2016 Dallas Cowboys Offseason

[eagle eye]

The knee jerk reaction to the impending suspension of DeMarcus Lawrence in reference to next week's draft was inevitable. I sort of bought into the 'Cowboys HAVE to draft a DE now' Kool-Aid until I had a chance to think about it. What I discovered is that Dallas still has players to fill the void for the first 4 weeks of the season. They have newly signed Benson Mayowa and returning DL Jack Crawford to play the rush end and last year's diamond in the rough David Irving to play the strong side DE. Dallas can still take the best player available. Will that player be Jalen Ramsey or Myles Jack or Ezekiel Elliott? It really doesn't matter. In a big way I want Dallas to take a chance on Myles Jack but his knee issue is a bothersome. Either Myles Jack will be good for his career or he might be good for 5 games. He looks like he's on track to get microfracture surgery and that is year lost to rehab with no guaranteed return to what he was. But, you always look at Jadeveon Clowney who has come back from that surgery and is looking for a big year in 2016. Trouble was it took 2 full seasons to come back and the jury is still out on him. If Dallas had the depth to deal with it they could draft Jack and have him go through the MF surgery and hope he plays next season with an eye to full recovery by the 2017 opener. Trouble is the Cowboys are in 'win now' mode unless he falls to the 2nd or 3rd round it looks pretty slim that Dallas will take him. Ramsey is the odds-on favorite but recent articles have reported that Jerry Jones wants Ezekiel Elliott. The last thing, this is when everybody and their brother in the NFL front offices become pathological liars which mean we don't know what Dallas will do. We won't find out for sure until 5 days from now around 8 PM CDT.

 

As for DeMarcus Lawrence, he is appealing his upcoming suspension. It looked like he was going to be suspended for violating the substance abuse policy but it really an alleged violation of the NFL policy on PED use then it went back to substance abuse. Apparently, Lawrence failed previous drug tests because of marijuana use and his reps have pointed out that speed is different than weed and could be grounds to avoid suspension. On the Dallas Cowboys pod cast "Talkin Cowboys" Mickey Spagnola had information that one of the ingredients in some medication given to Lawrence as part of his post back surgery could have caused him failing the test. In a perfect world this last item would be the case and Lawrence might avoid being suspended and he wouldn't be the big old dumbass he seems to have been. You would think he would have learned watching Randy Gregory screw up.

[eagle eye]

It's 3 days until the NFL draft. We've beat this horse until the poor thing is nothing but a bag of bones. The past two months since the draft process began at the Senior Bowl in Mobile Alabama there has been more information than most people can reasonably decipher. Who are the top 10, maybe the top 25 players in the draft and want does my team need most are the main things a lot of draft observers want to know. The draft, the first round in particular, is just a chance for you and your buddies to eat nachos and drink beer while you watch what your favorite team and maybe your most hated team does. It's an excuse to party, never mind the hangover you have at school or work the next day. It's kind of unfair that the most important round of the draft comes on a Thursday. Friday is cool because the 2nd and 3rd rounds are pretty important too featuring players you have actually heard of. Saturday features the last 4 rounds and seems to last forever. Saturday is the day you check in every once in a while to see who your team picked up and maybe checking out the player history so you can decide if you're happy or disappointed. In a lot of ways, especially for the Cowboys the last few years, the undrafted priority free agents that are signed overshadow whatever happens on Saturday. Dallas has been pretty darn good in the first 3 rounds, especially the first round, since drafting Dez Bryant in 2010 with the only real "bust" being CB Morris Claiborne but even at that he's still with Dallas as he prepares to play his 5th NFL season. What Dallas needs to do is draft better on Saturday. The Cowboys have 3 picks total in the first three rounds and they have 6 picks in the last 4 rounds. They have 2 in the 4th, none in the 5th and 5 in the 6th and none in the seventh. Dallas can't package their compensatory picks in the 6th round of which there are 4 which is a shame because next year team can trade compensatory picks if they want to.

This is only one of the pieces of bad luck that faces Dallas in this draft. It's unlucky that there aren't any Troy Aikmans in the draft and there are not any sure fire studs in the top 10. There could have been if Notre Dame's Jaylon Smith or UCLA's Myles Jack didn't have knee issues. Actually, I would love to see Dallas take a chance on Smith in the late 4th or early 6th because if he can make it back from the devastating knee injury he suffered in his last college game in the Fiesta Bowl in January is endangering his chances for an NFL career. Besides tearing his ACL and LCL it has been said he has nerve damage in both his knee and ankle. If he wasn't hurt he was considered a top 5 draft pick. If Dallas takes a chance on him and he's able to come back, albeit in 2017, Dallas gets another first round talent for cheap. Dallas has been good about capitalizing on those types of opportunities with Sean Lee, La'el Collins and Rolando McClain as prime examples. Jack is a different story. In a routine practice last season Jack tore the meniscus in his knee ending his season. A torn meniscus is bad because that is the cushion in the knee that protects the knee from every day wear and tear. Without the meniscus it is basically bone on bone and that is not good for a football player at all. The fear is that Jack will have his career cut short because of this. He could play 10 years or be done in 10 games. He is also a prime candidate for microfracture knee surgery which is a career threatening surgery that realistically takes 2 years to fully recover from. That's a lot of risk for a top 4 pick.

Joey Bosa is another thing. He's projected as Dallas' pick in many mock drafts and after the new about Demarcus Lawrence's possible 4 game suspension he seems to be a higher priority than before. To me, I want Ohio State RB Ezekiel Elliott in the first, DE Kevin Dodd in the 2nd and Ohio State LB Joshua Perry. If Dodd's not there I would take DE Jonathan Bullard or a top CB instead. I don't have a problem if Dallas actually decides to take Memphis QB Paxton Lynch as their QB of the future. It's got to happen some day soon and hopefully Dallas won't have this high a draft pick again in a long, long time. Now is the time for the Cowboys to pull the trigger if they really like Lynch enough because he won't be there in the 2nd round and I don't want Dallas to sacrifice any picks to move up. They won't have the ammunition to move up far enough anyway. If they like Lynch take him at 4 critics be damned. At least the stupid Eagles won't get Elliott, they didn't trade up to draft a running back. The Giants might take him but more likely is the Dolphins will at 13 if he falls that far.

Some say Dallas could trade back and get extra picks but I don't want them to trade back so far it costs them both Lynch and Elliott. They need to stay in the top 10 at least like Cleveland did with their trade with Philly. They came out smelling like a rose and still have the 8th pick. To me, Cleveland actually made a better deal than the Titans did with the Rams because Tennessee now picks at 15. They got a lot of picks but falling out of the top ten the odds of them getting an elite talent has been reduced quite a bit. They'll still get a good player but a top ten player is out of the question for them now unless they spend some of the capital they acquired in the Rams trade which is kind of counter productive if you ask me.

3 days and then we can relax until August when training camp begins.

[eagle eye]

From the "Are you happy now?" files: CB Brandon Carr agreed to a pay cut this season in the final year of the $50 MM 5 year deal he signed four years ago. He was scheduled to count $13.1 MM against the salary cap with a little over $9 MM in base salary. He agreed to reduce his base by $3 MM so the Astros have an extra 3 mil to work with as the draft and UFA signing period looms on the horizon. This should also help them sign a veteran free agent or two if they want to as players are cut from other NFL teams over the summer. There are usually a lot of players available after June 1st that teams don't want to pay or they have just lost their usefulness to their old teams. Dallas needs a guy who can be a swing guard and backup center and if they don't get that guy in the draft at veteran guy will be the way to go. Carr hasn't been the impact player he was expected to be with a $50 MM contract but he hasn't missed a game and he's been a very reliable guy in coverage. Haters will say he gives up big plays but he hasn't given up as much as public perception seems to be. I'm glad Carr will be back this season and thanks for taking one for the team in the form of a salary cut.

 

Jerry and Stephen Jones and Jason Garrett held their pre-draft press conference yesterday. They discussed a bunch of topics but a lot of player comments need to be taken with a grain of salt because, like every other team in the NFL, they don't want to tip their hand as to who they intend to draft with the 4th pick in the draft, or any other pick for that matter. Jones is pretty entertaining at the press conferences and despite the fact that he likes to preface comments to the press by saying he isn't being trite at the pre-draft conference he is generally nothing but trite. Here's the predraft presser from DallasCowboys.com.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2016/04/25/2016-pre-draft-press-conference

 

The NFL Channel had their live 1st round mock draft on Sunday featuring NFL Channel regulars like Daniel Jeremiah, Steve Mariucci, Bucky Barnes along with newcomers like Maurice Jones-Drew and Ike Taylor took turns making picks for the teams in the mock draft. Michael Irvin chose for the Cowboys and he selected RB Ezekiel Elliott from Ohio State. Here's the video from the program on why Irvin picked Elliott.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2016/04/25/michael-irvin-why-dallas-should-draft-ezekiel-elliott

[eagle eye]

As months turned into weeks which turned into days it has now come down to hours. The 2016 NFL Draft will begin in less than 11 hours. By this time 12 hours from now we will know who the top 5 picks are going to be. Even though people are pretty sure Jared Goff and Carson Wentz will go 1 and 2 we won't know for sure until it actually happens. The next question will be whether San Diego goes OT or CB/S. All through this pre draft analysis it has been assumed that Ole Miss OT Laremy Tunsil is the first OT taken but now it's being said that Notre Dame's Ronnie Stanley is the best tackle. Maybe the Chargers decide on Jalen Ramsey, the guy everyone agrees is a great athlete but not everyone agrees he's the best cornerback. If he's not do you want to spend the 3rd pick, or 4th for that matter, on a safety? If the Chargers decide on Ramsey then the top 3 guys IMO for Dallas to choose from are Myles Jack, Ezekiel Elliott and Joey Bosa. If you look at it Elliott is the only player of the 3 that has no baggage associated with him. Jack's knee is in question and he's even being projected to fall out of the 1st round because of it. We'll see about that one. Now, if he does, and he's available at pick 34 Dallas should gobble him up like a hungry pack of wolves. Joey Bosa has some off field stuff, nothing terrible but with Randy Gregory and Demarcus Lawrence both being suspended 4 games to start the season the last thing the Cowboys need is another DE with baggage. So, that leaves Zeke. No injury concerns, check. No character issues, check. Great work ethic, check. Elite level talent, check. Team first guy, check. How in the name of Jupiter could Dallas ask anything more? Experts agree that Zeke will have the most dramatic impact of any player in the top 10 in this draft. He immediately makes Dallas better. He makes the defense better because they won't need to be on the field as much because Zeke is toting the rock grinding out yards and burning clock until we see Romo hit Dez or Witten with a TD pass. The thing about Zeke is he's a physical runner like DeMarco Murray was but with speed. That's what separates Zeke from Murray, if Zeke gets into the defensive backfield he's got the speed to take it to the house. Take Zeke and you can concentrate on defense for most of the draft. I would have to say Dallas needs to go defense with at least 6 of their nine picks. There will be guys that will be good players available in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th rounds.

One trade I wouldn't mind seeing is if Oakland wants to move up in the 4th and swap picks with Dallas if Dallas can get their 5th round pick back they gave up to get WR Brice Butler last season it would be worth trading from pick 101 (3rd pick 4th) to pick 114 (16th pick 4th) to get pick 143 (pick 3 in the 5th) plus make them give up their pick in 5th at 154. Now you have 11 picks in the draft and you don't lose out on talent in the 5th round. Pick 101 is pretty valuable but I won't complain, much, if they did it. Especially, if the Cowboys don't lose out on a couple of pass rushers that are projected to be 4th round guys that are thought to be better than that.

 

Guys I'd like to Dallas target:

> 2nd round, either Clemson DE Kevin Dodd or W Virginia S Karl Joseph. If, by some fluke of nature Paxton Lynch is there at 34, he's my guy. (He won't be there.)

> 3rd round, I am really looking at Ohio State LB Joshua Perry. If Dallas goes with Ramsey then I'm all in on Notre Dame RB CJ Prosise.

> 4th round, this is the thing, in most of my mock on On The Clock there are a number of "sleepers" there I would love to get. I like Ohio St TE Nick Vannett a lot but there are D-linemen that won't last until the Cowboys second pick in the 4th. There is Illinois DT Jihad Ward-a guy who can play 3 technique or end or Appalachian ST DE Ronald Blair--a guy who is said to be undervalued because he comes from a small school. Dallas had a guy from a small school that wasn't bad named DeMarcus Ware. There is also a guy from Grand Valley State named Matt Juden or Utah's Jason Fanaika to choose from. I would definitely go pass rusher with the first of the 2 picks Dallas has in the round and hope Vannett falls to the back end of the round. Another option would be WR from Tulsa Keyarris Garrett. I have seen scouting reports that said Garrett reminded them of a Randy Moss because of his size (6'3", 220 lbs), his speed (4.40 - 40 at his pro day) and his hands. I'd take Randy Moss's clone, wouldn't you?

> 5th round - no picks

> 6th round - 4 picks here. The picks are in the round #14, #37, #41 and #42. There is a QB in the round, Jacoby Brissett from NC State I'd take, a CB James Bradberry from Samford or Daryl Worley from West Virginia. I'd also like to see Dallas get 1 technique DT from Fla State Nile Lawrence-Stample. Other possibilities are ILB from Utah State, Nick Vigil or a safety from Northern Iowa Deiondre Hall or a center from Iowa Austin Blythe.

 

I am ready for this draft. I've BEEN ready for this draft. I've got my Cowboys blue shirt on and my Cowboys official draft hat, which I just took out of the bag for the first time since I bought it, is on my head. I am ready.

[eagle eye]

The Cowboys pulled the trigger on the one player I finally decided I wanted them to draft, RB Ezekiel Elliott from Ohio State. As I played with the On The Clock draft simulator the one player that resulted in the best mock drafts came when I drafted Elliott with the 4th pick. In my mocks it freed up the ability to draft the biggest need on the Cowboys which is the defense. In most cases I went defense for the next 3 picks from the 2nd to the 4th rounds. There were times when I went TE by drafting another Ohio State player, Nick Vannett but I soon came to the realization that Dallas has a need for defense. Uncertainty over the linebacker position means that position needs to be addressed. Dallas has already got D-line depth but you never can pass on an opportunity to upgrade the talent. I am hoping Dallas does what I have done in my mocks and that is draft Clemson DE Kevin Dodd in the 2nd and they take either Ohio State's Joshua Perry or LSU's Deion Jones in the 3rd. Another alternative in the second would be at safety since Dallas has passed on Jalen Ramsey. The guy I really wanted at safety was Karl Joseph from West Virginia but he and Keanu Neal from Florida are gone both being drafted in the first round. That leaves yet another Ohio State man in Vonn Bell who is one of the best strong safety prospects in this draft available. If Dallas doesn't like any of these other guys at 34 then DE Noah Spence is still available. Spence is said to have top ten talent and may be the absolute best pass rusher in the draft. Crap, there are a lot of opportunities in the second round and Dallas has the 3rd pick behind Cleveland and Tennessee.

In the 3rd round I have gone with another Ohio State man more than any other player and that's LB Joshua Perry. At 6'4" and 254 lbs he's sort of an unsung hero on a college team filled with stars. For a guy that big he's fast, 4.58 - 40 at his pro day, and I can see him manning the middle linebacker spot even though he's capable of playing outside. There are just too many question marks about Cowboys MIKE LB Rolando McClain that makes me nervous. Another alternative is LSU LB Deion Jones. Slightly faster than Perry but not as big (6'1", 225 lbs) this is a guy who you actually use at strong safety. He's fast and athletic enough and he actually plays better in space since he has trouble when engaged with a blocker. Perry is my guy all the way despite the fact there are DT's available here as well. If I get DE in the 2nd round I'm definitely going LB in the 3rd.

 

I was totally pleased with the way the draft went last night and with so many good players that fill needs for the Cowboys it's hard not to be excited over what will happen tonight. BTW the Cowboys made an offer to Seattle to move up from 34 to 26 so they could take Paxton Lynch. If the Cowboys had been able to pull off that deal I would have run around squealing like a little girl. My wife may have had me committed. Unfortunately, the Broncos made a better offer for the pick than Dallas did and Denver ended up with Lynch instead. With that said I don't want Dallas to worry about drafting a QB now. I want them to concentrate on filling needs on defense and at TE. I wouldn't mind seeing Dallas draft a WR in the 4th round on Saturday named Keyarris Garrett from Tulsa. How can I not want a kid who people say when the watch tape on him he reminds them of Randy Moss? It would be hard to take him if Dallas has the chance to take a DT from Illinois named Jihad Ward. He's is considered an underrated player and if he's available Dallas needs to take him. But I'll save round 4 talk until tomorrow.

 

I was tinkering with the On The Clock this morning and I found out something really cool. The draft simulator has taken the 1st round as drafted last night and they begin with the 2nd round. I think this is so awesome! I have already been mocking the heck out of today's rounds and I am stoked to say Dallas will have to eff-up seriously to not get good players tonight. I hope to god they don't chase a QB. I'm not a big fan of either Connor Cook or Christian Hackenberg and Dallas needs help on defense more than they need a half-assed QB. If Dallas takes a QB I hope it's North Carolina State's Jacoby Brissett or maybe Ohio State's Cardale Jones but that won't be until the 6th round.

 

Below is a link to the post draft press conference with Jerry and Stephen Jones and Jason Garrett as they talk about drafting Zeke and trying to make a deal for Paxton Lynch.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2016/04/28/press-conference-after-picking-ezekiel-elliott

[eagle eye]

I had to say WTF twice last night. With the 3rd pick in the second round Dallas took the best player in the draft, if he had been healthy. Notre Dame's Jaylon Smith is touted as a rare talent. The problem is he got his knee destroyed in the Fiesta Bowl this past January and the complication is he has nerve damage in both his ankle and his knee. It's a given he won't play in 2016 and the hope is the damaged nerves will heal and start to fire again. If that happens there is no reason why he can't come back as good as ever. The caveat is there is no guarantee those nerves will ever heal. Dallas had one huge advantage over the rest of the NFL, their team doctor Dr Dan Cooper did the reconstructive surgery on Smith. Here's an article from the Sports Day section of the Dallas Morning News about Dallas' day 2 of the draft.

 

http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-cowboys/cowboys/2016/04/29/breaking-cowboys-select-lb-jaylon-smith-nfl-drafts-second-round

 

The Cowboys 3rd round pick, DT Maliek Collins from Nebraska is a head scratcher. There were so many better players on the board at the time you wonder just WTF the Cowboys see in him.

 

I just have to hope Dallas does a better job of adding players who will actually help this team. Maybe down the road this draft will be remembered as a kickass draft but right now, after Ezekiel Elliott, all we have is hope and a lot of questions. I have done a lot of player with the On The Clock draft simulator and as such I have come to know a group of players I hoped Dallas could draft on Day 3. The trouble is most of those players were drafted on Day 2 way ahead of where they were projected. I have no clue what Dallas will do today but they have a total of 6 picks, 2 in the 4th round and 4 in the 6th. The Cowboys traded their 5th round pick to Oakland last fall when they acquired WR Brice Butler. 4 of the 6 draft picks are compensatory picks which mean they can't use them to move up in the draft. It will be interesting but to speculate or have a wish list at this point after last night is pointless. I do know Ohio State LB Joshua Perry is available and DE from Appalachian State Ronald Blair is still out there so we'll see. I think the whole 2nd day was screwed up when Tennessee took Clemson DE Kevin Dodd one pick ahead of Dallas at the top of the 2nd round. But, we'll never know what would have happened now. Enjoy Day 3. My wife has a bunch of honey-do's for me so I will not be able to follow the draft like I want to so I'm going to save myself the grief of watching what kind of crap Jerry and company comes up with today. I am very frustrated because with the Cowboys confusing drafting and the Astros stupid play all I have is how well Lamar's baseball team is doing. That and Houston is flat killing their draft and, good lord, are they killing it. 3 for 3 will totally kick ass picks.

[eagle eye]

The draft is over and Dallas is a winner and maybe they made out like bandits then again maybe they laid a huge egg. We won't know for sure for a couple of years but it looks a lot like they may have done a lot of good things. Here's the draft picks again in case you missed them.

 

Rd 1 - RB Ezekiel Elliott - Ohio State

Rd 2 - LB Jaylon Smith - Notre Dame

Rd 3 - DT Maliek Collins - Nebraska

Rd 4 (1st pick) - DE Charles Tapper - Oklahoma

Rd 4 (2nd pick) - QB Dak Prescott - Mississippi State

Rd 5 No picks

Rd 6 (1st pick) - CB Anthony Brown - Purdue

Rd 6 (2nd pick) - S Kavon Frazier - Central Michigan

Rd 6 (3rd pick) - RB Darius Jackson - Eastern Michigan

Rd 6 (4h pick) - TE Rico Gathers - Baylor

 

More will be written about these guys and some has been written already. Elliott needs no write up. The head and shoulders best RB in the draft who is a 5 tool player. He's fast, he's a great runner, he is willing and able to block for his teammates, he is a really good receiver out of the backfield and he's an unselfish player. Wins all across the board. He's also big enough to take the pounding in the NFL. Easily the best RB Dallas has had since Emmitt Smith retired.

Jaylon Smith had the tools to be the very best player in this draft until a fateful push from behind resulted in a torn ACL and LCL with nerve damage on top of that. Dallas took a chance that he will fully recover and be the dynamic player he was projected as prior to his injury. In other words, Jerry rolled the dice on the chance they get not one, but two, top 5 players in this draft. There is even a hugely remote change Smith will play in 2016 but if Dallas is smart they let him heal completely but the way he jumped up and down when Jerry called him to notify him he was a Cowboy you have to think Dallas knows something everyone else doesn't.

Maliek Collins is a guy with a lot of potential who sometimes doesn't show up. He's lazy. It is thought Collins is a guy that Rod Marinelli wanted and got. It will be up to Marinelli to find a way to motivate him and work the lazy out of him. It is thought he has the talent to be a difference maker at DT.

Charles Tapper is fast for DE. I'm talking 4.58 fast. He could actually be good enough that Dallas can make an example of either Demarcus Lawrence or Randy Gregory for their indiscretions, or not. The Giants have proved that you put 4 badasses on the line and you can wreak havoc on opposing QB's.

Dak Prescott is a big, strong armed QB that needs time to develop. You know, a QB of the future. He needs some good coaching and he needs to improve his accuracy but I pretty sure he's no Stephen McGee.

Anthony Brown is a CB which is a position Dallas needed to address, especially after passing on Jalen Ramsey in the 1st round. Brown has something in common with a lot of Dallas' draft picks, he fast. I'm talking about 4.3 fast with cover ability. He won't have to start but he should get some work and with Brandon Carr and Mo Claiborne only signed through this coming season he could be very important to the Cowboys future.

Kavon Frazier is a safety, another position of need for Dallas. JJ Wilcox and Barry Church are in the final year of their deals. Frazier is a big hitter who is good against the run. He needs work on his pass coverage but that not a talent problem. It is something that can be coached.

Darius Jackson seems like a throwaway pick because they drafted Elliott but he's sort of like Kade Harrington in that he excelled at a small school but he's bigger than Kade. He's 4.40-40 fast and can run with power. Sounds like they got an new and improved Alfred Morris. Drafting the two RB's they have could mean either Darren McFadden or Morris is not long for this roster. Younger, stronger, faster is never a bad thing.

Rico Gathers played basketball at Baylor, not football. In fact he hasn't played football since middle school so to say he's a raw talent is an understatement. But, the guy is super athletic, he has soft hands to catch the ball and he's big as in 6'8" and 273 pounder recently ran a 4.75 40 at the Baylor pro day. He would be looking to make the jump from hoops to the gridiron like Anthony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates. Both of them have helped redefine what a TE can do in the NFL and both will be first ballot Hall of Famers. If Gathers can follow suit I think we just drafted Jason Witten's successor.

When I saw Dallas draft Jaylon Smith Friday night I was both pleased and shocked but as the draft unfolded Dallas addressed every single need except WR and there are a lot of priority free agents out there still. I am still down with Tulsa wideout Keyarris Garrett. He's big (6'3", 220 lbs) and fast (4.40-40 at his pro day) and was considered a real draft day sleeper. It was expected he would go in the 5th or 6th round but he ended up not being drafted. I hope Dallas decides to sign him ASAP before someone else pounces on him.

That's enough for now. I was a roller coaster weekend and, like Christmas, I am happy for the event but I'm glad it's over.

[eagle eye]

The Cowboys may have been done drafting at the end of the sixth round but it didn't they were not still getting players. After the conclusion of the draft Dallas has signed 15 priority free agents. Here's the list of players they signed. You will notice that there aren't any "big bang" UFA's like last year when Dallas signed La'el Collins after the draft. It doesn't mean there isn't a diamond in the rough, you just never know what you can unearth.

 

[TABLE=width: 100%]

[TR]

[TD]Name

[/TD]

[TD]Position

[/TD]

[TD]School

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Caleb Azubike

[/TD]

[TD]DE

[/TD]

[TD]Vanderbilt

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Jake Brendel

[/TD]

[TD]C

[/TD]

[TD]UCLA

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Chris Brown

[/TD]

[TD]WR

[/TD]

[TD]Notre Dame

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Rodney Coe

[/TD]

[TD]DT

[/TD]

[TD]Akron

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Arjen Colquhoun

[/TD]

[TD]CB

[/TD]

[TD]Michigan State

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Ed Eagan

[/TD]

[TD]WR/KR

[/TD]

[TD]Northwestern St.

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]David Hedelin

[/TD]

[TD]OT

[/TD]

[TD]Purdue

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Andy Jones

[/TD]

[TD]WR

[/TD]

[TD]Jacksonville Univ.

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Deon King

[/TD]

[TD]LB

[/TD]

[TD]Norfolk State

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Ryan Mack

[/TD]

[TD]OT

[/TD]

[TD]Memphis

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Jeremiah McKinnon

[/TD]

[TD]CB

[/TD]

[TD]Florida International

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Rolan Milligan

[/TD]

[TD]S

[/TD]

[TD]Toledo

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Jason Neill

[/TD]

[TD]DT

[/TD]

[TD]UT-San Antonio

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Boston Stiverson

[/TD]

[TD]OG

[/TD]

[TD]Kansas State

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Austin Traylor

[/TD]

[TD]TE

[/TD]

[TD]Wisconsin

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

 

Also lost in all the draft hoopla was the fact that Dallas officially exercised the 5th year option on center Travis Frederick. This means he will be guaranteed to be a Cowboy through the 2017 season. It doesn't mean there won't be a longer term deal done but now there is no rush and the O-line will be intact for at least two more years including Doug Free who is also signed through 2017. Free is 32 and he will be 34 when his contract expires. It's hard to believe Frederick has been a Cowboys for 3 seasons already.

 

Another player note: Sean Lee underwent arthroscopic knee surgery over the weekend for minor clean out of the joint. It is certainly not considered a big deal and he will be ready for training camp in July. Lee has just come off his best season as a pro as he made his comeback after tearing his ACL yet again on the first day of OTA's in 2014. Lee started 14 games last season, the 2nd most of his career and he also had 156 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss and 2-1/2 sacks which were all career bests and all that was good enough for Lee to make his first Pro Bowl.

 

The signing of Jaylon Smith and his subsequent recovery from the knee injury that occurred in January will likely pair Sean Lee with Smith who will likely play the MIKE LB spot will make a dynamic combination and along with Kyle Wilbur who is signed through the 2017 season as one of the better LB groups in the NFL. A decision will have to be made concerning Rolando McClain after the season is over because he is playing on a one year deal and his off field marijuana issues have him dangerously close to losing a full season if he fails another drug test. Based on his past McClain is not someone trustworthy enough to make long term plans around. There may be no team in the NFL dumb enough to give this guy a long term deal. Jaylon Smith is not only talented enough to consider him a cornerstone in building a defense his character is such that the Cowboys won't have to worry about him having issues with recreational drug use.

[eagle eye]

The shame about this draft is 1) the Cowboys couldn't work a deal with Seattle to get Paxton Lynch and 2) the passed on top flight pass rushers in the 2nd round and chose a guy who probably won't play this season and might not play at all in Jaylon Smith. Dallas could have boasted the finest draft in ages if only. Now, we have to realize that the reason Dallas didn't to trade with Seattle was because Denver just offered a better deal. Dallas could have trumped the Broncos deal if Jerry had been willing to give up their 3rd round pick instead of their 4 which is what they offered. The Broncos did offer their 3rd round pick which was higher to go along with the last pick in the 1st round. That is significant because Seattle still gets a 1st round pick with the perk of having a 5th year option if the pick works out. Picks in all the rest of the rounds get no 5th year option so it was a big deal. Dallas 3rd round pick was way higher than Denver's so it is quite possible Dallas offer would have been taken by Seattle. There was even talk of offering Seattle their 4th and their 6 round picks in a trade. They didn't and now Jerry has to sit and stew in his own juices over the missed opportunity. I have a friend that would have chipped in for a deal to move up because he loved Paxton Lynch. Lynch is a guy who, given two or three years to sit and learn and go through 3 off seasons and 3 training camps would have been ready to step in for Romo. Now, I guess we are selling Dak Prescott short here but Lynch was clearly the better player and Dallas just didn't offer enough to get him.

As for Jaylon Smith, I like the player but if Dallas was going to take an injured LB why not Myles Jack? Jack will be able to play this season which is a plus over Smith. Smith and Jack were neck and neck as the most beastly athletes in this draft. Jack may not last past his first deal you argue. To which I say, "So freaking what!" You have a healthy Myles Jack for 4 years you might get a Super Bowl or two out of that. That's one argument. The other was why waste a pick on a guy who can't help you when there were still a crap load of pass rushers available. Yes, the Titans and Browns robbed you of your top guys in Emmanuel Ogbah and Kevin Dodd but there was Noah Spence who people said would be a top 10 guy if not for the ecstasy problem that got him kicked out of Ohio State. Not to mention several other good pass rushers who were all ranked higher than Maliek freaking Collins. Collins is an underachiever who had one good season at Nebraska. Collins was the 92nd ranked player in this draft according to CBSSports.com. There were 5 higher ranked DE's who were ranked higher. Hell there were 3 DT's ranked higher than Collins! This is somebody on the coaching staffs' pet cat. For a 4th round pick I have no problem with DE Charles Tapper but both he and Collins are developmental prospects. Say for instance Dallas took Spence then Collins the first 4th rounder could have been a WR or a linebacker. A LB I have been wishing Dallas would take was Joshua Perry from Ohio State. San Diego took him one pick behind the Cowboys in the 4th. Another guy I have been mocking was S Deiondre Hall from Northern Iowa. He went late in the 4th. If Dallas really wanted Jaylon Smith experts say that he would be available in the 4th which isn't a bad spot to take a chance. What it comes down to is Dallas had a choice between injured LB's. One who can play right now who may or may not be able to play out his rookie contract and the other who can't play this year and who might never be the player he could have been if he hadn't been hurt. I'm sorry but I've got to take Myles Jack. Now it's Jacksonville who is the clear winner here because they got Jalen Ramsey AND Myles Jack. I really hope the Cowboys didn't outsmart themselves in this draft. I would have been happy if they got Lynch and Tapper or Perry with their 3rd round pick. I wouldn't mind giving up a 4th and 6th rounder for Lynch. That would have been a good damn draft even if the other picks were busts.

But, what is done is done so there's nothing left to do but strap it up and go and say a prayer or two for Smith's speedy, AND COMPLETE, recovery on the way outside.

[eagle eye]

Want the complete lowdown on all 9 Cowboys draft picks? The link below is to the DallasCowboys.com page that has the best organized and most informative draft recap including a scouting report on the player, the back story on the player's selection, the selection video, and the audio of the phone call by Jerry to the player and photos of the player and this is for all nine of the players picked last weekend.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/content/draft-central-2016

 

If all that isn't enough DC.com's Nick Eatman recaps the draft in his own inimitable style. Nice read.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/05/01/picking-rb-injured-lb-no-trades-highlight-unusual-draft-weekend

[eagle eye]

The Cowboys have a full roster of RB's. Darren McFadden, Alfred Morris, Lance Dunbar, Ben Malena as well as new draft picks Ezekiel Elliott and Darius Jackson. The problem is Dallas normally only has 4 RB's on their roster and they currently have 6. You can be your bottom dollar Dallas wants to keep both their drafted RB's so that's two. Lance Dunbar will likely begin the season on either PUP or IR-Scheduled to Return so that leaves 3 players to fill 2 spots. I like Ben Malena but in all honesty he isn't making this team. He could make the practice squad but he won't be on the final roster. That means your running backs going into the season are McFadden, Morris, Elliott and Jackson. Honestly, I don't like Alfred Morris. He is a poor fit on this team. He's a two down back at best because he sucks at pass protection and he sucks as a receiver. The only thing Morris is good for is short yardage situations and I would bet a dollar to a donut that Jackson is just as good, if not better, at that than Morris is. The fact is, Darius Jackson is a better overall player than Morris right now and so what if Dallas has to eat a couple mil in salary, I'd cut Morris given what Dallas has now. Elliott is the unquestioned starter, if not in Week 1 he will be by mid season. McFadden will be the backup and Jackson will be the jack-of-all-trades but I'll bet he's the go-to guy in short yardage. So, where does that leave Morris? Collecting splinters riding pine. The Cowboys might try to work him in but I'm telling you Jackson is better than Morris in all phases and he leapfrog Morris in training camp. Hell, I could see a scenario where the Cowboys cut Morris and keep Malena as the change of pace back. Here's the scouting report from CBSSports.com's player profiles and tell me he's not better than Morris.

 

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/2000193/darius-jackson

 

DallasCowboys.com's Rob Phillips breaks down what roles the Cowboys first four draft picks will play for the team this year.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/05/02/identifying-specific-roles-finding-fit-cowboys%E2%80%99-first-four-picks

[eagle eye]

The Cowboys are just a few months away from opening their new headquarters in Frisco, Texas aptly named The Star at Frisco. This isn't just a the team HQ and practice facility it is an entire complex that includes practice fields, an event center, a retail shopping mall and an Omni Hotel all within a 9,000 acre site in the suburb north of Dallas. Their current HQ is in Valley Ranch area which is near Arlington and they often refer to the facility as Valley Ranch but, like the new site in Frisco, it is the name of the area where the facility is located. Another big asset of The Star is a 12,000 seat stadium that will be shared by the nine high schools in the Frisco School District. Not one to do things in a small way Jerry Jones plan for The Star was going to be a first class site with everything available to make this a major tourist attraction in the Dallas Metroplex area. The price tag for The Star will be 1.5 Billion dollars. In contrast AT&T Stadium cost 1.2 Billion dollars to build. In the article linked below David Helman of DallasCowboys.com talks about the new facility and there is a video with the article of Roger Staubach and Drew Pearson who were on hand for the ground breaking of the new Ring of Honor Walk. Yep, I am already making plans to visit The Star as soon as humanly possible, after it's finished of course.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/05/04/cowboys-announce-retail-block-ring-honor-walk-new-world-hq-frisco

 

Every year the Cowboys, as well all the other NFL teams, bring in talented minority coaches to work the current staff during mini camps, OTA's and training camp to help train them to be better coaches and train them training exercises and drills to help their own players. It is a program called the Bill Walsh Minority Coaching Fellowship Program that gives minority coaches opportunities they may not otherwise get. This year one of the coaches the Cowboys are bringing in is former Dallas RB Tashard Choice. Choice was a 4th round pick by Dallas in 2008 and he played 3+ seasons for the Cowboys. From Dallas he played for Washington, Buffalo and he finished his career in Indianapolis. He was released by the Colts in February of 2014. Last season he joined the coaching staff at Waxahachie High School under new head coach, and another former Cowboy, Jon Kitna. Participation in the MCFP has led to bigger opportunities for it's participants. There are two coaches on the current Cowboys staff that were part of that program. DL coach Leon Lett was in the program, in fact he began his coaching career as part of that program with the Cowboys. Lett was a D-lineman during the Cowboys run of Super Bowls in the 90's. RB coach Gary Brown was in the program in 2007 with the Carolina Panthers. Brown was an 8th round draft pick out of Penn State in 1991 of the Houston Oilers. He played 5 years in Houston and was out of football in 1996 because of injury. He came back in 1997 with the Chargers and he finished his career with the NY Giants in 1998 and 1999.

 

The Cowboys, as will the rest of the 31 NFL teams, will hold a rookie mini camp beginning tomorrow. All drafted and undrafted rookies for the Cowboys, as well a selected 1st year players will spend 3 days of practice with the Cowboys coaching staff. Of course they will spend some time getting their equipment and go through orientation meetings as well.

 

Now that Jaylon Smith is a Cowboy he is going to move himself to Dallas and he will go through the rehab of his knee under the watchful eye of the Cowboys trainers and medical staff. Smith underwent ACL and LCL ligament repair surgery back in January after the injury occurred in the Fiesta Bowl on January 1st. The issue with Smith isn't the ligament damage, that has been successfully repaired with the surgery, the surgery was performed by the Cowboys team doctor, Dr Dan Cooper. The trouble has been damage to the nerves in his knee and ankle. The hope is those nerves will regenerate and if they do Smith will recover fully from the injury. There is a chance the nerve will never fire or will not fully regenerate which would mean Smith would either never be the player he was before the injury or he will never play a down of football again. I'm sure the input from Dr Cooper gave the Cowboys a reasonable expectation that Smith would fully recover, that the nerve would fire and heal and he would be the player he is supposed to be or Dallas would not have drafted him. Smith actually has been running for 3 weeks and he has done light drill work. All that rehab work will now supervised and overseen by the Cowboys beginning this weekend.

 

An interesting note here regarding Smith. The Fiesta Bowl was played by Notre Dame, which is who Smith played for, and Ohio State. When Smith was hurt when he was pushed in the back an Ohio State lineman causing him to land awkwardly totally destroying the ligaments in his knee. The injury happened in the first quarter with OSU leading 7-0.

 

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=14480100 - If you are squeamish you may not want to look at this video.

 

Ironically, the only player from Ohio State to check on Notre Dame's Jaylon Smith on the field during the game was Ezekiel Elliott who is now Smith's teammate with the Cowboys.

[eagle eye]

Today is the day for the newest Dallas Cowboys, both draftees and UFA's, to have their first workout as Cowboys. Rookie mini camp is this weekend around the NFL as teams get to indoctrinate the new players into what it means to be an NFL player. All nine of the draft picks will be there including Jaylon Smith who is moving his rehab from Notre Dame to Valley Ranch.

It's a big deal for all these young players but a guy like Dak Prescott who has been a lifelong Cowboys fan to get to live out his dream it's extra special. He is the first QB Dallas has drafted since they took Stephen McGee in the 4th round of the 2009 draft. It's ironic that Prescott and McGee were both taken in the 4th round. It would be even more eerie if Prescott had been selected with the 101st pick as McGee was. Dallas had the 101st pick but they selected Oklahoma DE Charles Tapper with that pick. Dallas took Prescott with their compensatory pick in the round at 135. Prescott was ranked much higher than his eventual selection spot and Dallas is fortunate to get him when they did. Prescott was also said to be the 12th highest player on the Cowboys draft board and the 3rd QB behind, I'm assuming, Carson Wentz and Paxton Lynch. Item of note, Prescott was originally assigned jersey number 10 but he changed it to 4 in honor of his mother who passed away in 2013 of colon cancer on September 4. Dallas was impressed with Prescott's intangibles like leadership ability and an "it" factor that inspired his teammates to rally around him. Prescott is truly a QB of the future prospect. The scouting report on him is generally favorable with his passing accuracy an item that needs improvement. Also, he never has worked under center so it is a skill he will need to learn on the fly during mini camps, OTA's and training camp.

 

This week Jerry Jones has said that he is not ruling out Jaylon Smith from playing in 2016. Jones also declared that Smith will not be put on IR ending any chance he will be able to play in 2016. Smith will either be put on the non-football injury list which gives Dallas 6-12 weeks before they need to do anything about his status or he will go on PUP which means he will have to miss a minimum of six weeks before Dallas can either activate him or put him on IR.

I saw a podcast yesterday on DallasCowboys.com called Talkin Cowboys that features DC.com senior writer Mickey Spagnola, former Cowboys lineman Nate Newton, Cowboys TV reporter Lindsey Draper and beat writer Rob Phillips as they did their recap of last weekend's draft. Talkin' Cowboys is only on once a week in the off season so this was the group's first opportunity to talk about Dallas' draft picks. On the show they made points about the Cowboys 3rd round pick DT Maliek Collins and their first 4th round pick DE Charles Tapper that made me feel a whole lot better about them than I originally did.

> About Maliek Collins - He was not impressive in 2015 because he was playing in a 3-4 scheme at Nebraska that meant Collins had to take on double teams and he did not get to rush the passer much. The film to watch was of his 2014 season when he played in a 4-3 scheme of then head coach Bo Pelini. There is when you see Collins jump off the tape. Collins is definitely a favorite of Cowboys DC Rob Marinelli. Mickey Spagnola said Collins is a guy whose is built like a nose tackle and runs like a linebacker. Because of the 4-3 scheme Dallas plays Collins can avoid double teams and be free to attack the line of scrimmage. Again, Rod Marinelli loves this guy.

> About Charles Tapper - It is the same thing. Tapper was a 3-4 DE whose job was to occupy the O-linemen so the linebackers could make plays. He is so much more than that as the video linked below shows Tapper running down Alabama WR Amari Cooper, who was a first round pick by Oakland in 2015 (#4 overall ironically enough) from behind. Tapper is ridiculously fast as he broke the record at the NFL combine for a player weighing 270 or more lbs by running a 4.59-40. Can you imagine a guy this fast only having to deal with one blocker? Tapper can go inside, outside or run stunts and he will be appreciably faster than almost any O-lineman he faces.

 

 

http://www.stack.com/a/271-pound-defensive-lineman-charles-tapper-breaks-nfl-combine-record-with-a-4-59-40-yard-dash

 

So, if you had any doubts about these guys then maybe I helped make you feel better about them too.

 

The other day I posted a link from DallasCowboys.com an article from Bryan Broaddus with scouting reports of seven of the UFA's Dallas will have in rookie mini camp this weekend. There were a couple of player worth mentioning that you may want to follow over the course of the summer to see what they are able to do to make the final 53 or at least do enough to worth a slot on the practice squad. Today I am linking the follow up article from Broaddus talking about the rest of the UFA's. I warn you, it's ugly. Broaddus' assessment of these players isn't pretty. I sort of makes you wonder why Dallas bothered to sign any of them. By his breakdown Broaddus is saying none of these players are worth a crap without actually saying they aren't worth a crap. This is very disappointing because there were players not drafted that were talented, if not a little flawed, to be had. Dallas just didn't go after any of them. Guys like OU LB Eric Striker (Bills), Tulsa WR Keyarris Garrett (Panthers), safeties Tyvis Powell from Ohio State (Seattle) and Jeremy Cash of Duke (Panthers). Cash was the 4th ranked strong safety in this draft class projected to go in the 3rd round. Why would Dallas not take a guy like that? {The names in parentheses are the teams they did sign with}

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/05/05/broaddus-scouting-rest-cowboys-undrafted-free-agents

Edited May 6, 2016 by eagle eye

[eagle eye]

The Cowboys had their first two practices of the rookie mini camp and Bryan Broaddus and David Helman of DallasCowboys.com were on hand to do a live report of Day 1 of the newest Dallas Cowboys.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2016/05/06/minicamp-live-first-look-dak-zeke-field

 

Dallas had to make some roster moves yesterday because after adding the 9 players taken in the draft and the 13 UFA's they signed yesterday it put the Cowboys roster over the 90 player offseason limit. Here's the article from the Cowboys website listing the players Dallas cut and it also gives us the list of the UFA's that Dallas signed.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/05/06/cowboys-make-five-roster-moves-announce-undrafted-free-agents

 

Another item from DC.com is the article about how Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott and Notre Dame's Jaylon Smith were already friends long before becoming teammates last weekend as a result of the NFL draft.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/05/06/elliott-jaylon-smith-were-friends-fiesta-bowl-rookie-minicamp

 

With all the hoopla around the draft about the Cowboys needing pass rush help especially after news about DeMarcus Lawrence pending suspension broke. People forget that Dallas had already addressed the pass rusher need back in March when they signed FA Benson Mayowa who had spent time with Seattle and Oakland. This article from the Cowboys website talks about Mayowa and how he is embracing the opportunity to show what he can do for the Cowboys.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/05/06/mayowa-hoping-turn-heads-given-opportunity-cowboys-d-line

 

Finally in his weekly rant DallasCowboys.com's Mickey Spagnola talks about how much of an impact Ezekiel Elliot could have, from a numbers standpoint, for the Cowboys this year and for at least 5 years going forward. The Mick always comes with a good argument and he brings the numbers to back up what he says. Another home run for Mr Spagnola.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/05/06/spagnola-answers-beauty-double-e-certainly-buried-paydirt

[eagle eye]

Day 2 of rookie mini camp took place yesterday and in this video of the part of the workouts Bryan Broaddus and Rob Phillips take a look at the new LB's and CB's as they go through individual drills.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2016/05/07/rookie-camp-live-d-line-linebackers-work

 

RB Darius Jackson was excited to be drafted by the Cowboys in the 6th round last Saturday. The folks in Jackson's home town were pretty excited too. So excited, as a matter of fact, his home town threw him a parade.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2016/05/07/darius-jackson-draft-surprise-hometown-parade

 

Lost in the hoopla of the draft a little bit was the fact that 2nd round pick Jaylon Smith already knew somebody on the roster. Knew him well because RB Rod Smith, signed last year after Joseph Randle was released, is Jaylon's big brother. Not only that but Rod was Ezekiel Elliott's roommate when Elliott was a Freshman at Ohio State. It's a great situation for the Smith brothers who are playing on the same team for the first time in their lives. Nice story. Rod Smith has also been moved from RB to FB so there is no conflict of interest in the Cowboys backfield. Even better.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/05/07/brother-jaylon-former-roommate-zeke-smith-embraces-position-switch

[eagle eye]

I guess the media decided to take a day off yesterday. The rest of the NFL rookies practiced though completing the 3 day rookie mini camp across the league. Just nobody wrote about it. Everyone needs a day off and frankly nothing special was happening. In a lot of cases watching football practice is like watching paint dry after the initial excitement of seeing the newest members of the NFL get on the field on Friday and Saturday, Sunday was just another day. The next official practices will involve the whole team begins on May 26 for the first of the planned OTA's. In the mean time Phase II of the offseason program is underway meaning players can work out being supervised by the team training staff and doctors. This is the time when the rookies get some series workout time under NFL supervision. It's the time when these college boys begin to become men according to NFL standards.

 

Dez Bryant made an appearance at Valley Ranch on Saturday introducing himself to all the rookies on hand for the mini camp and welcoming them into the Cowboys family. He is currently doing rehab for the surgery he had on his ankle and foot that he had problems with all season after breaking his foot in Week 1 against the Giants. Dez tried coming back too soon despite warning from players like Atlanta's Julio Jones who came back too early from a broken foot. Dez struggled all season with his foot and ankle and he got the surgeries to permanently correct the problem. Jason Garrett said Dez was doing everything according to the trainers and doctors instructions and he was full speed ahead in his rehab efforts. Cowboys WR coach Derrick Dooley agreed Dez is doing well in his rehab but he has not been medically cleared by the doctors as yet. It's looking like Dez will be 100% and cleared to practice by June 1st.

Tony Romo's collarbone has healed and after it was completely healed he went through a procedure to shave down the collar bone at the shoulder joint to give the bone more freedom to move which should protect him from another break down the road. He recovered from that surgery and has been throwing for about 3 or 4 weeks. There appear to be no roadblocks to Romo's ability to practice when full team workouts commence on May 26th. Romo, like Dez, came back too soon from his broken collarbone a the Sunday before Thanksgiving and after Dallas beat the Dolphins on that Sunday they got spanked by Carolina on Thanksgiving and Romo rebroke his collarbone in the game. It's awesome both players wanted and did come back but it's not awesome that they came back too soon and cost their team over the long haul of the season because of it. Hopefully last season was the exception and both Romo and Dez as well as the rest of the Cowboys roster remains healthy all season in 2016 and beyond.

[eagle eye]

With all the draft grades for the most recent draft flying around we all know that you won't know just how good or bad a draft is for 5 years. So I figured to look at the 2011 draft class and see what I, and you, think about that draft class now.

 

Rd 1 Pick #9 - OT Tyron Smith - This is a home run. Smith is one of the best OT's in the NFL and the 10 year contract extension he got a couple of years ago will ensure he will be a Cowboy into his 30's. Grade: A+

 

Rd 2 Pick #40 - LB Bruce Carter - Not a terrible pick. He made some plays for Dallas in his 4 years in Dallas. He wasn't what they hoped he'd be so they let him test free agency and he went to Tampa Bay for one year in 2015 and he is now a NY Jet. The fact he's still in the NFL speaks to the fact that he's a reasonably good player. Grade: B-

 

Rd 3 Pick #71 - RB DeMarco Murray - Murray had some great games for Dallas and in 2014 he had the best season in Cowboys history gaining over 1,800 yards. Injuries slowed him down his first three seasons but he did show flashes of what he could be coming out of Oklahoma. He just wanted too much money in free agency after that 2014 season which he got from Philadelphia. Trouble was he was a terrible fit in the Chip Kelly offense. Murray chased the money and he's probably kicking his own ass for doing it. He was dealt to Tennessee in the offseason and it remains to be seen how he will do there but he will split carries with rookie RB Derrick Henry who was a Heisman Trophy winner at Alabama in 2015. Grade: B+

 

Rd 4 Pick #110 - OG David Arkin - For a 4th round pick Arkin has to be considered a disappointment. He was never good enough to make a roster but he's spent most of his time in the NFL as a practice squad guy. He's still in the NFL now with his 5th team in 5 years, the LA Rams. You would have to consider this a 4th round bust for the Cowboys. Grade: D

 

Rd 5 Pick #143 - CB Josh Thomas - This guy is a career backup player who seems to specialize signing short term deals to replace guys who are suspended or injured. He's been with 7 different teams in his 5 years in the NFL including 2 different stints with the Cowboys. Definite bust. Grade: F

 

Rd 6 Pick #176 - WR Dwaine Harris - This guy was a special teams ace as a punt and kickoff return man. He was only given limited snaps as a wide receiver. He was used mostly on bubble screens and end arounds which he was very good at. He was allowed to go test free agency after the 2014 season mainly because of salary cap limitations by the Cowboys. The NY Giants picked him up and after Victor Cruz was injured Harris got the chance he was waiting for and he made the most of it add a lot of speed and pop to the Giants offense. Grade B+

 

Rd 7 Pick #220 - FB Shaun Chapas - Who?, might be your response here. Chapas was a fullback prospect who could never make a roster coming out of training camp. He only played 6 games in his NFL career that lasted 4 years. His last two seasons he was just a practice squad player who was waived before the 2013 and 2014 seasons began by Jacksonville and Baltimore respectively. Grade: F

 

Rd 7 Pick #252 - C Bill Nagy - He made the roster and actually started four games before breaking his ankle against the Patriots. He was placed on season ending IR at that time. In 2012 he reinjured his ankle and was waived injured by the Cowboys and later picked up by Detroit who was willing to take a chance on his recovery. Nagy never really fully recovered and his football career was over after 2 years. He is now on the coaching staff for his alma mater Wisconsin. Nagy looked like he may have a future in the NFL until the ankle injury derailed his NFL career. Unrealized potential is the base of his story. Grade: D (because of his injuries)

 

So to determine the overall draft grade I assigned a number to each grade, A=5, B=4, C=3 and so on. I added a half point for +'s and subtracted a half point for -'s. The final grade for the 2011 draft class is an aggregate 24 for all 8 draft picks leaving an average score of 3.0 which is a C.

Not great but certainly not a bust. Losing Harris was tough and losing DeMarco Murray after the 2014 season was a bitch but his presence probably wouldn't have matter after injuries to Romo and Dez derailed the Cowboys offense. The Bill Naga lose was unfortunate and it hurt the overall score of the draft class. Whiffing on their 4th round pick was bad because that is still a round you figure to get a good player. Hitting on the first 3 picks really helped make this draft class a success. The bad thing is only one player from that class is still with the Cowboys though I'm sure many people miss Murray and Dwaine Harris. Revisionist history on my part thought this wasn't all that great a draft and I'm glad I was wrong about that.

[eagle eye]

The Cowboys got through the rookie mini camp without anyone getting hurt so that's a plus. Now it's just working out at Valley Ranch with the trainers until the first full team OTA's begin later this month.

 

There is one change to the coaching staff. LB's coach Matt Eberflus has been given the title of Defensive Passing Game Coordinator. It's a new position that was created to help link the front end of the defense with the back end so the whole group can work as a unit. The position was created for the reason I already posted and because the Cowboys also think a lot of Eberflus. Eberflus came to the Cowboys a few years ago when Rob Ryan was hired as defensive coordinator and he stayed with Dallas after Ryan was fired. The Cowboy see Eberflus as a potential defensive coordinator down the road and a possible successor to Rod Marinelli when he retires. Check this article from the Bleacher Report about Eberflus.

 

http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-cowboys/cowboys/2016/05/10/cowboys-dc-rod-marinelli-lbs-coach-matt-eberflus-new-role-just

 

So, we all know what Dallas did in the draft and the debate over whether 2016 was a good draft year or not will continue as the fortunes rise, or fall, for this year's draft class. The foremost thing teams set their sights on is winning their division. It is the only sure way to get into the playoffs. With that in mind it would seem prudent to see just what kind of opportunities for success the Cowboys face in the coming year. Linked below is an article from DallasCowboys.com's resident scout and beat writer Bryan Broaddus talking about the rest of the NFL East beginning with the 2015 division winning Washington Redskins and how they fared in the draft and their prospects for the coming season.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/05/10/nfc-east-draft-review-broaddus-see-doctson-bolstering-redskins%E2%80%99-wr-corps

[eagle eye]

Bryan Broaddus continues he assessment of the Cowboys NFC East opponents' drafts today with a look at the Giants The biggest difference for the Giants is they no longer have Tom Coughlin, the coach that led this team to two Super Bowls during his time in NY. It may be his successor Ben McAdoo is a great coach but only time will tell about that.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/05/11/nfc-east-draft-review-broaddus-breaks-down-giants%E2%80%99-additions-secondary

 

Yesterday the Cowboys had their annual charity gold event at the Cowboys golf club in Dallas. Jerry and Stephen Jones as well as Jason Garrett gave a brief interview during the event. The golf tournament is supported by the Cowboys players who not only play in the event but contribute to the event with behind the scenes work. Among those in attendance was DE Randy Gregory, he of the 4 game suspension for substance abuse. He was on hand for the event and the media took notice of his presence. Jones was asked about his appearance at the event and his reply is covered in this article from DallasCowboys.com article by David Helman. The bottom line is Gregory is aware of his failure to the Cowboys, but it doesn't mean that he will do anything about it. Marijuana is not addictive but people like to smoke it. They like the way it makes them feel. It does have some medicinal value. The bad side of it is that it's a banned substance by the NFL and it's illegal in most states. So, you have to make a choice, do you want to continue to smoke weed and probably throw your NFL career out the window or do you straighten up and fly right and wait to get high after your NFL career is over? Seems like a pretty easy choice but up to this point Gregory has chosen weed over his NFL career and that is a shame. I'm sure he's heard it all from his Cowboys teammates and the coach and the owner/GM how he had let the organization down. We'll see. It was a positive sign that he showed up to the charity golf event, maybe it's an indication that he's finally made the right life choice for himself and, by proxy, the Cowboys.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/05/11/jerry-jones-randy-gregory-has-his-demons-understands-expectations

 

Speaking of the Cowboys Charity Golf Tournament, here's a photo slide show of the event from DallasCowboys.com. There isn't a caption to the photo but can anyone guess who the heck is signing a golf ball in photo #2? I sure can't. He doesn't look big enough to be Travis Frederick. Hmmm

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/galleries/2016/05/11/2016-dallas-cowboys-golf-classic

 

What's really strange, since we've been talking about suspended players, is there is not a single word about DeMarcus Lawrence's suspension appeal. To time table for the appeal so nothing concrete Dallas can hang their hat on. All the Cowboys can do in regard to Lawrence is have a Plan A and a Plan B until they do finally find out what will happen with him. It sounds sort of unfair for a team to be put through that.

[eagle eye]

Bryan Broaddus concludes his profile of the NFC East draft picks with a look at Philadelphia Eagles. It looks like the Eagles will have a couple of years to reman the team after Chip Kelly raped the Eagles roster. If he was actually trying to sabotage the Eagles Kelly couldn't have done a better job than he did. The Eagles will be salary cap handcuffed for years just over DeMarco Murray's deal which was such a waste of money for Philly and a terrible career move by Murray who was a terrible fit in the Chip Kelly hurry up offense. In the span of just two years Kelly had jettisoned high impact players like DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy and Jeramy Maclin to name just a few. Maybe people are right, Chip Kelly is a great coach but a lousy GM. His track record as a GM is a disaster for sure but I think the jury is still out on all this genius stuff. Of course Kelly is no longer in Philly but he is in San Francisco to vex the Bay Area fans. Philly has a new coach, Doug Pederson which is like the Eagle going back to Andy Reid in a manner of speaking. Pederson has been on an Andy Reid coaching staff for the entirety of his pro coaching career working his way up from offensive quality control coordinator to offensive coordinator for Reid when he moved to Kansas City. The Eagles enjoyed their longest period of success under Reid and I'm sure Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie felt a huge amount of sellers remorse when he let Reid go and hiring Pederson is the only way to get Reid back even if it is by proxy. Pederson inherited a real mess left by Kelly and the Eagles have been extremely busy in the off season making deals allowing good players to leave to get draft picks. All this in an attempt to sweep away the remnants of anything Chip Kelly and basically rebuilding the team from scratch. Now, I have to say here that I hate the Eagles and I have hated them for as long as I can remember so all this turmoil just makes me happy. And turmoil is what the Eagles are going through right now. They have pretty much sacrificed the present to win in the future and with a guy like Pederson running things the Eagles could actually be better than expected. Even at that Philly has made some weird moves especially at QB. First, they agree on a 2 year deal with Sam Bradford then in free agency they signed backup QB from the Chiefs Chase Daniel to a 3 year deal then they dealt away a boat load of draft picks in this year's and next year's draft to move up in the draft to get the No 2 pick overall selecting Carson Wentz with the pick. Wentz signed his deal with Philly this week for 4 years and around 26 million dollars. All together the Eagles have tied up around 22 mil for QB's in 2016.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/05/12/nfc-east-draft-review-evaluating-eagles%E2%80%99-picks-starts-ends-wentz

[eagle eye]

Here is a quote from the Bleacher Report. "He may be the best value pick in the whole NFL draft." Who would you guess the answer is referring to? Elliott? Smith? Would you believe they are talking about DE Charles Tapper from Oklahoma? Here's an article I found in Bleacher Report that comes from DallasNews.com in their Sportsday section. It is the transcript of an interview with local sportscaster Newy Scruggs.

 

http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-cowboys/cowboys/2016/05/13/scruggs-one-scout-says-cowboys-may-got-best-value-pick-whole-draft

 

Another article gleaned from Sportsday via Bleacher Report on 1st impressions of Zeke and Jaylon.

 

http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-cowboys/cowboys/2016/05/13/future-franchise-cowboys-first-impressions-rookies-ezekiel-elliott-jaylon-smith

 

This article and video is also from BR and the source is from The Sporting News. The article is about Jerry Jones saying that DE Randy Gregory is the best pass rusher in the last two drafts. Maybe, but he sure didn't show much last season after missing time because of an injury. No sacks in 2015. The interview with Jones occurred at the Cowboys charity golf event this past week. In the article Jones says that Gregory's situation has been made abundantly clear to him and what is expected of him but I figure they laid that out when he fell to Dallas in the 2nd round last year. Late in the 2nd round at that. The question that needs to be answered by Gregroy is, which do you love more, football or smoking weed?". Of course we all know what answer we want to hear but, it is the answer he gives? I guess only time will tell. What happens if he fails a test this summer? What then? If I'm Jones I cut the bastard immediately and send him to live with Johnny Manziel and Josh Gordon. Dallas should wash their hands of him if he fails another drug test. Period.

 

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/dallas-cowboys-jerry-jones-calls-randy-gregory-best-pass-rusher-last-two-nfl-drafts/8iw73ifgpja71y0b52ituz0cu

[eagle eye]

I've been wondering about what Dallas intends to do about backup QB. Are they really happy with Kellen Moore? Will Dak Prescott prove to be a trustworthy backup for Tony Romo? Will Dallas sign a veteran guy to allow Prescott to sit and learn? Honestly, if Romo goes down again this season it won't be pretty in Dallas but if he misses and game or two am I good with what Dallas now has? Eh. Steven Beuerlein, Rodney Peete and Bernie Kosar all were on board for Cowboys Super Bowl runs in the 1990's. So far in Tony Romo's career the only guy worth noting is Kyle Orton who left after just one season with Dallas because he didn't like Romo. The fact is Orton didn't like football any more. I guess you could throw Jon Kitna in there but by the time he got to Dallas he was a shadow of himself. IMHO I think Dallas should stop messing around with half assed QBs and try to get someone who is capable of leading the team to a win or two. Right now there is a guy available named Ryan Fitzpatrick who would be perfect for the job. Trouble is he's over 30 and he wants to be a starter in the NFL. It's more than a little likely his preference would be with the Jets who he started for last season. He would sure be a nice fit in Dallas assuming he is cool with being a backup.

Today it's being reported that the Tennessee Titans have released QB Zack Mettenberger whom the Titans draft two years ago in the 4th round. How sad is it for a young QB to be released because he lost his job to Matt Cassel? Cassel didn't lay and egg in Dallas last year, he laid a king sized turd. If I'm Mettenberger I'm pissed off. Maybe Zack isn't very good but I'd bet anyone lunch he was the victim of bad coaching in Tennessee. If Dallas had not drafted Prescott I would have been clamoring for the Cowboys to sign Mettenberger. You also have to worry about what the Jets are going to do with 2014 draft pick from Baylor Bryce Petty after the Jets drafted Christian Hackenberg this year. Petty is another guy with all the measurables and a strong arm but Dallas doesn't need another project QB since they got Prescott. Moore or Prescott or someone else. It sure is going to be one of the biggest stories of the summer for the Cowboys.

 

The fact that Cowboys free agents Greg Hardy, Jeremy Mincey, Danny McCrea, Nick Hayden and Tyler Klutts didn't get signed before May 12 means Dallas will get no additional compensatory draft picks in 2017. Dallas did have two FA's signed this off season in Matt Cassel, Mackenzy Bernadeau and Robert Turbin don't rate compensatory picks especially since Dallas has signed Cedric Thornton, Joe Looney, Alfred Morris and Benson Mayowa which offsets what Dallas would get for the guys they lost. The Cowboys will hopefully not have a high draft pick next year either so that's why this year's draft is so important. It will be even more important if the guys they have drafted turn out to be something special.

[eagle eye]

Like the Texans did last weekend sponsoring a baseball charity event at Minute Maid Park the Cowboys held their own event at the Dr Pepper Ball Park in Frisco. This is the sixth year of the Reliant Home Run Derby and the second year in a row JJ Wilcox has won the event. There were 9 Cowboys players in the event as well as head coach Jason Garrett. It was Garrett who came in second behind Wilcox. The Cowboys raised $50K for The Salvation Army on the day with Wilcox, by virtue of his $11,300 leading the way. Jason Garrett earned $7K. Base hits were worth $100 and home runs were worth $500 which gives you an idea how well Wilcox and Garrett did. Jason Witten finished in 3rd place with $6,200. Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin, Tyrone Crawford, Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr combined to raise the total raised to $50,000. Here's a slide show of the event.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/05/17/cowboys-raise-50000-salvation-army-reliant-hr-derby

 

There were still folks at Valley Ranch working yesterday as they signed workout invitee Austin Traylor, a TE from Wisconsin, to the 90 man roster. To make room for Traylor the Cowboys released long snapper Brandon Hartson. Here is a scouting report by Bryan Broaddus from DallasCowboys.com.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/05/17/scouting-report-new-te-traylor-accomplished-developing-blocker

[eagle eye]

Four of the Cowboys 9 draft picks signed their first contracts yesterday. Ezekiel Elliott and 3 of the four 6th round picks, RB Darius Jackson, CB Anthony Brown and S Kevon Frazier signed 4 year deals yesterday. It is thought that Elliott's deal will be $25MM with $16MM in guaranteed money. The difference between Elliott's deal and all the other draft pick's deals is Dallas will have a 5th year option, if they decide to exercise it, that will keep Elliott in Dallas for 5 years.

 

Among any doubts about the Cowboys starting CB's at least you won't have to question whether or not they are motivated. In the article below it talks about the chip Brandon Carr, Mo Claiborne and Orlando Scandrick carry on their shoulders heading into OTA's and the other offseason work the Cowboys will do. Each has their own motivation to do well. Scandrick is coming back from a torn ACL and MCL while Carr and Claiborne are on one year deals trying to make an impression on the NFL who may want to sign them after this season is over or prove to the Cowboys they need to stick around and are worth the money to keep them.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/05/18/scandrick-eyes-return-cowboys-cornerbacks-have-no-shortage-motivation

 

Here's an article from ESPN Dallas by reporter Jean Jacque Taylor about the prospectus on DL Tyrone Crawford. Crawford had torn his rotator cuff in his right shoulder early on in 2015 that compromised his effectiveness by a huge margin. He had offseason surgery to repair his shoulder and he is looking to hit the field running to justify the $42MM contract he signed last September.

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4751193/tyrone-crawford-happy-to-be-at-full-strength-again

 

Back to CB for a second. The Cowboys need good depth because even if all 3 guys mentioned above did well, especially if all 3 do well, Dallas won't be able to keep them all. That pesky salary cap makes keeping your own players so darn difficult without neglecting the other needs the team has. So, this article from scout.com via the Bleacher Report talks about 3 viable CB prospects Dallas has on its roster that Dallas would love to see show up and make noise in this offseason work.

 

http://www.scout.com/nfl/cowboys/story/1670558-the-coming-battle-for-cowboys-extra-corner

[eagle eye]

Earlier this week Cowboys 2nd round pick and their last pick in the 6th round both signed their rookie contracts. Jaylon Smith and Rico Gathers are officially under contract leaving only DT Maliek Collins, DE Charles Tapper and QB Dak Prescott as the only draft picks left unsigned.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/05/20/cowboys-sign-jaylon-smith-and-rico-gathers-rookie-contracts

 

Dallas begins Phase III of the offseason program next week and that means, outside of player signings, charitable events and injuries there isn't much to talk about. Thus the writers at DallasCowboys.com got together and decided to rank the top 50 players they will face in the upcoming season. In the article linked below they begin the series with #50, Lions QB Matthew Stafford.

 

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/05/20/top-50-writers-rank-best-players-2016-schedule-veteran-qb-kicks-list