The Dallas Cowboys selected Jay Toia in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL draft, but he’s already making a massive impression in the trenches during training camp.
UCLA Bruins defensive lineman Jay Toia speaks to the media during the Big 10 football media day at Lucas Oil Stadium. / Robert Goddin-Imagn Images
Dallas Cowboys training camp is underway in Oxnard, California, and everyone has had Sunday’s practice circled on the calendar. Sunday marks the first day of practice in full pads during the team’s west coast stay, so the intensity is about to pick up.
In full pads, the coaching staff can get a better evaluation of players at positions like running back, offensive line, and defensive line. The physicality increase shows what players are more dynamic and who can bring the power.
For defensive tackle Jay Toia, the team’s seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft, that should be no problem.
Toia is massive at 6-foot-2, 342 pounds, and there is no denying he could develop into a force at nose tackle. While there are concerns about former first-round pick Mazi Smith and whether he can be the run-stopper Dallas was hoping for, Toia has been taking advantage of his opportunities in camp.
UCLA Bruins defensive lineman Jay Toia during the second quarter against the Fresno State Bulldogs at Rose Bowl. / Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images
Patrik Walker of DallasCowboys.com shared his observations from practice this weekend and pointed out that Toia is consistently getting double-teamed and has been a bull-rushing menace, finding his way “all the way back into the lap of the quarterback,” which has people excited.
“With so much discussion circling the weight and utilization of Mazi Smith, it’s rookie defensive tackle Jay Toia hoping to make a mark in the run defense,” Walker wrote. “Nobody’s wondering if Toia has slimmed down, because he still looks every bit the 342 pounds he weighed entering the 2025 NFL Draft. Furthermore, he’s using it to his advantage in his first-ever training camp.
“When he’s not being double-teamed, a rarity, it seems, he’s been seen bull rushing a lineman or two all the way back into the lap of the quarterback; and that’s a great sign for what Matt Eberflus has planned for his defense.”
We’ll have to see how Toia continues to develop throughout camp and the preseason and how he holds himself in full pads, but as things currently stand, Dallas may have found another late-round steal.
UCLA Bruins defensive lineman Jay Toia fights off a block by Fresno State Bulldogs offensive lineman Toreon Penright / Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images
