Totally Asim: Cowboys’ Day 3 draft pick could blossom under OL coaching in Dallas
Yes, it’s pronounced awesome, at least if your accent is from the right part of the country.
Now Asim (AH-sim) Richards hopes to live up to that billing after being selected by the Cowboys in the fifth round of this year’s draft. And while his numbers as a North Carolina senior were impressive enough on their own, it may have been something else that really caught the eye of the Dallas staff.
Richards came to offensive line play late, transitioning away from defensive end and tight end for his senior year of high school. As a freshman in Chapel Hill, he was mostly a backup. From 2020 to 2022, though, he started his final 34 games, and he went from the line’s weak link as a sophomore to the unit’s leader as a senior.
Richards played over 1,000 offensive snaps in 2022 at left tackle and allowed just three sacks against stiff conference competition. He was named to the All-ACC’s third team as a result.
Something had changed dramatically along the way- namely, the coaching Richards was getting at his position. Jack Bicknell took over OL duties for the Tar Heels’ 2022 season, and it unlocked a whole new level for the Philadelphia native.
“He came in, told us that we can be more physical, get down lower, and that we don’t have to be so passive,” Richards explained last November. “And it really changed the culture of the O-line room.
“It’s about being more aggressive,” he added. “Like with pass blocking, not waiting for them to get there; you can go out and attack… And with run blocking, just getting your hands in the right spot. Keep driving your feet, being more physical.”
That one-year quantum leap hints at even more untapped potential still hidden beneath the surface, just waiting to be drawn out of the 22-year-old by the right coaches.
Mike Solari, in his first year as OL coach for the Cowboys, started the lessons right out of the gate, putting Richards at guard during rookie minicamp. After playing all but one college game at left tackle (and the other at left guard), it will be yet another series of adjustments for the 6-foot-4-inch Richards.
But he’s ready to make an impression on his coaches no matter the assignment.
“I can play wherever,” Richards said shortly after being drafted 169th overall.
The Cowboys may take him up on that. Mike McCarthy’s first comments about Richards referenced his versatility.
“He definitely has position flex, so I think the biggest thing,” the coach explained on draft weekend, “is the ability to play tackle and move down to guard. Position flex is so important.”
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Bulking up may also help the rookie. At 307 pounds, Richards is on the light end of the Cowboys’ preferred range for offensive linemen. UNC coach Mack Brown said improving his strength is Richards’s biggest need; the elite strength and conditioning staff in Dallas can certainly help with that.
But to start, Richards simply wants to show his new coaches he’s ready, willing, and able to take their tutoring.
“You really just have to go out there and give effort, effort, effort,” he said after his first minicamp sessions. “Go out there and run and fly around. I know they try and keep us fresh, but really go out there and fly around, give effort, and if you show that, then you’re gonna be just fine. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Richards may be coming in as low man on the totem pole, behind Cowboys OL stalwarts Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, Terence Steele, and Tyler Smith. And he’ll have to battle alongside veterans like Josh Ball, Matt Farniok, Matt Waletzko, and Chuma Edoga just to make the roster. But Richards has already shown a knack for learning and then translating that coaching to exponential power on the field. If he can do it in the pros, too, he could quickly prove to be a steal of a fifth-round draft pick and maybe even a long-term answer for the Cowboys up front.
And that would be awesome indeed.
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