AUSTIN, Texas – The collegiate Pro Day circuit is spinning at full force, as NFL personnel travel around the country to various college campuses to get eyes on upcoming NFL Draft prospects. On Tuesday, head coach Brian Schottenheimer led the Cowboys brass to the University of Texas at Austin's Pro Day after attending the University of Miami's on Monday.
With two first round picks in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft, Schottenheimer and the Cowboys understand the importance of getting the picks right. At the NFL Combine, Schottenheimer said he would be more involved in the draft process in his second year as head coach. What does that look like?
"It's just getting to know all of the prospects… From Stephen and Jerry [Jones] down, Will McClay, Mitch LaPoint, Ross [Wuensche], Chris Vaughn, they've done a great job of setting the board and now I'm kind of going through all the positions," Schottenheimer said.
"You want to be prepared to do what we need to do on defense, but certainly we're not going to pass on a great offensive player if they're there at one of those spots… Last year was more of, yea, I saw the highlight film, the POAs, now I've seen game film. I've seen these guys compete. It makes it a little easier to help make that selection."
The Cowboys have said in the past that the first step towards taking the best player available on the board when they pick is acquiring players in free agency. Schottenheimer believes the Cowboys' did "a hell of a job" with their free agency haul.
"I think it starts with the guys we brought back first and foremost. I'm always going to start with George and Javonte, guys like that that we've signed back on the offensive side of the ball," Schottenheimer said. "Getting a chance to get a guy like Rashan Gary, who I've had to compete against a lot, he's just an incredible football player, has been from the time he was a senior in high school through Michigan. Jalen Thompson, I love his energy, we played them this year. Cobie Durant, there's been just a ton of guys."
Based on those offseason acquisitions/retentions on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, Schottenheimer feels that the Cowboys are set up well going into next month's draft and aren't limited to picking a certain position solely because of need.
"I think we did a really good job of setting ourselves up to be able to draft natural and draft pure, which is what you want to do. You don't want to have to be forced to reach for a player, that's when you make mistakes."
That said, he recognized that there still positions of need on the Cowboys' roster that will need some additions.
"We've added some really good pieces, we've got some good depth," Schottenheimer said. "There's still a few positions that we need to address, that's all part of the process. Like I say all the time, not my line I think it's Stephen's or Jerry's, but [player acquisition] is 24/7, 365 and it never stops. We're never stopping to look, we're always open for business."
On the road with Schottenheimer has been new Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker. The two have gotten a lot of time to get to know each other and what they're looking for on their respective sides of the ball, and Schottenheimer believes their vision of the game is similar.
"I think he knows exactly what he's looking for," Schottenheimer said of Parker. "I think that's very evident, that has been evident from the time we sat down at the start of the interview process, is he knows exactly what he's looking for at each spot. It's not a cookie cutter league, you're going to have guys with long arms, short arms, things like that. The vision is very clear, and I love that. The way he sees football, the way I see football is very similar."
For now, the work continues on the Pro Day circuit for Schottenheimer and the Cowboys. Schottenheimer, Parker, VP of Player Personnel Will McClay and director of college scouting Mitch LaPoint are continuing their journey to scout players around the country on their respective campuses.
The ability to get to meet with players face to face is a unique one, giving NFL teams a look behind the curtain of players as people through dinners or meetings, something that Schottenheimer enjoys getting to do on these kinds of trips.
"I think it starts with getting to know the young man," Schottenheimer said of what he looks for on pro day trips. "We try to get in early and take them to dinner, get a chance to kind of see them in an environment other than in the facility where they're talking football, doing football things that they love. That's really important to us."
"Get to know the person, what motivates them, what's important to them. And then obviously in this type of setting, you want to see the guys compete. Are they the front of the line, are they listening, what are they doing? It's not so much the movement and things like that, we've seen plenty of film, it's more of do they follow instructions, are they at the front of the line, are they competing, do they have good juice and energy? Those are the things that kind of jump off during the pro days."
Making a stop in Austin was one Schottenheimer looked forward to. He and Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, two offensive minded coaches, spent a lot of time conversing on the field during Texas' pro day.
"This is a huge stop for us here coming to Texas," Schottenheimer said. "A spot right down the road with coach Sark, great relationship between him and the Cowboys and the University of Texas, so excited to be here."
