Photo by Dale Zanine-US PRESSWIRE

As Thursday, April 26th rapidly approaches, Dallas Cowboys fans are left waiting and wondering who in the heck Jason Garrett and Jerry Jones are going to select with our first round pick in the NFL Draft. The common talk is that the Cows need to snag a corner back and they need to get one who can make an immediate impact on our otherwise abysmal secondary. But who will we pick, or more importantly who will be there when we pick? According to CBS we will be taking either CB Alfonzo Dennard from Nebraska or OG David DeCastro from USC, but according to Bleacher Report, Dennard not only hurt his draft stock at the senior bowl, he might have single handedly pushed himself out of the first round all-together. Now unless we want to head back out into free agency and try and pick up Pacman Jones again, we need to think very hard on who we are going to take with the 14th over-all pick.

I like David DeCastro a whole heck of a lot, I just don’t think we could justify the need to use another first round pick on a lineman. I really like the way our o-line played toward the end of the season last year and I especially like how young we are up there. With the only hefty vet being Kyle Kosier, I think it leaves a ton of room for the line to make huge strides during this off-season and pre-season. I think if we flip Kosier back over to the left side he will help Doug Free turn back into Doug the Freak. With Tyron Smith being the break out rookie we all had hoped for, Montrae Holland and Smith could hold down the right side. I predict beast mode all year next year for the entire o-line.

With our obvious short comings in the defensive back field I think it just makes sense to either secure our secondary through the draft or free agency. There are many unrestricted free agents to choose from such as Cortland Finnegan and Brandon Flowers, heck even the ancient Rhonde Barber could fill a whole, at least till next years draft. The question I keep asking myself is: Could we wait? This years draft has many talented DBs and it might not make any sense to go the free agency route when we could get a young stud hungry to prove that he is going to be the next break out star for the Dallas Cowboys. These players include: Morris Claiborne (LSU), Leonard Johnson (ISU), Brandon Boykin (UGA), and Jenoris Jenkins (NAU), to name a few.

I would love nothing more than to add Morris Claiborne to the Cowboys roster, but unfortunately there are a few other clubs that scout players too so it is unlikely that Claiborne will fall to us at the 14th pick, since he is hands down the best CB in the draft as of now. Leonard Johnson out of Iowa State is a very intriguing prospect. Say what you will about the Big 12, but we know quarterbacks and receivers, and Johnson has been covering receivers such as Ryan Broyles and Justin Blackmon during his tenure as an Iowa State CB. It is predicted that he will fall to the later second maybe even third round and would add some much needed youth and speed to our secondary. Brandon Boykin from Georgia suffered a huge setback when he broke his leg during the senior bowl. This could put the Cows in a great position to jump on Boykin if he falls during the draft due to his broken leg making him miss the combine.
Jenoris Jenkins is what I’m going to call another ‘Dez Bryant’ pick-up because his off field drug antics got him kicked off the Gators. This guy scares me. He played like a champ during the senior bowl and I don’t question him as a top talent in this draft, but being kicked off an SEC team for drugs is a little extreme and makes me wonder if he would even be worth the possible drama he could bring to our Cowboys locker room. Alfonzo Dennard from Nebraska is our other option, and as I mention before he is who many mock draft specialists are saying we will take with our 14th pick. Most experts agree that after the senior bowl his draft stock dropped considerably, leaving some people wondering if using the 14th round pick on him would be a waste. I think I disagree completely. Athletes are allowed to have a bad game and that might be exactly what happened to his young man.

Dec 21, 2011; San Diego, CA, USA; Louisiana Tech Bulldogs quarterback Colby Cameron (10) is tackled by TCU Horned Frogs linebacker Tank Carder (43) during the second quarter at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

In short, I think we forgo an Offensive Lineman to draft a defensive back. This makes the most sense to me because our offensive front gave Romo the time to have one of his best seasons yet with over 4,000 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Looking at these numbers I just can’t justify our first rounder being anyone but a defensive back. Then we wait in the wings for Leonard Johnson to fall right to us in the 2nd or 3rd round.

I might even consider taking a LB after we pick up two solid DBs. I’m thinking Tank Carder from TCU in the 3rd or 4th to replace the aging Keith Brooking, if for no other reasons than his name is awesome, he runs a 4.65 40, he had 2 interceptions for touchdowns this year, a 26 yarder and 69 yard run back, and he was Mountain West Defensive Player of the year. With Carder and Lee, our linebacker core would be deadly. Go Cowboys.

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  Down to 4 teams now in the chase for the Lombardi Trophy – could anyone have imagined that neither the Saints nor the Packers would be in the NFC Championship game?  The Giants are like a bad dream happening all over again – did we hit a wormhole and go back to 2007-2008?  Like last time, they seem to be getting healthy and peaking at just the right time.  They didn’t get the Packers best effort by any means, but they beat the team that just about everyone already had penciled in for Indianapolis.  “Greg”, the resident Giants fan in my office can barely contain himself.  Time to work from home…

• Although it disappoints me greatly that the Cowboys are nowhere involved, the Saints -49ers game last weekend was maybe the best game I”ve ever watched.  Before Drew Brees and the Saints could even start celebrating their last score, Alex Smith (no, that’s not a typo) drives the 49ers the length of the field with only 2:09 remaining and scores the go-ahead touchdown with 9 seconds left.  Alex Smith – the same guy most 49er fans wanted to run out of town as recently as this last off season after 6 pretty awful seasons (albeit surrounded by some awful teams).  That goes to show you that if you give Romo that kind of supporting cast, he could take us a long way.  Does anyone think Alex Smith is a better QB than Romo?  I don’t. (more…)

We’ll review the 2008 draft to see whether the choices made by the Cowboys were the correct ones or whether the Cowboys missed horribly.  Unfortunately, the answer may be a yes to both depending upon your viewpoint.

1st round Felix Jones at 22

Pro-Bowl: No

Starter: No

Still on the team: Yes

Player(s) you could have had instead:  Rashard Mendenhall, Chris Johnson, Matt Forte, DeSean Jackson, Ray Rice

Analysis:  The 2008 NFL draft will be considered the year of the running back.  With several 1000 yard backs and one 2000 yard back in the draft class, the Cowboys seemingly made a less than ideal decision taking Felix Jones.  My criticism at the time of the draft was that you don’t take a complementary player when there is a do it all back available.  Jones’ 40 time was comparable to several running backs in the draft to include Mendenhall.  Jones was slower than Chris Johnson who ran a 4.2 40 time.  However, Jone was explosive in 2008 with an average yards per carry of 8.9.  That has since decreased to 5.9 and 4.3.  The Cowboys offensive line may be partly to blame, but it does not appear that Jones will be able to carry the entire offensive load that Mendenhall does for Pittsburgh, or be the truly explosive presence that Chris Johnson is for the Titans.

At the time of the 2008 draft, the Cowboys were considering Mendenhall.  They were concerned that he was not as effective in a two back system, whereas Jones was productive and effective at Arkansas with Darren McFadden.  This swayed their decision and Jones was the pick.  Considering Mendenhall’s statistics, you cannot say that they were prescient with their analysis.  Mendenhall was injured in 2008.  In 2009, he ran for over 1000 yards behind a much maligned offensive line with an average of 4.6 yards per carry.  In 2010 he averaged 3.9 yards per carry for 1200+ yards.  He had a good season until he fumbled the ball in the Super Bowl.

Outside of a running back, the Cowboys wanted a playmaker on special teams.  It is a broken record with the Cowboys.  They draft a multi-purpose talent in the first round only to minimize their contribution on special teams.  The franchise has done this with Terrance Newman, Felix Jones, and now Dez Bryant.  The Cowboys management either has no gumption, or no direction in this regard.  The point being is that DeSean Jackson would have fit the role of offensive weapon and special teams dynamo.  Jackson reportedly failed his drug test at the combine which then caused the Cowboys to take him off of their board.  Jackson has not had any reported instances of failed drug tests since, however, he has had bouts of immaturity on the field and off.

Considering the potential productive talent available at the time of this pick, the Cowboys cannot have a high grade.  Jones has been productive in stints.  Behind a rebuilt offensive line, he may have a breakout season.  However, Jones looked slow last year, rarely made any defender miss, and is at best an explosive complementary player.  Cowboys management seemingly will force him into the role of an every down back, which will probably fail.

2010 20/20 hindsight grade: C-

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