NFL teams are allowed to bring in local players for a workout that doesn’t count toward the league-mandated 30-visit limit, and when the Cowboys bought in their local draft prospects to Dallas Day, Texas A&M running back EJ Smith was among the players in attendance.
Smith was mostly a backup during his six-year college career and is not likely to be drafted, but he’s notable as the son of Cowboys Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith.
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer, himself part of a football family, said he was glad to see the son of a Cowboys legend working out in Dallas.
“Very cool,” Schottenheimer said, via ESPN. “You know me, man, I’m family. I’m all family. And you watch his film and he was an incredible short-yardage runner, powerful. But, yeah, just watching him move, seeing him in person, the type of young man he is, it’s cool.”
Every team can bring in players who played high school or college football in their region for visits beyond the “top 30″ visits, and Schottenheimer said that’s an advantage for the Cowboys, because the Dallas area is such a hotbed for football talent.
“We multiply our top 30,” Schottenheimer said. “We’re like top 45, top 48, whatever it is. And it’s because of the fact that we’ve got that location.
EJ Smith, who played four years at Stanford and two at Texas A&M and never gained more than 218 rushing yards in a season, would need to impress in pre-draft workouts just to get a chance to sign as an undrafted rookie. But he got a look with the Cowboys, and he might earn a longer look in a rookie minicamp, and perhaps beyond.
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