All yr lengthy we’ve appeared on the rookie class and given previews and evaluations on every participant for each recreation of the season. Now let’s look again the season in its entirety and breakdown every rookie and the way they carried out. Let’s proceed with seventh-round nostril sort out Jay Toia.
Season stats- Whole Snaps: 89, Whole Tackles: 3, Whole Pressures: 1, QB Hits: 1
Toia’s rookie season in Dallas was virtually completely a redshirt yr. He appeared in solely 5 video games, recording one solo sort out and two assists, with no sacks, no pressured fumbles and no different stats on the field rating. PFF graded him at 29.9 general on these restricted snaps and explicitly tagged him as having not sufficient snaps, which tells you each how little he performed and the way little weight it is best to placed on the grade at this stage.
His inactivity was about context as a lot as efficiency. Dallas went from having a skinny inside to constructing one of many deepest sort out rooms within the league due to the addition of Quinnen Williams, plus Osa Odighizuwa, Kenny Clark and Solomon Thomas who carried the load inside, plus Mazi Smith for a brief portion of the yr. By the point the Cowboys reached Week 18, Toia was firmly listed among the many common rookies who have been inactive on recreation day, alongside different late-round picks like Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah.
The pre-draft scouting does spotlight a couple of issues. Toia is a large, early-down run plugger with actual power, however his lack of size and quickness have been main weaknesses, and questions on shedding blocks and holding his hole towards NFL guards was at all times a priority. Whenever you drop that profile right into a rotation already anchored by Williams, Odighizuwa and Clark, it’s not stunning the rookie was normally the fourth or fifth possibility and infrequently not dressed on Sundays.
The trail ahead for Toia just isn’t straightforward heading into 2026. To change into a viable rotational defensive sort out subsequent season, he has to lean into what he was drafted to be, a real nostril who wins early downs. Meaning cleansing up the weaknesses that stored him buried this yr. He wants higher conditioning and pad degree so he can anchor versus double groups, extra constant hand utilization to get off blocks as a substitute of simply absorbing them, and higher first-step quickness to no less than threaten the pocket on play-action and lengthy downs.
Given the depth chart, probably the most practical short-term objective is attempting to move any veteran camp our bodies because the reliable fourth sort out who may give 10–15 snaps per week. Along with his measurement and faculty monitor file, that’s doable, however on a line this deep he must present clear progress in camp and the preseason to keep away from one other yr as a game-day inactive.
