Texas A&M running back E.J. Smith participated in Dallas Day, the Cowboys’ annual workout day for local prospects. That gave Cowboys fans hope that Smith might sign with the hometown team and follow in the footsteps of his father.
But as he did in choosing his college, E.J. Smith is his own man.
After going undrafted, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, is signing with the Chiefs.
E.J. Smith announced his decision on Instagram.
“Excited to officially sign with the Kansas City Chiefs as a free agent,” Smith wrote. “Nothing is given. Everything is earned. I’m ready to work, learn, and prove myself every single day. Thank you to my family, coaches, teammates, and everyone who believed in me and pushed me to this moment. The journey hasn’t been easy, but every challenge prepared me for this next step. Grateful is an understatement. All glory to God for this opportunity. Let’s get it Chiefs Kingdom.”
Smith spent four seasons at Stanford and two at Texas A&M.
He had only 44 carries for 205 yards and four touchdowns and four catches for 18 yards in 2025, but had two memorable plays for the Aggies. Smith picked up a first down on fourth-and-1 at his own 34-yard line with 10 minutes left in a close game with Arkansas, getting to the stick despite tight end Micah Riley running into him in the backfield. In a game against UTSA, Smith made three blocks on K.C. Concepcion’s 80-yard punt return.
He finished his career with 207 carries for 969 yards and nine touchdowns and added 470 receiving yards and a touchdown.
As hot mic moments go, it was pretty tame. But what came after it underscores the manner in which draft coverage has evolved.
Via Brandon Contes of Awful Announcing, Nick Saban was heard saying after the Cowboys made defensive end Malachi Lawrence the 23rd overall pick in the draft, “Wow, this is a reach.”
When he knew he was on the air, Saban sang a much different tune.
“Actually, this guy was one of my sleepers for tomorrow,” Saban said. “But he is a good player. . . . This guy is a good player. I thought he was someone that was getting overlooked in the draft, but obviously the Cowboys didn’t overlook him.”
So why wouldn’t Saban just be honest with the audience and say what he believes? “This is a reach.” What’s wrong with that? Wouldn’t football fans want to know what Saban thinks about incoming talent?
The self-editing speaks to the vibe surrounding the draft, especially on the first night. Under the guise of not wanting to piss on the parade of the players who are picked, it has become frowned upon to say anything other than, “Everything is awesome!”
Time will tell whether the player pans out. Anywhere from one third to half of all first-round picks don’t.
But you’ll never hear during draft coverage the basic fact that plenty of the round-one picks will have their potential unfulfilled.
Unless, of course, someone’s mic is hot and they inadvertently tell the truth.
Cowboys owner and General Manager Jerry Jones says his defense is a whole lot better than it was last year — and a whole lot better than it was 48 hours ago.
On Day One of the draft, the Cowboys spent first-round picks on safety Caleb Downs and pass rusher Malachi Lawrence. On Day Two, the Cowboys drafted edge rusher Jaishawn Barham and traded for linebacker Dee Winters from the 49ers. Jones said that with those additions and other moves the Cowboys have made this offseason, the defense is very different than it has been in recent years.
“We have been able to, as of right now, rebuild this defense,” Jones said. “We’ve changed this defense. . . . This is a product of three, four, five years or maybe more of not getting where we’re trying to go and being a contender. It’s going to be different, it’s going to be fresh, we’ve got a lot of great energy here, we’ve got guys coming in like we introduced today. . . . When I lay my head down tonight I’m going to say, We’re doing something about the defense on this team.”
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said the work they’ve done in the first two days of the draft is part of an effort that began with the trade for Quinnen Williams in November and has continued through free agency this year.
“We felt like this was going to be a continuation of getting the defense where we want it to be,” Schottenheimer said.
Schottenheimer said his late father, longtime NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer, would have loved the tough, physical players they’re adding. He pointed to Barham as the kind of player Marty Schottenheimer would have wanted on his teams.
“If you were doing the old Oklahoma drill, which my old man would love to see, I’d probably put Jaishawn out there for the first reps,” Schottenheimer said.
The Cowboys traded away one of the best defensive players in football when they sent Micah Parsons to the Packers. Now they think they’ve used the picks they got for Parsons, and made more moves beyond that, to build a better defense.
The Ravens closed out the original Cowboys Stadium by beating Dallas on a Saturday night in December 2008. The Ravens will now be the visiting team for the Cowboys’ first-ever international home game.
The NFL announced on Friday night that the Ravens and Cowboys will play in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, September 27. It will be a Week 3 game, televised by CBS at 4:25 p.m. ET.
Most international games currently land in standalone windows. This one won’t, but it likely will be the top national game that afternoon — likely generating the biggest audience of the day.
In 2024 and 2025, the Brazilian game came in Week 1. This year, the 49ers and Rams will instead play in Australia to get things started.
Those are the only two games with both teams known. The other 270 will be announced in the next few weeks.
The Cowboys added two players to their defense in the first round of the draft and they picked up a veteran on that side of the ball on Friday night.
According to multiple reports, they have agreed to a trade that will bring linebacker Dee Winters to Dallas. The 49ers will receive the 152nd pick in the draft in return for Winters.
Winters was a 2023 sixth-round pick by the Niners and he started all 17 games for the team last season. He had 101 tackles and returned his only interception of the season for a 74-yard touchdown.
DeMarvion Overshown is the top linebacker on the Cowboys’ depth chart and Winters should slot in alongside him on defensive coordinator Christian Parker’s unit.
