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.

Draft time and free agency in the NFL is a lot like Christmas.

Your franchise gets new toys.

The Cowboys have a few different types of toys on their wish lists through free agency and the draft, with the most glaring needs at free safety, offensive tackle, middle linebacker and slot receiver. Here are the players that should be at the top of the Jerry Jones’ wishlist, should he decide to pursue them in free agency or with the 27th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Free Safety: Antrel Rolle of the Cardinals figures to be released by his team according to the Chicago Tribune. Please, oh please, oh pretty please, let this happen. Rolle would be the best unrestricted free agent on the market by a mile and would probably partner well with strong safety Gerald Sensabaugh, provided that Sensabaugh gets a new contract or at least a tender from the Cowboys (which he probably will). If the Cowboys want to get some depth at free safety from the draft, they’ll probably look at Texas’ Earl Thomas. Thomas had a good combine and he’ll be enticing to the Texans, who have the 20th overall pick. We’d have to leapfrog them to get to that pick. The Seahawks at 14 or the 49ers at 17 make a lot of sense, as they’d be glad to stockpile picks. If not Thomas, then Georgia’s Reshad Jones could be a good pick in the second or third round and Florida’s Major Wright could be on the board as late as the fourth round.

Offensive Tackle: We need to start planning for Flozell Adams riding into the sunset NFL style-playing a disgraceful year or two with the Raiders, Rams or Bears. Unfortunately, the talent pool is shallow and shrinking as teams tender their tackles. The best name that hasn’t been tendered as of yet is San Diego’s Marcus McNeal. He’s only missed two starts in his whole career and he allowed 5 sacks in 16 games last year. He’s going to get a tender, probably a first and third round tender. If the Chargers put only a first round tender on McNeal, Jerry might be tempted to pull the trigger as this year’s tackle class is extremely top heavy. Names like Trent Williams, Anthony Davis and Charles Brown might be gone by pick 27. The best move again is to move up. Bryan Bulaga is one of two offensive tackles who are polished enough and question-free enough to start from game 1. The only problem is that he might go within the first 15 picks. But left tackle might be the most important position for any team looking to do anything in the NFL, so moving up could be worth it. The next best left tackle prospect could be Indiana’s Roger Saffold and he might be around in the draft’s third round. The talent drops off very sharply here.

Middle Linebacker: Keith Brooking, the newest hero for the Cowboys’ defense is not going to be too far behind Adams. He’s 34 now and he’ll turn 35 during next season. We have to be looking for his replacement as well unless Bobby Carpenter or Jason Williams does anything. The biggest name in free agency this year is Cardinal inside backer Karlos Dansby. Again, the talent pool is shallow here and teams will throw boatloads of money at Dansby. There are other names out there like Larry Foote, but Jerry should look to continue the trend of getting younger at this position. Florida’s Brandon Spikes might be a good choice in the second or third round. He does have some deficiencies in the zone defense, but he has the size and the attitude to take on and beat offensive linemen.

Slot Receiver: This might be the position of minimal need as Patrick Crayton is still smart and serviceable and Kevin Ogletree keeps on doing everything right to get himself a starting spot. But the slot position is a position for an obvious mismatch. That’s where guys like Brandon Stokley when he played for the Colts, Wes Welker of the Patriots and Percy Harvin of the Vikings really made opposing defenses sweat. A free agent who would meet that need is Davone Bess of the Dolphins. He’s coming off of a season that saw him catch 71 passes. If we were to address this need in the draft, it’d obviously be in the later rounds. However, there are plenty of guys who fit the mold of a shifty slot receiver who’d still be around on Day 2 of the draft, when the Cowboys usually succeed. A guy who has been shooting up teams’ draft boards is Andre Roberts from The Citadel. The guy was the best receiver on the South team at the Senior Bowl and he turned in a good combine, posting a 4.4 40-yard dash time. He was a top performer in the 40, the broad jump, the 3-cone drill and the 20-yard shuttle. The guy is just plain old athletic and he was dangerous as a punt returner, another need for the Cowboys. He’ll need work at reading NFL defenses and beating press coverage, but he won’t be pressed into service right away.