Now that the Dallas Cowboys know who the new head coach and defensive coordinator is, there is something going on in the football world outside the Super Bowl.
The Senior Bowl is taking place and most of the upcoming stars of the 2025 NFL draft class are taking place.
Let’s go over a few names that I really like, and think Dallas should keep a close eye on over the next few weeks.
Jeffrey Bassa
Jeffrey Bassa is a name that I wrote about a few weeks ago, you can find it here.
He is a guy that I love in this draft.
With the current state of the Dallas Cowboys linebacker room, if Overshown is out for the entire 2025 season, and they don’t bring back Eric Kendricks, Bassa is a guy they could draft in probably the 3rd round.
Marist Liufau is the only guy that we can pencil in as of right now for the line backing core.
As a freshman and a 48-3.0-1.0 line. He saw his role expand a bit and finished with 62-4.0-2.0 the following year. He posted lines of 72-4.0-0.0 and 54-3.0-1.5 over the past two seasons to conclude his collegiate career.
The best thing about him is his length which makes him a really good tackler, yet he isn’t the fastest guy in the world, so covering sideline to sideline may be tough for him.
With Overshwon hurt and Eric Kendricks likely not coming back, they will need another linebacker really bad
Deone Walker
Deone Walker is a massive man that anchors the line of scrimmage, he is from Kentucky.
The 20-year old played across the line, but was mostly used as a three-technique/4i on both the left and right side. He is capable – and was asked – to play nose tackle as well. Walker had a sensational pass rushing season in 2023, recording 51 pressures and 7.5 sacks.
He had a combined 46 pressures over his freshman and junior seasons. Walker was a two-time team captain who started in 36 of 37 games for the Wildcats.
He collected First Team Freshman All-American honors and Second Team All-SEC honors in 2022, Second Team All-SEC honors again in 2023, and Second Team All-SEC once again as a junior in 2024.
Devin Neal
Devin Neal played all four years and was very productive at Kansas. He has been a darling of the devy community but never has gained the hype to be a top-end back. His film shows a slashing back who is very good in between the tackles.
Neal averaged 3.3 YPC on runs to either side of the center. For reference, Kansas’ RB2, Daniel Hishaw, a 220-pound plodder, averaged 3.75 on those runs.
As Kansas’ all-time leading rusher, Neal displayed his ability to be a productive runner in the NFL.
In his four seasons at the collegiate level, he averaged 5.7 yards per carry on top of his 49 rushing touchdowns. Neal also was a threat in the passing game, as he finished with 711 receiving yards and an additional four touchdowns through the air.
Of course, there are plenty of others I will be watching and keeping an eye on, but these are three guys you could hear see the Dallas Cowboys draft in April.
It may be a long 2025 with Brian Schottenheimer as the new head coach, but there is nothing else we can do but try and look ahead and find any glimmer of hope.
Maybe one of these guys could be the steal of the year for the Dallas Cowboys.
Or on the other hand, Dallas may not even tough these guys, that’s why I’m just a writer, but I enjoyed watching these guys on the first day yesterday.