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Nahshon Wright was trying to pay a compliment, in a way, to the greatness of Richard Sherman. But the rookie's comments to the media shortly after being taken by the Dallas Cowboys were also designed to ... well, pay himself a compliment.

"I look at myself as a more athletic and agile Richard Sherman,'' said the Oregon State cornerback, who is 6-foot-4 but was otherwise thought of by many NFL Draft experts as a reach when Dallas selected him in the third round.

Naturally, the quote raised eyebrows and went viral, many NFL veterans and long-time NFL observers coming to the defense of the future Hall-of-Famer Sherman, a long-time Seattle Seahawks star in the same part of the country as where Wright played collegiately ... and yes, they share a body frame type and now they share a connection with defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who likes that body type and once coached Sherman in Seattle as he will now coach Wright in Dallas.

"I wanted to reach out to him personally and just kind of clear it up and tell him that I actually model myself after him, I emulate my game after him," Wright said Saturday here at The Star following the Cowboys' second rookie minicamp practice.

So the Cowboys rookie cornerback did so, sending Sherman a direct message via social media, explaining the draft-night quote 

Sherman, for his part, first responded to the quote with an eye-popping GIF on Twitter.

But after his private exchange with Wright?

"He told me if I ever needed help that I could reach out to him," Wright said. "Richard is a great guy."

Wright explained that his quote was not meant to demean, but was rather about his self-confidence - a feeling backed up by a Saturday performance in which he registered an interception.

"For me, I think it was just general confidence in myself and me looking up to someone like that," Wright said. "He played under Dan Quinn, so now I have the opportunity to play under him, and hopefully get to do the same things that Richard Sherman did. So we spoke and we have kind of a mutual respect."

This article first appeared on FanNation Cowboy Maven and was syndicated with permission.

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