’s Supplemental Draft in 2011.

Undrafted, McAdoo was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as a developmental project. But consecutive season-ending injuries (knee, Achilles) limited his opportunities in Baltimore. McAdoo was regulated to the practice squad and ended up playing in just a single preseason game during his two years with the Ravens.

After being released in 2013, McAdoo spent time in both the CFL and AFL. In 2015, the former Raven had a whopping 11.0 sacks while starting in 14 games for the Arena League’s Arizona Rattlers.

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Described by Broaddus as slippery with a skill for getting off the ball, McAdoo has a real chance to earn his way back into the NFL with the Cowboys, who will be down two defensive ends when the season starts. He’ll have to prove he’s worthy of that rare opportunity in the coming weeks during training camp and throughout the preseason.