With Carl Nicks Taken, Will Dallas Cowboys Draft David DeCastro?
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Dallas Cowboys-related Tweet of the Week: @newyscruggs “The #Cowboys once used 3 straight 1st round picks on Bobby Carpenter, Anthony Spencer & Felix Jones. Would u give up all 3 for a great QB?”
The free agency period has officially started for the NFL. And some of the bigger names like Carl Nicks and Cortland Finnegan are already off the table. It’s obvious where the Cowboys have holes to fill, but it remains to be seen who Jerry and crew will finally decide to pursue and how active they choose to be before the draft. Certainly, my series on possible Cowboys draft picks will change, depending on any new additions to the team before April 28 (of course, the team may or may not need a complete overhaul of the secondary). Last week, I debuted this series by talking about Dre Kirkpatrick. This week, I move to the offensive line and talk about the great guard from Stanford, David DeCastro.
DeCastro will certainly be selected in the first round, and the Cowboys are praying he is still available at #14, given that he could be taken as early as #11. At 6’4″ 316 lbs, he will immediately be one of the biggest linemen on our offensive line. Dockery and Holland are both free agents, and who knows if either one will be back. DeCastro is considered one of the top guards in the draft and was an unanimous All-American. And that’s with him only playing three years with the Cardinal.
At the combine, David continued to impress the scouts. He performed 34 reps in the bench press, 29.5 inch vertical jump, and a 98 inch broad jump. He was in the Top 3 in both the three cone drill (with a time of 7.3) and the 20 yard shuffle (with a time of 4.56). For those of you that care, he also ran a 5.43 in the 40 yard dash. Russ Lande, of the Sporting News, said, “Not only did he perform well enough in drills to maintain a spot in the first round, but he may have done enough to move into the top 15 to 20 spots in the draft… throughout the rest of the workout he showed excellent movement skills. He displayed the quickness, lateral agility, body control and balance to be a top guard and proved that he also has the potential to play right tackle in the NFL.”
You may be asking yourself right now, “Is there anything bad to say about this guy?” Every prospect has strengths and weakness, but DeCastro’s weaknesses are few and far between, to be honest. One thing some of the scouts have been harping on is David’s inability to stay with his blocks downfield during outside runs. They also mention that this is not for a lack of effort, but a problem with mechanics. His footwork sometimes trips him up, letting his man loose. To me, honestly, it sounds like the scouts are nitpicking a bit at this point.
DeCastro has the chance to be the best lineman on his team as soon as he is drafted. The Cowboys will certainly love to have him on the line next year, lining up by Free and Smith to keep Romo vertical. The main question is whether or not he’ll be available when it’s our turn to make a selection.
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