Dallas Cowboys seventh-round rookie Jay Toia reportedly took snaps with the first team at training camp and could become a starter early in his career.
Dallas recently hosted another round of organized team activities (OTAs) to prepare the team for the upcoming season, with reports that Toia has already begun receiving snaps with the first unit. Nick Harris of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram was in attendance during the workout and reported that the seventh-round selection “saw some burn with the ones” during one of his first workouts.
Toia posted the best season of his collegiate career in his senior year, finishing the season with 91 total tackles and one forced fumble.
During the rookie minicamp after the draft, the defensive tackle said that he plans to stop the run and create difficulty for the opposing team, noting that he wants to make life difficult by creating havoc.
“I mean, I feel like just the standard of being a D lineman [is], you know, coming in and just destruction all over the line of scrimmage,” he explained, per Cowboys.com.
Dallas finished the 2024 season with one of the worst interior defensive line units, meaning Toia has a chance to immediately step in and contribute to the team in his rookie season.
Toia is set to compete against former first-round pick Mazi Smith for the starting defensive tackle role, with both players seemingly having a chance to assume the role to open the season.
Smith has struggled since being selected 26th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, racking up just 41 total tackles and one sack in the 2024 season.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Smith has improved over the past two seasons, but he will seemingly need to show even more growth to command the top spot at the defensive tackle position.
Both Toia and Smith will have a chance to demonstrate their abilities to the coaching staff in the coming months, with the Cowboys scheduled to host another round of OTAs from June 10-12 before training camp in July.