Dallas Cowboys Surprised Malik Benson
Benson shared that one of his most memorable NFL Draft meetings came in a formal meeting with the Dallas Cowboys at the combine. The Cowboys surprised him by bringing up something he never expected: his voluntary community service from years ago in Alabama.
“They watched my film and then they’re just asking me what are my favorite plays. They’re just trying to see who I am as a person. I got to tell my story – I transferred a couple of times. So, once they hear my story and they kind of understand why I transferred, it clears like the little fog that they have. Then once they’re able to, see my football IQ too, then they’re like, oh man, like he’s fast and he’s smart,” Benson told Amaranthus.
“But the most surprising thing was in that meeting with the Cowboys, it was like the end of the meeting. I’m about to walk out and back in 2023, 2024, I did a lot of community service (with the Alabama Crimson Tide)” Benson continued.
Benson said the Cowboys asked about his work visiting elementary schools and helping with turkey drives, a moment that showed him just how much teams know beyond the football field and all the homework the NFL does on their investments.
“People don’t ever bring that up – when you’re doing community service, I don’t want any pats on the back just because I’m doing things for the community… But, once they brought that up, I was like, ‘man, these teams really do their research on everything.’ There is not one thing that they don’t know,” Benson told Amaranthus.