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<\/p>\n#Cowboys rookie DL Jay Toia believes in being a selfless player on defense \u2014 a key attribute for a space-eating DL.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When it comes to playing defensive line, there are some things that can be taught, like learning to rush the passer, and some things that just cannot.<\/p>\n
For interior defensive linemen, that means playing against the run. You either got it or you don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Dallas Cowboys rookie defensive tackle Jay Toia, a seventh round pick (No. 217 overall) in the 2025 NFL draft, already has it. ESPN\u2019s Field Yates praised the 6-foot-2, 342-pound Toia for that unique, valuable quality after the Cowboys took him in the final round of the draft.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter adding the best run blocker in the class early in\u00a0Alabama\u2019s Tyler Booker, the Cowboys selected one of the best run defenders late in Toia,\u201d Yates wrote on April 29. \u201cHe anchored UCLA\u2019s run defense, which gave up only 2.7 yards per attempt in 2023 (second best in the FBS). With great size, power and violent hands, Toia makes life easier for linebackers against the run. But he will be a minimal factor on passing downs.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Toia could be one of the building blocks to the Cowboys\u2019 defensive front added in the draft alongside Boston College edge rusher\u00a0Donovan Ezeiruaku, a second round pick (No. 44 overall) who was projected as a first round pick headed into the draft.<\/p>\n Toia starred at Grace Bethren High School in Simi Valley, California, and was an early enrollee at USC but transferred to crosstown rival UCLA in the summer before his freshman year.<\/p>\n In 4 seasons at UCLA, Toia became a 3-year starter and finished his career with 90 tackles, 9 TFL and 3.0 sacks and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors in 2024. Toia briefly entered the transfer portal before his final season but ultimately decided to return to UCLA.<\/p>\n Toia comes from a football family.<\/p>\n His older brother,\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs\u00a0defensive tackle\u00a0Siaka Iki, played at LSU and Baylor and was a third round pick by the\u00a0Cleveland Browns\u00a0in 2023. His younger brother, Soane Toia, is a defensive tackle at San Jose State.<\/p>\n \u201cThree-year starter with the build and mentality to play nose tackle in odd or even fronts,\u201d\u00a0NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote. \u201cToia carries a girthy base and is heavy into first contact. He has the power to give good resistance against all forms of blocks that come his way \u2026 he\u2019ll need to improve his block recognition and fine-tune his take-on to be his best version of a two-down run defender.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Toia will be playing alongside another former Bruin with Cowboys\u2019 defensive tackle\u00a0Osa Odighizuwa, who has started every game for Dallas the last 3 seasons and become a formidable presence on the defensive front.<\/p>\n From\u00a0DallasCowboys.com\u2019s Patrik Walker: \u201cIt was a foregone conclusion the Dallas Cowboys would presumably use at least one of the many picks in the 2025 NFL Draft on the defensive tackle position, flipping the seventh-round pick they received from the\u00a0New England Patriots\u00a0(211th-overall) to throw a very big body in the mix along with\u00a0Mazi Smith,\u00a0Solomon Thomas\u00a0and Osa Odighizuwa.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" #Cowboys rookie DL Jay Toia believes in being a selfless player on defense \u2014 a key attribute for a space-eating DL. When it comes to playing defensive… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":53096,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nToia Made Rare Transfer Between Rival Schools<\/h2>\n
Breaking Down Cowboys\u2019 Depth on Defensive Front<\/h2>\n