NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants

Cowboys

Cowboys TE Blake Jarwin, who received a four-year, $22 million extension this offseason, said studying under veteran TE Jason Witten for three years helped form his career. 

“As a rookie, I’m pretty reserved as it is, and I’d just kind of stay away and watch how he worked. He came in every single day like he was still trying to make it,” Jarwin said, via Todd Archer of ESPN. “When it was his turn, he’s going 100%. But he always felt like he had something to prove.”

Jarwin added that he never felt like Witten was holding back his usage in the Cowboys’ offense. 

“I’ve always been thankful for what he’s done for me,” Jarwin said. “He never had to stop and tell me and Dalton [Schultz] about things he sees, and he did anyway. I don’t care about what people thought. We never thought like that in our tight-end room. We had a pretty close relationship. It’s going to be a little different seeing [Witten] in a Raiders jersey.”

Jarwin said he still has “a lot to prove” and will try to lead by Witten’s example. 

“You’ve got to look at it like it’s just the beginning,” Jarwin said. “I’ve still got a lot to prove. That’s another thing I learned from seeing a guy go to work every single day. He’s a 15-to-16-year vet, but he’s still trying to make the team like he’s a rookie. I’m going to hold on to that mindset. I was an undrafted free agent. That’s going to prevent me from ever being content.”

• According to Clarence Hill Jr., the Cowboys had a virtual pre-draft meeting with Clemson CB A.J. Terrell.
• Dallas also had virtual meetings with Florida CB C.J. Henderson, Alabama CB Trevon Diggs, TCU CB Jeff Gladney, and LSU CB Kristian Fulton so far this offseason. 

Eagles

Eagles RB Miles Sanders credits the success of Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey with Philadelphia’s willingness to draft him in the second round last season. Now Sanders is looking to build on his rookie season and become as multi-faceted a weapon for the Eagles as McCaffrey is for Carolina. 

“When I look at him, I look at a back that’s very hard to stop. I want to be that back,” Sanders said via ESPN’s Tim McManus. “I want to be that back where you think you can stop me in the run game and then, boom, I’m outside in the passing game and I’m rolling up yards for the team. I want to be that back where there’s no way you can really slow me down or stop me or take me out of the game because I’m so versatile. That’s the type of mentality and the type of player I want to be.”

• Sanders mentioned he’s lobbied for former Penn State teammates WR KJ Hamler and DE Yetur Gross-Matos in the draft for the Eagles. 
• Eagles C Jason Kelce confirmed via Instagram that he will be playing in 2020, though he announced his retirement from arm wrestling. 
• NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo says teams have taken note of how often LSU WR Justin Jefferson is mocked to the Eagles at No. 21 overall and someone might jump Philadelphia for him. 

Giants

Giants HC Joe Judge said their staff has multiple plans for their offseason based on the possible schedules administered by the NFL. 

“As the head coach, I need to have a plan for everything that’s going to come up,” Judge said, Dan Duggan of The Athletic. “When we got the memo from the NFL the other day of how the spring is going to look, I sat down and we’ve made four calendars already in anticipation of different scenarios that could come up. We have them color coded, so if we get the players as scheduled, we’re working off the blue calendar. If we don’t get the players, we’re working off the red calendar. If we get them later in the spring, we’ll pull up the purple calendar.”

When asked about the expectations of recently signed players CB James Bradberry, LB Blake Martinez, and LB Kyler Fackrell, Judge said it would not be fair to evaluate any players he hasn’t worked with yet. 

“I expect everyone on the team to bring a level of commitment and competitiveness that’s going to make us an improved team,” Judge said. “It wouldn’t be fair to give a true evaluation of anybody who you haven’t worked with.”

Judge said there won’t be any emphasis drafting “pro-ready” prospects due to training time being limited this offseason.

“What all of these rookies find out the second they step in the building is none of them are pro-ready,” Judge said. “To me, it’s about finding the upside of the player, of looking down the long scope of a career and seeing who’s going to be the best player with the most upside for you. There’s really no short-term fix or Band-Aid. You’re not going to pick someone in this draft and say, ‘Okay, we answered an issue there.’”