NFC Notes: George Pickens, Jay Toia, Jaxson Dart, Cowboys, Giants

Cowboys

Shortly after the draft, the Cowboys traded for WR George Pickens to give them another offensive playmaker aside from WR CeeDee Lamb. Dallas COO Stephen Jones talked about wanting to keep their 2024 picks when discussing the timeline of the deal. 

“We wanted to take advantage of our picks this year,” Jones said, via SI.com’s Albert Breer. “Especially with those first three picks, we really didn’t want to do anything with those, because we felt like we were going to get really good football players. … And obviously when you’re paying guys like Dak [Prescott] and CeeDee, trying to pay Micah [Parsons], and [Trevon] Diggs and Osa [Odighizuwa], that plays into it. So we really didn’t want to give up any one of our first three.”

Jones also offered high praise for Pickens’ talent and the fire he plays with on the field. 

“He’s just a dynamic receiver. Everybody says we’re looking for a [number] two. I mean, George can be a one. He’s got that type of talent. He’s got unbelievable ball-tracking ability. He’s got plenty of juice and he’s a fiery competitor. And we love that, he plays with an edge, and we think he’d be a good fit for our team.”

Cowboys

Cowboys DL Jay Toia is excited to prove that he belongs in the NFL and models his game after Bucs DT Vita Vea and Giants DL Dexter Lawrence.

“I mean, I feel like just the standard of being a D lineman [is], you know, coming in and just destruction all over the line of scrimmage,” Toia said, via the team website. “Vita Vea and Dexter Lawrence, for sure. I would say they’re similar, but different. I feel like Vita just causes havoc throughout the whole game, but I feel like Dexter Lawrence has a little finesse in his game. I feel like success, for me, is longevity. I want to play in this league for a long time. I want to play for the Cowboys for a long time.”

Giants

Giants first-round QB Jaxson Dart went viral during the pre-draft process because of how Jon Gruden was stunned with his use of a clap-cadence over a traditional voice one. New York HC Brian Daboll talked about how most college quarterbacks use a clap-cadence and how easy it usually is for guys to learn a new one. 

“I mean most college guys haven’t done it,” Daboll said, via John Fennelly of the Giants Wire. “I would say most of them are, you know, you clap and when I first went to went to Alabama, I didn’t know anything about clapping. There’s SEC stadiums, you can’t hear them. I’m like, how is this going to work, but you hear it.”

“Again, any of these new players, quarterbacks, free agent quarterbacks, first round like most of them haven’t done a cadence, but I mean it’s not too hard to learn a cadence. You say a couple words, voice inflection, you continue to learn from that, but I wouldn’t say it’s like rocket science to learn a cadence.”

Daboll also mentioned how valuable it is to have an experienced quarterback in Russell Wilson who can lead by example for Dart and the others to imitate. 

“It’s a weapon for a quarterback. Fortunately, we have Russ (Russell Wilson) who’s done it for a long time and Jameis (Winston). You try to let the younger guys, even like (Tommy) Devito, hear those guys and you try to make it as similar as you can because now, they’re in with different linemen. You don’t want one cadence to sound like something, so those quarterbacks do a good job in the room of trying to get it to sound like the guy that’s running it.”