NFC Notes: Kevin Byard, Commanders, Cowboys, Eagles

Commanders

• According to Aaron Wilson, the Commanders hosted OLB JoJo Domann and DB D’Angelo Mandell for workouts. 

Cowboys

The Cowboys are one of just a small handful of teams that don’t employ a general manager. Owner Jerry Jones and his son and EVP Stephen Jones call the shots in Dallas. But third behind those two is a lesser-known name who is arguably the key to Dallas’ success in the past several years: VP of player personnel Will McClay. After years of gritting out work as an assistant coach and part-time front-office employee at the lower levels of football, McClay got an opportunity with the Cowboys and made the most of it. 

“He just loved the game and did the heavy lifting,” Stephen Jones said via the Athletic’s Tashan Reed. “Jerry and I just felt like he had an eye for talent. He’s got a great way about himself in terms of leadership. He was always one of the most popular guys, if not the most, in the scouting department. Everybody respected him and everybody looked up to him and you could feel that. You could feel he had those qualities to lead men.”

Even if most fans don’t know McClay, people in NFL circles are well aware of his resume and give him his proper credit. That doesn’t matter to McClay, however, and it’s part of what makes him so effective. 

“I pride myself on not having an ego,” McClay said. “If you don’t have an ego, you can listen to people, you can formulate ideas. … I don’t make the decisions — Jerry does along with Stephen — but my input is greatly valued. … It’s pooling together that information and making sure we’re as meticulous as we can be and getting all the details. I talk to our scouts all the time about how the job we do is (like) we’re lawyers: We’re presenting the case.”

Some teams have poked around requesting interviews with McClay, but the Jones family has stepped up to keep him in Dallas with a new contract and a promotion, even if he’s not the formal general manager. Getting the Cowboys another Super Bowl trophy has also been a big reason McClay has stayed. 

“(Job) titles don’t mean anything to me,” McClay said. “Unless you own something, you’re always reporting to somebody.”

“I’d love to be a part of something to help Jerry hold up that trophy again,” McClay added. “Honestly, that’s why I’ve stayed.”

Eagles

Eagles DC Sean Desai thinks recently acquired S Kevin Byard‘s experience will help him quickly transition into their system. 

“Pretty similar to the process we’ve had these last few weeks of getting different guys ready to play in the back end,” Desai said, via ProFootballTalk. “The great thing is he has a lot of wealth of experience that he can rely on, so we anticipate it being pretty smooth.”

Desai said they like to play defensive backs in multiple roles, which Byard has experience in. 

“I think you’ve seen it really with our defense over these first seven weeks is we value that,” Desai said. “We teach that way. We train it, and that’s kind of how our system has been installed. He’ll fit right into that. Then as we grow with him in this defense, do what we feel that he is best at and what he feels he is best at.”

• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer explains the Eagles accumulated three fifth-round picks in 2024 via trade; theirs, the Vikings’ (Jalen Reagor) and the Buccaneers’ (2023 sixth that became Trey Palmer). Either their pick or Minnesota’s will go to the Saints for last year’s trade for S C.J. Gardner-Johnson, while the Titans will get either Philadelphia’s pick or Tampa Bay’s in exchange for S Kevin Byard. So the Eagles still have a fifth in 2024. 
• Breer asked a pair of offensive coordinators what the Eagles are getting with Byard being added to their secondary. The general theme was the veteran had lost a step but remained a productive starter: “Really smart player. Reads the QB’s eyes. Elite ball skills. Average range. Instinctive player. Good pickup. Just smart, dependable and durable.”
• Breer mentions the Eagles could still look to add a linebacker before the trade deadline, as that’s been the other weak point on defense.