Cowboys Will Be Working Early
Posted: April 28, 2007 @ 11:32 pm
They’ve got the 4th pick of the 2nd day.
Some names to consider at that spot:
1. Tanard Jackson, DB, Syracuse
2. Doug Free, OT, Northern Illinois
3. Paul Soliai, NT, Utah
4. Antonio Johnson, DT, Miss. State
5. Josh Beekman, OL, Boston College
6. David Clowney, WR, Virginia Tech
7. Jay Moore, DE, Nebraska
8. Brian Robison, DE, Texas
9. Michael Bush, RB, Louisville
10. Michael Coe, CB, Alabama St.
11. Jermon Bushrod, OT, Towson State
12. Brannon Condren, S, Troy
13. Allen Barbre, OG, Missouri Southern
These are the leavings from Rick Gosselin’s Top 100, which didn’t measure up to its reputation this year, falling apart in the middle of round two and losing coherence in round three.
This tells me there was nothing approaching consensus among NFL War Rooms this year, because his is a composite board.
Other names to watch:
Anthony Arline, CB, Baylor
Courtney Brown, CB, Cal Poly
Tarell Brown, CB, Texas
John Wendling, FS, Wyoming
Ben Patrick, TE, Delaware
LaRon McClain, FB, Alabama
Aundrae Allison, WR, East Carolina
Dallas Baker, WR, Florida
Chansi Stuckey, WR, Clemson
Courtney Taylor, WR, Auburn
Comments
141 Responses to “Cowboys Will Be Working Early”
am i !st 4 once
slim pickings
Looking at the least it is hard to chose maybe DE Brian Robison
I think we should trade away the remanider of our picks for a quality veteran player in the CB position, like I said in the other bolg posting we still have some empty roles to fill and CB needs younger or semi veteran legs!!
Man, those are some good players.
I wonder if we had any interest in Aaron Ross before the Gianst picked him, he would of and I think could of been a good CB!
Scout,
Who are good players???
I like Soliai and maybe Le Ron McClain in the 4th round, but wouldn’t be disappointed with either Doug Free or Barbre. I wish Dallas had gotten one of the WRs - maybe Aundrae Allison would be worth a try of whats left.
Jerry; 3 drunks at the end of the bar could have helped the Cowwboys more then you after the trade at 22.
Thank you Jerry, Larry Lacewell and Jeff Ireland for screwing the Cowboys in the 2nd and 3rd round.
Jerry is back in change and the Cowboys are screwed again. Wade is no Bill and Cowboy fans will pay the price.
Tanard Jackson apparently able to play corner and safety, so he might be a good choice.
Otherwise, there are some centers we might want to look at in the sixth round like Leroy Harris or Doug Datish.
I’m still high on Walter Thomas in the seventh (or in FA). Not to brag too much, but I was the one who introduced the blog to him about a month ago. Last week there was an NY Times article about Thomas, in which it states that he can do a standing backflip AT THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY FOUR LBS!!!
Yeh, basically I’m definitely for Thomas.
CHARB,
I Agree with you!!
I didn’t see anyone I would have picked ( or anyone the blog had picked) after the 53 pick so obviously the picks weren’t there. Lets quit the doomsday quips!
This is how we should of done it it in the first round: traded up to maybe 16th drafted Aaron Ross if available for a second round pick Then at our pick 22nd we should of drafted Jarrett
There isnt anyone really left that will help us!!!
I thought the Cowboys were in great position to get a WR and CB in the 2nd and an O-lineman with 2 seconds and a thrid, but no Jerry Jerry got cute and screwed the Cowboys again.
Jerry you were never smarter then Jimmy and your not smarter then Bill.
Does anyone at Valley Ranch know what they are doing?
I’m not sure what y’all were complaining about
We’ve been pretty good in the fourth round the past couple years at getting good value, like Canty and Barber III. We have two 4th round picks, one first thing in the morning, and there are still some pretty solid players on the board (the list above is just Gosselin’s, and this has not been one of his stronger drafts) that can add a lot to our team. Not only that, but there are some sleepers available late in the draft, and we’ve got 5 picks in the last two rounds.
We traded a 3rd and a 5th for a 1st next year, that’s almost guaranteed to be top-ten, and we got one of the better pass-rushers at the top of the draft (Shaun Phillips take two). We also got a versatile O-linemen that, after a year or two in our strength training program, could take over at any position along the line besides center.
Why not take a flyer on Michael Bush?
Gosselin calls him 1st round talent.
Best of all, we don’t need him this year, he can heal.
Charb:
Well, enlighten us with your opinion, of the players that were available, can you tell me the names of the players that would have been much better choices.
OTOH, I’m already pulling for the Browns rivals next season, looking up at 2008 I’m seeing some real interesting names:
Limas Sweed, WR, Texas
Jake Long, OT, Michigan
Sam Baker, OT, Southern California
Frank Okam, NT, Texas
Zach Bowman, CB, Nebraska
Justin King, CB, Penn State
Among others, it’s going to be a rich Draft for positions of need, maybe that has something to do with this year’s philosphy, year that isn’t known for the vast amount of quality in those positions.
There was quality at receiver, but it was gone by pick 53.
I don’t understand the anti-Goose point here. If it was a tough draft to pin down, why was Gosselin’s mock not up to snuff? I was listening to the Ticket today and after 35 picks, according to Norm Hitzges, picks number 1 through 35 were in his top 34. Sounds like a darn fine job to me.
Cnnsi.com lists Tanard Jackson as mid-second round talent, but lacks the speed to be a great cover corner. Sounds like a great fit for a converted safety to me, maybe give Watkins a run for his money at backup, could play some nickel or dime in the meantime if he gets hurt. Also good on special teams. Let’s hope he falls past the Raiders and Ravens, who both need defensive secondary help.
TruCowboyFan:
How would the Cowboys have gotten another first round pick this year with their 2nd pick? Was Green Bay going to give it to them just because they are good guys?
You don’t make a great deal with the Brown’s and turn it into nothing.
Bad teams stay bad because they can’t good players and the Cowboys have been the Browns, Lions and Texans when Jerry makes the personal decisions.
Thanks Jerry for ten Years of ZERO playoff wins.
Dallas likes Free and Barbre. Ya’ll probably know that.
Soliai- I think he has a character issue. I could be wrong. He’s huge.
He ran a great 40 at the combine.
Tank Tyler reminds me of Feurgusen.
This guy is the big space eater Phillips likes. A guy like him would allow players like Carpenter and Burnett to attack inside. We’ll find out what they think of him, because we’re hurting there.
I thought Jackson would be gone.
Johnson is a NT prospect.
I have heard good things about Coe. He is a project, but teams like him.
Allison ran very well at the combine.
They say he could be a number 2 WR. I think he was supposed to go in the 3rd. He got lost in the WR blitzkrieg.
I believe Tyler is gone.
Chandus
Trading back into the first round was the first mistake.
37 Blalock
53 Wilson
122 Waters/ Edwards
take your pick
For tomorrow, I’m hoping NT, corner, and more O-line. And I suppose WR can get a look too, if we must.
(Frankly I say we’re fine already with Crayton, Austin, Heard, and CFL guy.)
Most of the draft analysts seem to think very highly of Anthony Spencer, don’t know why so many of you are bummed out about getting him.
Does anyone know anything about Kolb that Philly took? Seems like a big mistake to me.
vandy,
There it was in our hands, we could of unloaded Julius Jones for a 15th or 16th pick in the first round. we could of dealt in other options to get Charger’s RB Turner to take JJ’s place, imagine two impact RB if Tuner and Barber were together… gosh it would of been sweet!
Could the 2nd and 3rd round have been more disappointing?
Face it we missed out on alot of valuable players….. In reality guys am I right????
Charb,
Everything to this point is disappointing!!! We donrt need a pick next year we needed to recruit some talent this year!!
bobsagat,
You answered your own question. It was way off *because* there was no consensus. Lots of guys 15-20 and even 30 spots higher or lower than rated. Lots of guys at the end who are not ranked.
So he had 34 or the first 35. EVERYBODY has that. The good draft books keep some relationship through the second and begin swinging in the 3rd.
Gosselin is very good at this — when there is some consensus of the talent.
Charb,
Yes, please, who are these magic men who could have saved Dallas. Especially at 53; who was there who would have you sleeping better than Anthony Spencer.
There were five top level rushers in the draft. Four of them — Adams, Anderson, Carriker and Moss — were gone by pick 17.
Dallas wheeled up and down, gathered an ‘08 1st and still got their guy.
You notice that after Spencer went at 26, there wasn’t another DE picked until the 46th pick?
How would a WR help this team more this year and a quality pass rusher?
Think of it this way. Spencer is the undisputed #1 player at his position when you consider he’s playing linebacker. Of the top 5 DEs, only Gaines Adams could play his position and he doesn’t appear to have the muscle-mass that Spencer has. The Patriots were going to take him. That means something. He is a better prospect than Shaun Phillips, and Purdue has produced some good DE/OLBs.
If that doesn’t change your mind, this might:
The Eagles don’t fear us. If they did, they would not have traded down and taken a quarterback.
1. They could have taken Spencer away from us at 26 and made us look real stupid.
2. They could have taken Meachem, and the Patriots would grabbed Meriweather and Spencer.
The Eagles could have won the division if they would have just picked. They made us stronger when we took a huge risk, and they made the Saints the team to beat.
We dodged a bullet; we got the player I know Wade wanted, and we have Cleveland’s first. It should be a top ten pick.
This kind of attitude will filter down to the Eagles’ players. They got us good last year, but if Dallas works their butts off and stays healthy, we will beat them, twice.
Mark it.
Jerry wants juice, OK. Where is the Juice? Trading 3 picks for Spencer is not juice. Maybe Jerry can trade the 4th rounders for 10 7th rounders. Jerry is out of control.
TruCowboyzFan,
Where is this mystical Packers trade you speak of? Where Green Bay magically hands over mid-first round picks? Give me a link, please.
At pick 36 (the pick that Dallas took from Cleveland) this were the next 15 players that were selected:
Kolb, Kevin QB
Weddle, Eric SS
Miller, Zach TE
Blalock, Justin OT
Beck, John QB
Houston, Chris CB
Ugoh, Tony G
Stanton, Drew QB
Rice, Sidney WR
Jarrett, Dwayne WR
Woodley, LaMarr DE
Harris, David ILB
Durant, Justin ILB
Irons, Kenny RB
Henry, Chris RB
Are they better prospects than Anthony Spencer?
We do have many LBers, I’ll give you that, but last season Ware played close to 100% of the snaps. Ellis too before going down. Last season if we hadn’t taken Carpenter, God knows that we would have been stucked with Singleton at OLB for 10 games.
Ware, Ellis, Carpenter, Spencer and Burnett sound like a strength at OLB, in a scheme in which pressure is the way to win games.
But let’s look at pick 53:
Wright, Eric CB
McBride, Turk DT
Wilson, Josh CB
Crowder, Tim DE
Abiamiri, Victor DE
Alama-Francis, Ikaika DE
Kalil, Ryan C
Satele, Samson C
Alexander, Gerald FS
Bazuin, Dan DE
Jackson, Brandon RB
Piscitelli, Sabby SS
Moses, Quentin DE
Young, Usama CB
The positions of need were DB, OT, WR, NT and C, tell me who were the no brainers and I’ll talk about the question marks on all those players.
Raf,
WE need a better CB than A.Glenn and Henry!! T.O and Glenn are aging might as well of drafted a WR (Jarrett)this year than have to go through a whole lota stress in a year or two once they retire or get a pink slip!!
Raf,
It is for say! LOL!! Fantasy drafting before any picks! What if it were a possiblity?? We could of gotten further up for Julius Jones!!
Ummm, my last comment is awaiting moderation…
Tell me if we kept 22nd who would of we drafted…. SOMEONE TELL ME!!!!!
Raf
If Spencer is the key the Cowboys Super Bowl run; then why get cute?
I’m so disappionted with the 2nd and 3rd round; I’m sick. Jerry has screwed this franchise for adecade and now Cowboys have hope.
How can Cowboy fans accept Jerry screwing it up again?
Charb,
Yes, where is the juice?
– Sidney Rice? The guy one of my draft books refers to as the second coming of Antonio Bryant, because of his immaturity?
– Dwayne Jarrett? Who is slow and described as a “locker room cancer?”
– Steve Smith? The definition of workout warrior? The guy of whom one report says, “scouts are amazed by his workouts, where he flashed speed they didn’t know he had…”
These guys?
ALL OF THEM WERE GONE BY PICK 53!
Either Dallas takes Blalock, one of these three or Spencer. Or they trade up in the second to get Blalock and the WR, but have no defensive help.
But you would rather have a guard to groom than a rusher whom Todd McShay predicted will be the defensive rush leader last week?
Cause the defense was just dandy in December, right?
It’s likely that Jerry still would have taken Spencer.
This years drafted contained ALOT of talent every team got a piece of it but did we…. No i didnt think so!!
If I were Dallas I would of at least gotten Blalock!!
TruCowboysFan and Charb,
The Morning News has had a post up since early evening saying Spencer would have been drafted at 22 if they stayed.
They liked him better than Meriweather.
And you did notice that Revis, Ross, Hall, Griffin and Nelson went right before Dallas picked, right?
They weren’t available.
So Dallas moved up and down, still got Spencer and got Cleveland’s #1 next year.
They didn’t get cute. Getting cute would have been staying at 36 and losing out on the guy they wanted and settling for a guard.
RAF,
In your opinion before the draft started who do you think would of been a good fit for dallas?????
So you guys are hot and bothered because Dallas took Spencer instead of Blalock?
Funny.
Tru,
I put five mocks up, man. It was pretty clear who I though was helpful before the draft.
Tru:
First, I like Turner very much and he is certainly not out of the question.
Second, there is no way GB would have traded us their first round pick, even for our 2nd and Julius. That was not going to happen.
Third, we missed out on alot of valuable college players. Last year was no different. This means nothing about how they will play in the pros. In fact, I remember very clearly how many kudos Philly got for last year’s draft. Looking back, it pretty much sucked. There really wasn’t a single player who made much of an impact at all last year.
Bottom line is that we need to see it in action before we start deriding Jones, et. al. regarding their picks. Frankly, despite the razzle dazzle, I think they have been pretty methodical. If I was to take a guess, their board probably looked something like:
1) Spencer/Merriweather
2) CB/FS
3) backup OT
Since Houston and Weddle were gone by the time they were picking, they traded the pick for additional picks.
I would guess that they think a nickle corner or safety can be found in the 4/5 rounds (maybe John Wendling). My guess is they think Hamlin is good enough. NT is in the same boat (4/5/6). In all reality, they are looking for a 3/4 receiver. No reason to pick him up too early. Too expensive.
Raf,
I get what you are saying but is it worth drafting now for the best”WOW” players this year or having to wait again next year! we need to start now while there was plenty of options! We should be going into this season with a chhip on our shoulders and begin to dominate this year, it is suppose to be our year!
RAF,
Sorry I forgot, You did put up a Mock of the draft. I guess I have high expectations for us this year I am over loaded with disappointment for what Dallas did!
Giants Draft:
20. Ross - I think 20 is way too high for Ross. Griffin is bigger, faster, and stronger. I like Ross, but he will need to bulk up some. At times, he justs lets people run buy him at the line; he doesn’t get a jam. How can you play Ginn, and not jam him? Bowe torched him at the Senior Bowl. He may end up at safety one day. He’s got talent, but they reached big time. It just tells you how desperate they are at CB. A linebacker would have been a solid pick at 20.
Steve Smith- Over Rated.
He is too bulky in his thighs and he looks stiff.
Jay Alford- Penn State DT ?
Tru,
The “Wow” players were long gone. Peterson, Ginn in the top ten.
I did NOT want Dallas taking a WR in round one. That would have depressed me beyond words. Craig Davis, Gonzalez, Smith, Jarrett and Rice left the board before Dallas’ second pick.
Raf
I would buy your agruemaent if I hadn’t seen the great pass rushers Jerry has drated; Ekuban, Pittman, Carver. I like Spencer but not for 3 picks. What are the Cowboys doing? Day 1 is over and no CB, Safety, WR and no kicker. OK, the kicker is a joke..
Raf and Vandy,
So we didnt have any options to make something like that happen?
About Spencer who is this guy? have yall seen him in action?
RAF,
So now since the first round is long and gone, With the remainder of who is left who do you think will be a good fit?
Remember Miles Austin. If Romo can go undrafted and play Quarterback in the NFL, don’t you think Austin can play WR? Kiper gave him a fourth round grade.
Would Tanard Jackson be a good fit with us, has anybody seen any good highlights on him?
CHARB:
I thought that you were going to bring the usual suspects…
37 Blalock
53 Wilson
122 Waters/ Edwards
Justin Blalock:
Is he another highly respected UT OLineman that flops in the NFL?
Is he a Tackle or Guard? He’s been everywhere and hasn’t mastered anything.
Plays with white gloves is a label that I’ve heard of him.
Eric Wright
Didn’t faced top level competition.
Gambles too much.
Not consistent.
Anthony Waters
Projects to ILB in a 3-4 where we’re stocked.
Inconsistent.
Comes from an ACL injury.
Not real good in coverage.
Trent Edwards
Needs snaps to further develop, Romo needs the snaps as he still isn’t a fully developed QB.
He’s another gunslinger.
Just solid arm strength.
Big durability concerns.
Miles Austin is pretty quick he may have a shot at WR!!
Tru:
There have been a couple of videos posted in the links here from YouTube, so you may want to go check it out. According to Joe Thomas and Levi Brown (the first two offensive tackles taken), Spencer is the only rusher they had any problems with. And while some reviews indicated he had trouble shedding blocks, I saw a couple of plays where he did so with ease and caught up to a running back.
Spencer looks like the real deal. He came from the same Purdue system which produced Shaun Phillips (SD), Akin Ayodele, and Roosevelt Colvin (NE)and is a higher rated prospect. In fact, some are comparing him to Phillips.
Chandus,
great descriptions! I wouldnt of choosen any of those, but maybe considered Blalock if had too!
Vandy,
But arent we crowded with LineBackers already?
I think our wow player is clevelands 1st rnd pick next year. Thanks raf for keeping us informed.
The draft is about value and the Cowboys didn’t get good value after the great trade with the Browns.
Raf - I’m HOT but not about Blalock but rather the missed opportunity.
Where was Spencer going? An AFC team? The Cowboys need to get to the Super Bowl before worring about what the AFC does.
Were so close and today is disappointing.
MusicCityNorm,
We needed it this year, who would be considered a WOW player next year………..
We play New England this season, The picked up some talent in Free Agency and the Draft, they are scary and if we were to make it to the Super Bowl some how the would be aour opponent cause the Patriots are back.. that is why I said we needed are troops this year!
Tru:
Our outside linebackers are:
Demarcus Ware
Al Singleton
Greg Ellis
Kevin Burnett/Bobby Carpenter
Burnett is undersized for the position. Ellis suffered a serious injury. Singleton is aging (will be 32). If you look at the Cowboys big problems last year, they were free safety and the pass rush. We rushed well when Ellis was healthy. Once he was injured, our defense began to unravel. Just look to San Diego to see what we are trying to do.
Some observations…
I see alot of guys in here worked up over the draft and feeling it was a failure. The draft isn’t over…we have 4 more rounds to go…There’s talent still available and deals to be had…make your evaluations at
the end of the day tomorrow.
So far, we have let the draft come to us, and not forced anything. Other teams came to us with deals too good to pass up. We didn’t reach on any player, like many other teams have, just to plug up respective needs. Look at San Diego’s draft so far, they’ve “stretched” on their first 2 picks and this is a team that has been pretty smart about their drafts in the past several years. Furthermore, look at the other teams in our division, have they done any better than us? Success is relative. We need a little more patience.
Jerry hasn’t always been the best GM. Admittedly, he has made some bad decisions in the past, but if you look carefully at his recent approach to player acquisition, he’s learned quite a bit (From Parcells and his own mistakes). I think he has been making sound decisions for a few years now. The best thing about Jerry is that he repects the game and is committed to winning. Other than Bob Kraft, who would you rather have as an owner?
Well guys I am going to sleep and dream about our missed chances, talked to yall tomorrow, hopefully we get some better results tomorrow!!
Tru, look at comment 18 and you’ll start rooting for the Browns rivals.
Vandy, you are correct. I’ve read where he is compared to Adalius Thomas as well. I wanted Spencer and Meriweather. The Cowboys did the right thing. You build inside out.
You just can’t let other teams key on Ware all season long. He would get beat up and worn down. Watkins does have the ability to do it. I’m pulling for him.
The Patriots are loaded; I hope someone can stop them. The Chargers may be the only team that can. I’m not affraid of them though.
If the Patriots didn’t have Thomas, they would have tried to jump us for Spencer.
Chandus
The Cowboys are stocked at ILB? Who are those people? Who is replacing All world James, when it’s 3rd down? How long is 89 year old Brad jonson going to play and Jerry just paid Fat guy Davis HUGH MONEY. Who is playing left tackle next year?
tru- The 1st round trade was brillant, If we could get one of those every year we would be in great shape. In my opinion our real problems last year was a lack of consistant pass rush, we need the players we have to devolope not new ones. It sounds like our 1st rnd pick will contribute right away and upgrade 2 positions by moving Bobby inside, Our defence just got a lot faster. Outside of spencer no one left was going to start next year so how do we need them now? Spencer starting depends on Ellis too. Im sure he gets playing time either way.
Thanks Vandy!
Well we need to cut Singelton or Burnett now since we have Spencer!
If Waters is poor in coverage then Bradie James should be his roommate, because they alot in common.
Burnett fits SOB schem better, he probably playes more next year.
Chargers ARE NOT THE ONLY TEAM TO BEAT THE PATRIOTS!! If we get out of stinkin thinkin we have the ability to gain control by choosen the right players for our team! I guess yall know The Patriots are back huh? we need to make sure we have our mind right
Bluecheese,
Yeah, he’s gone.
Soliai should go to a 3-4 team. He’s huge, but I don’t know anything about him. I bet you the Cowboys know him like a book.
Great stuff guys, see you tomorrow, good night.
Blalock is a fine G prospect, but what does that get you?
If the Cowboys can get 12-14 sacks from the two-headed Carpenter/Spencer monster, 12-14 sacks from Ware, 4-5 sacks from Ellis, and 5 sacks from the ILBs that helps us a ton more than a great G.
33 to 38 sacks just from the LBers would be awesome.
Spencer - Parcells player
Marten - Parcells player
Jerry did nothing cute. He took big, strong, smart, mature, self-motivated, experienced pros. There’s no Charlie Williamses or Shane Hannahs or Dwayne Goodriches.
I’m on board.
When Joe Thomas and Levi Brown, the first 2 Offensive linemen drafted, was asked who was the toughest defensive lineman they faced…guess what their response was? Yep, the guy we drafted, Spencer.
Charb,
Let’s assume Dallas did nothing, since you’re clearly upset about “getting cute.”
If Dallas stayed at 22, they were going to draft Spencer. It’s on the DMN and ESPN. They had the card ready to turn in with his name on it. They liked him better than Meriweather, who was the only other option besides Meachem at the 22.
Now, we get to pick 53. What then? The Morning News said they wanted Steve Smith, who was taken two places ahead of them by the Giants.
So chances are, they would have done–
EXACTLY THE SAME THING THEY DID WITH CLEVELAND.
Bottom line, standing pat — Spencer and Marten and a pick from late in the 3rd..
By moving — Spencer, Marten and Cleveland’s ‘08 #1.
I pick door number two, Monty.
Truecowboyzfan,
I’m talking about the playoffs in the AFC. The Chargers are the only team that can match up with them. I think Dallas can beat them if they play one of their best games.
Look for the Colts to take a step back. The Bengals, the Broncos, the Steelers, the Jets…. Who is going to beat them in the AFC?
Am I the only one in here who thinks the Cowboys already have a pretty good team? I mean, up until the tail end of last season, we had a top 10 offense and defense. What happened? We lost Greg Ellis for the season. What does that tell me? We neede to improve the pass rush.
Didn’t we beat the eventual Superbowl Champions?
I’m glad we didn’t take Steve Smith. I don’t like him.
I really liked Sidney Rice, but Raf is right about his maturity. I was looking past it. Wade shut him completely down. They threw at him all night, and Wade had him crying for flags on every play.
Charb:
The Cowboys are stocked at ILB?
Yeah, James, Ayodele, Carpenter and Burnett is what most of us would describe as stocked.
Who is playing left tackle next year?
Is McQuistan capable of developing some more? Marten should also get some looks. If neither of them turns out to be a solution, look at post 18, Jake Long with Cleveland’s pick is an option.
Califanintx,
Good point. We won that game inside the 5 twice.
Raf
How can I digest trading 3 picks for Spencer? Spencer is not wow, but rather I hope…
Last point: (in crude language)
Eagles- Didn’t get a player near Spencer’s talent for 08.
Giants- reached at 20
T.O. against Ross. I’ll take that all day!!!!!!!!!!!
Redskins- did better than Giants and Eagles, they picked one time.
We underachieved last season with the roster we had…our big problem was playing not to lose rather than playing to win…
Chandus
Your ready to put Burnett and Carpenter in the Middle with James and Adyodele? Wow, the Cowboys have 20 Million dolllars playing ILB. Stocked? You bet. The Cowboys spend 5 times more money on ILB then QB.
Chandus: I’m being a jerk, hopefuly day 2 will be more positive.
Just wondering why no one ever seems to have mentioned Alan Branch’s name with the Cowboys. He’s supposed to be born to play NT, the Cowboys are thinner there than at OLB, he was available when the Cowboys were on the board at 26 (but not much longer) and many mocks I saw had him going a lot higher than that. Why did he fall as far as he did and why wouldn’t the ‘boys have been interested?
I seem to recall Jerry hinting he might take a QB in round 4 or 5. There’s a Heisman-winner still out there. Anyone think Troy Smith might be a Cowboy soon?
Nice highlight video of Spencer at FoxSports. If that’s USC in the video, he’s abusing 2-time All American, Sam Baker.
Scroll down to our pick.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6742372
Any word on potential trades for vets? Kris Jenkins, Michael Turner, or even Randy Moss?
Check out some of the analysis on espn.com. John Clayton graded the Cowboys as one of the Day 1 winners.
CHARB:
Look at it this way for a second and forget the Eagles trade because we were going to draft Spencer anyway and get nothing for it so that cancels out the second trade.
We traded out 1st, 2nd, 6th (195) to Cleveland for their 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th (179) and next years 1st (probably a top 5 to 10).
I’ll take that trade any freakin day. I would not have rather had Blaylock or any of the wide receivers at the beginning of round 2. There was no “WOW” player after Calvin Johnson and Peterson were gone.
Would you have been happier with the reported trade offer by a “mystery team” (I believe to be the Lions at #2) and sold out our 1st 2nd and 3rd for “a player was played a very important role” (I think either Jason Witten or Roy Williams)?
I am satisfied with this draft so far. I think this draft is more of an incitement of last years draft and Bobby Carpenter or the signing of Bradie James to an extension.I didnt think Jerry was that far off saying we could line up and play with out the draft so I think anything we get is just a bonus.
Some of the reaches we could have made would have stunted the growth of some very promising players we already have and I dont see a pick doing that. Get Austin and Watkins more playing time. Lets see how our youngsters develop. Remember we are still a very young team.
For the sake of all that is good the world, find something else to be disappointed about then your very promising Dallas Cowboys and in my view their very successful draft both for this year and the future of the francise.
*and “a player that played a very important role†(I think either Jason Witten or Roy Williams)?
Usually I enjoy this blog. But today its been rough.
Today there are too many ignorant posts. “We shouda’ traded to get Landry. We shouda’ traded to get Nelson. We don’t need a better pass rush. We don’t have any options at FS.”
C’mon people. I know your heart is in the right place, but try to be reasonable before “spiking” your words.
We had nothing in D when Ellis went down. We gave up endless amounts of points. We lost 4 out of the last 5 games. We only beat Atlanta because Vick is blind. All of this is due to the lack of pressure. And we can’t play DeMarcus for 100% of the plays in every game. This is the truth.
Ellis won’t be 100% next season and Carpenter seems to be shaping into a good LB, but not a dominant pass rusher. Jerry and Wade went after their targeted pass rusher. This is a good thing.
Btw. points wise, the Eagles trade was only slightly in favor of the Eagles. And that’s what it costs to convince your division opponents to allow you go after your player.
We have Cleveland’s first next season. Cleveland’s! What a gift. The expansion Cleveland is in everyones bottom 10 NFL franchises in existence. They’ll only make it out of the bottom 10 next year with help from Satan. Its not happening.
Hamlin is at least a good prospect at FS for us. And Watkins isn’t dead. He worked his way back into the line-up. We have options.
And trading into the top 15 or top 10? Get serious. You want to give up 3 or 4 picks? Or do you want to trade DeMarcus or Romo or Newman or Witten? Teams won’t give us something for nothing.
Now I do agree that a top-flight CB or Safety would have been nice. Someone in the top 50 pick range. But it didn’t happen. That doesn’t mean this draft a miserable loss. Be real.
btw., Impatient — I agree with you.
And regarding rnd 4 picks — these are critical picks for us. I hope to see a speedy CB come to us. Someone to challenge our 5th and 6th DBs a bit.
I don’t understand all the griping today. The biggest problem Dallas had down the stretch was defending the pass. So, they try to improve coverage by acquiring Ken Hamlin, rated by some as the best Safety available. They then move out of the 22nd pick in round 1 and get a probable top 10 pick next year, and still get this year’s best OLB pass rusher. That’s not good enough for you?
I’m not familiar with Marten but I’ve wanted Dallas to address the o-line and they did - and I don’t think they’re done addressing it.
Kudos to Jerry Jones and Wade - “WOW”! Dallas has significantly upgraded a playoff team this off-season by shoring up the line, shoring up the pass defense and increasing the pass rush. And they have plenty of picks in the rest of the draft to search for the diamonds in the rough.
Getting next year’s #1 is an act of genius, and Spencer is an ideal fit for Wade Phillip’s Defense; however, Tex would have preferred Tank at 63.
PS: With Julius in the final year of his contract, a redshirt flyer on M.Bush at 103 would continue the trend towards a future surplus, see Browns.
This was a bad draft, low on value and heavy on depth. I could care less on all the moves. You find a player you really feel is worthwhile, go with that player. Everyone wants to complain, wants to blame, but in truth, the Cowboys got a good day’s work in. Was it perfect? Well, I’m not a huge fan of trading out of the second round, but oh, well, water under the bridge.
In the meantime, the Cowboys got two need players and a first rounder next year that could be a top 15, top 10 pick…for practically nothing.
Good day. By the way, I would definitely use a 6th-7th rounder on QB Justin Rascati from James Madison. Led his team to a DI-AA title and was initially recruited and played at Louisville. Perfect guy to groom at the three spot.
Dont forget about kicker, Mason Crosby tomorrow. I would like to see a guy like that boost our special team play.
Crosby? Are you nuts? Check out his FG %. IN COLLEGE.
Looking at the profile for the top-rated guy for day 4 - Tenard Jackson. It appears he is:
1. Slow for a CB
2. Didn’t register a lot of INT’s or passes defensed
3. Has serious character issues.
Why was this guy rated so high???
The value in later rounds is O-Line.
The big uglies are all that is left of value pretty much. THere MIGHT be some speed guy from a little college left- but that is about it. TO me you have to either have size/ stength or speed to make it in the pros; that is who we need to get now.
Here’s my analysis of Day 1 for the Cowboys:
I thought the work the Jerry had done to obtain Clevelands #1 pick for ‘08 was brilliant. Getting a #1 and a #2 for that 22 spot was quit a steal; it was an even better deal that what Buffalo gave us a few years ago. Even though, I really wanted the Cowboys to select Dwayne Bowe or Robert Meachem with that pick, I can’t argue with that move and give JJ an A+ on making it happen.
On the other hand, I wasn’t wild with them trading back up to the 1st to take another front 7 guy and giving away a 3rd and 5th in the process. While it can be justified that we the net result was trading our 3 and 5 for Cleveland’s #1 in ‘08, it still doesn’t mean we should have done it. I look at this move in three parts:
First part: Did we really need another front 7 guy? While I’m not unsatisfied with the player they took; I think Another Spencer looks like he is going to be the next DeMarcus Ware and that is a very good thing for the Cowboys, but what does this say about Bobby Carpenter? OK, we all know Greg Ellis changed positions at the age of 30, is coming off serious injury, and probably won’t be with the team beyond next year, but we did draft Carpenter to fill that OLB role last year. Carpenter was picked higher than Spencer at the #18 spot. Someone made a mistake. Either Parcells wanted Carpenter so bad because of his connection with his dad that he reached for him at #18 or Wade Phillips doesn’t have a good read on this team to go out and spend another high draft pick on another front 7 guy. Even if Ellis is done, this move now puts Carpenter AND Burnett in backup/spot duty. Is this what you want for last year’s #1 pick and the prior year’s #2 pick? Everyone picks on Detroit for drafting a WR every year, well they are soon going to be on the Cowboys for taking a LB every year. Something is not right here.
Second part: Instead of trading back into the first, they should have stayed put at the #36 spot. There were a lot of great players still on the board at that spot. Justin Blalock was there, Chris Houston was there, and a load of other solid WRs were still available. I think any Cowboys fan would have been satisfied if the team would have taken Blalock with that pick after already having secured Cleveland’s #1 in ‘08. Not only would we have Blalock, but we would still have our #3 and #5 picks.
Third part: While it is obvious when the 53rd pick came around that the 2nd round was picked pretty clean, the Cowboys made the only move they could have made by trading down. However, if they wouldn’t have traded away their #3 earlier in the day, they could have packaged their #2 and #3 and moved up into the 2nd round to get another great prospect. Dwayne Jarrett could have been a nice target or even Brian Leonard. The options of drafting a solid player were a lot better in the mid second round than they were in the late second and certainly by the early third.
Given that the Cowboys held tight until they were on the clock at #53, trading down made the most sense at that point. Grabbing a high #3 and high #4 and moving up in the 6th round was pretty good value for that #53 pick. However, I’m not sure about the guy they selected with the 3rd rounder. While I don’t claim to know anything about him, I will say this much–he is 6′7, 300lbs, plays OT for a major college program, and he can only bench press about 350lbs. That’s pathetic. Seriously, that’s a joke for a guy his size. Maybe he’s got other intangibles and his strength can be developed, but he has a long way to go. Having said all that, I have no idea who else they could have taken with that pick other than Trent Edwards, but that probably wouldn’t have been any better.
So where does that leave the Cowboys for Day 2 and for the upcoming season?
For Day 2: they should be able to get a great player with their high #4 pick…I look forward to that one. If they get lucky they may be able to get a decent prospect with their original #4 pick as well. All those 6th and 7th are going to be shots in the dark. They still need a 3rd string QB, a backup NT, a 3rd string TE, maybe a G, and a grab bag of CBs and safties. I say go for the NT and TE in the fourth round…maybe Soliani and Patrick respectively.
For ‘07: This draft didn’t make the Cowboys any better for the upcoming season. Spencer in his rookie season probably won’t be any better than Carpenter or Ellis at this point in their careers. Marten is a backup. Nuff said.
Martens video that ESPN showed - he looked very quick and good. Strength is the easiest thing to fix. The boys stayed TRUE to their draft board, which is the MOST IMPORTANT thing. Jerrah did not chase someone he fell in love with (no pet cats). Spencer was on the card when the offer from the Browns came in and Jerrah oiled his way to a 2008 first rd and the Browns high second.(Savage originally only wanted to give a 3rd.) They wanted Spencer; he was by all accounts the last top tier pass rusher left. So that part is explained. Carpenter was picked due to worries about Ellis (sound familiar) and was also a guy who could play inside. With the problems that James had last season, that HAD to be a concern. So now we play Spencer outside and Carp Inside.
Goats (#93)
A month ago, if you had said Branch would be available at 22 (or better yet 26…) then I would have thought we would snap him up in a second.
But, not being able to keep in shape for 3 months has cost this guy MILLIONS. If couldn’t stay in shape with that motivation - I can’t see him being able to sustain a 16-game season of being double-teamed and pounded at NT…
We are better off without him. He will be a major underachiever.
I have to laugh at those who kept claiming that him being fat and lazy would not matter. Or that there was no proof of that. Obviously it DID.
Rafael’s analysis is correct.
This has been a very vanilla
draft. JJ has done exactly what
he said he would do in his pre-draft
press conference.
Look for us to go NT/CB/ILB today.
I am more intrigued with the FA
that will be invited to camp.
2008 will be the draft we dedicate
to our offense needs. Never boring is it?
I like Spencer and the moves Jerry made in first round but have to agree that I’m unsure of that 3rd round pick. I guess we’ll have to see how it turns out. I would much rather have had Justin Blaylock in the 2nd. The way I look at it is we could have traded Julius Jones for a 2nd or 3rd rd pick and moved up to take Blaylock. He would have solidified the line and given us great flexibility next yr when Flozell is a free agent. (I think we should franchise him and either play him one more year or trade him for picks)I doubt anyone would prefer the OT selected in the 3rd over Blaylock who was from Texas to boot. I also doubt anyone would prefer keeping JJ who is free agent next yr over Blaylock (acquired with the extra pick). We could sign a RB for 1-2 yrs to replace him, like Corey Dillon or Chris Brown. I also would have preferred the CB Eric Wright with the 2nd rd we traded to Cleveland. If not for character issues he would have been top cover corner in this draft and I don’t see this BC OT being better than him or Blaylock so I think Jerry got a little too cute there. All that being said I am very happy with having 2 1st rd picks next year and I am hoping we can snag 2 players in the 4th today from this list..
1. Tarrell Brown CB
2. Michael Bush RB
3. Antonio Pittman RB
4. Courtney Brown CB
5. Steve Breaston WR
6. Brian Robison DE/OLB
7. Josh Beekman OG
I would trade all of our 6 & 7th round picks for another 4th to pick a 3rd player from above list if available or a 5th if one was avail there. (assuming someone would even take them)
Well Raf you wired the Spencer selection. Who are we targetting 4th round (please tell me it is Soliai)?
Couple WRs to consider drafting..
http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/2007/caldwell_andre
http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/2007/newton_syvelle
Jeeez guys, I didn’t like how many picks we had to trade to get Spencer, but we had to, or else the Pats would’ve gotten him! He can be the Shaun Philips to our own Shawn Merriman, Demarcus Ware…Phillips had 11.5 sacks last year and people say Spencer is an ever better prospect. That would help our secondary out a lot.
I guess Jerrah was being truthful when he said we are fine at WR because of Austin and Hurd, and when he said we are fine at FS.
Finally, as a Rutgers student and Cowboy fan, I am SO glad the Gints didn’t pick up Brian Leonard and he’s on the Rams instead. I’m gonna buy his jersey…
This was an awsome 1st day by the Cowboys. They’re getting 3 first round players over the next 2 years. Nobody knows what it will take for the Cowboys to go over the top, so next year the Cowboys will be in position to really amp up the talent of their team if we see where we went wrong in terms of assembling talent.
I think we’re going to see Carpenter and BJ squaring off in training camp.
We have safeties. We have WRs. We don’t have depth at DT. Jerry Jones turned 3 plain draft picks in to solid gold. To maintain a strong team you need to keep adding top tier talent, meaning getting as much as you can out of the top 32 players going in to the draft.
do we still want deOssie from Brown?
Apparently the reign of the patriots is still alive, not only have they had one of the smartest drafts so far, Moss is taking a physical with them this morning!
Everything I’ve read about James Marten says hes a great pick for the Boys in the 3rd; he’s played every oline position, is 6′7, plays mean
off NFL.com
This guy will add great competition to the Cowboys Oline.
In the second day I’m anticipating size and speed. Some really big guys, like 6′4 325lbs DTs, and players with speed, like WRs, CBs, RBs, FSs, and unusually quick LBs, like Quincy Black. Unless he’s gone.
Yes, I’m one of those who is disappointed in GM Jerry’s performance.
Spencer & Martin…fine picks. Spencer was one of those I thought we would target. Martin is a very good prospect that will have time to get stronger.
Losing our second and 5th is too much, although Cleveland’s 1st in ‘08 was worth it.
GM Jerry just got lost and seemed to be trading just to trade. My biggest beef is not getting a 2nd round player. There was some very good talent.
7 picks on the second day will see us grabbing every flier we can.
So we wasted this draft. ‘08 should be a fantastic draft when we need it the most (i.e., WR, CB, OL and of course a FS).
Well I liked Quincy Black as a coverage LB/ potential safety, but Tampa took him right after the Cowboys took James Marten. Black will probably have a more lucrative career there as a Tampa 2 LB.
Here’s what I would like to see in the fourth and fifth rounds.
Pick Barbre or Manny Ramirez (Yes he is still available and nobody has even mentioned his name on these posts) with the first pick in the 4th. If Soliai is there with our second pick in the 4th then grab him. If not, take Barbre or Manny Ramirez (if either are still there), or take the best player available at any position. If we cannot get Soliai in the 4th then take Walter Johnson in the 5th or 6th. I would also like to see them take the center from Fresno with a later pick as well.
There is still a potential to make this draft solid.
We just need to hope that the cards fall right and JJ stays put or trades up.
Black is gone
DeOssie, Tim Shaw (Penn st) are two fast LB available
Fighter15-
I see this draft as an acknowledgement that the Cowboys see themselves as having talent and no holes. So they built equity off their precieved advantage, grabbing the Browns #1 08 pick.
Building future resources is how strong clubs get there and stay there, IMO.
I’m curious if the Cowboys will get players who will make the roster on the second day.
I can’t beleive how many “Jerry is Stupid” comments I am reading. I think we have done a fine job so far. We are about to add two more players here in the 4th. We will have Clevelands 1st round pick next yer, Clevelands! Damn, you know it’s going to be a top 10 pick. I say, good job Jerry!
Donny, you out there? I know your reading now, A lot of people on the site like your football knowledge please continue to post.
Im thinking that tanard jackson in 103 and a OL with 122 (unless we want deOssie badly)
I’d rather have Bush, Soliai or Allison at 103. I hate to say it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see another trade down to pick up a 5th.
Bye Bye Bush
fighter 15,
Who was the great talent at 53 Jerry passed on?
Dallas was already working on moving back up into the 1st when they traded down. They wanted Spencer and got him and moved only to get Cleveland’s #1.
Who is this great, indispensible player Dallas passed on at 53. Eric Wright, with his baggage? He and Josh Wilson were the only players in the late 2nd who looked interesting to me. And Dallas passed on them, so they must feel that the players they’ll get today are not much if any worse.
Saying they passed on early 2nd talent means you want a WR or OG more than Spencer.
I don’t. I like getting a pass rusher.
I think that we should look at getting a CB and NT with our 4th rounders in that order. If neither is available when