One of my absolute favorite prospects in the last decade was Washington Huskie nose tackle Vita Vea in 2018. I went back and forth with followers over how he was worth the 18th overall selection if there but there was little chance he would make it that far. His combination of run-stopping ability and pass-rush skills made him a unicorn in my mind, and the Cowboys had been ignoring defensive tackle since the early 1990s.
He was picked 12th overall, because the NFL (Tampa Bay) specifically wasn’t silly like those arguing with me. Vea has been well worth the draft capital investment and parlayed that into a four-year, $71 million extension last January.
The Cowboys have faced Vea three times over the last two seasons, and it’s hard to imagine that the War Room debate wasn’t influenced by Vea’s impact.
Dallas has been held to less than 75 yards rushing just six times in their 35 games played since the start of 2022 (regular season + playoffs). Two of those six times were against the Buccaneers with Vea in the middle of the defense.
Not only that, in three games he has 12 total pressures, including sacks in both contests last season.
Dallas thinks they see untapped pass-rush potential in Mazi Smith’s skill set, and it doesn’t seem wise to question Dan Quinn’s ability to scout defensive linemen.
Another link? Fourth-round selection Viliami Fehoko, a defensive end the club plans to move inside to three-tech, is Vea’s cousin.
This was the Vita Vea Draft.
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