NFL: 2018 Cyclones in NFL training camps

Leonard Johnson had a very nice denial of a pass to a Browns' receiver late in the 2nd quarter of their preseason game. It was like a basketball play - he got into the "passing lane" and knocked it down. I just happened to catch it as I was doing domestic chores.
 
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Leonard Johnson just gave up a big TD pass to Baker Mayfield. His coverage was there but it was a good toss; Johnson whiffed when he tried to deny the pass and the guy took it all the way to the house.
 
So, I haven't had time to watch the Cowboys' game yet on the DVR and decided to see if there was any coverage of Murdock since he had the Boys' longest pass play of the game. He was taken off for x-rays, apparently. From Cowboys Wire:

Also on offense, the wide receiver depth took a bit of a hit. The Cowboys left Cole Beasley (groin), Noah Brown (hamstring) and Deonte Thompson (achilles) back in Oxnard, CA, the location of their training camp. In the game, they lost Marchie Murdock, a down-roster receiver.



Murdock had a 31-yard reception during the game and is in competition to be a practice squad receiver for the Cowboys this season.

Link: https://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/2018/08/10/cowboys-49ers-injury-update-preseason-week-1/
 
Watched the entire Dallas game last night. As people have mentioned here, Marchie was the big name among former Cyclones with 2 catches on 3 targets for 36 yards. He also looked aggressive when blocking - perhaps a bit too aggressive at times and looked like he was borderline holding. His defender could be seen after several plays looking toward his bench or the refs in a "do you see what this guy is doing to me?" gesture. Aside from the possible leg injury noted above, another piece of tough news for Marchie is that one of his competitors for the last WR spots - Lance Lenoire - has had a really good preseason and continued that reputation with several nice grabs and a touchdown last night.
Lanning was in for several series, but later in the game Dallas was in the nickle quite a bit, and he came off the field in those situations. He didn't have a particularly good game. He seemed to be in the right place most of the time, but didn't finish plays when he had the opportunity - especially on the one run where he read the play, was in the backfield, and whiffed on what would have been a tackle for loss. He was on the punt team quite a bit, so that is good news for his chances of being a special teamer. He also was not in when the 49ers easily strolled down the field to win the game, so that is also a relief.
Campos play the last quarter and a half at left tackle. He wasn't terrible, but it seemed like he was always about a half step slow and just about to lose contact with his assignment. To his credit, there were no obvious plays where his man simply beat him to the runner or QB (unlike a couple of other late-game Dallas linemen.)
 
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Thought y'all would want to see this. The Cows have posted their first Unofficial Depth Chart. Marchie nor Joel are shown, but Jake is on the 3-deep. Pretty cool.


Cowboys.jpg
 
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Watched the game last night but unfortunately we had the 49ers feed so they spent half of the game talking to their owner about the stadium and ignored the game and players playing.

Joel had one play where it looked like he was going to make the play on a receiver right after the catch was made but another receiver blocked him in the back just enough to knock him off balance and miss the tackle and he didn't get the flag.
 
I looked up some information on Jomal Wiltz who is not necessarily on the radar of most of us, I'm guessing. He played for ISU in 2015 and 2016 after two years of JUCO ball. Accumulated 40+ tackles each year as a defensive back. He is on the Patriots' pre-season roster and recorded a tackle in their first pre-season game.

It looks like he spent a year on the Pats' practice squad. Maybe some of you know more about his case than I. He seems to have spent last season on the Pats' practice squad, according to Wikipedia:

Philadelphia Eagles[edit]
Wiltz signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent on May 11, 2017.[17] He was waived on September 2, 2017 and was signed to the Eagles' practice squad the next day.[18]

New England Patriots[edit]
On September 7, 2017, Wiltz was signed to the New England Patriots' practice squad.[19] He was released by the Patriots on September 20, 2017 but was re-signed five days later.[20][21] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Patriots on February 6, 2018.[22]
 
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Marchie Murdock was released today by the Cowboys. His injured ankle likely played a large role as he was replaced by a healthy WR free agent, Darren Carrington, from the University of Utah.