Cowboys Leaning Towards LB & WR

With less than a week away, the Cowboys have been extremely busy tweaking their draft board and making decisions on who they may take.  Without a first round pick, the guessing game has been broadened even more, so fans will not know who we’re going to draft until our pick arrives. In other drafts we’ve known or had a strong guess as to who we would be drafting by now, this is not the case this year.

So who could the Cowboys be interested in in the 2nd round?

By NFL rules, a team can only bring in 30 prospects before the draft, and of the 30 players brought in (5) were linebackers, and (4) were wide receivers. The Cowboys also brought in (3) safeties, the rest were in pairs as well, OL, CB, QB, and (1) defensive end, (1) tight end.

Looking at previous drafts the Cowboys have selected players they have focused in on from these 30 players.

In 2005, the Cowboys knew all they could about DeMarcus Ware and did not feel it was necessary to bring him in for a predraft visit. They took him with the 11th overall pick.

However, the Cowboys’ top picks the last three years – Carpenter, Anthony Spencer and Felix Jones – made predraft stops at Valley Ranch. (DMN)

So, if you look at the numbers, it would appear that the Cowboys have a strong interest in linebackers and wide receivers. During the NFL Combine you’ll remember a stir was made when it was leaked that the Cowboys were interviewing several wide receivers, so this lead to discussion whether TO would be on the outs. Well, we now know that Owens is gone and even now, the Cowboys brought in (4) pretty good receivers that are 2nd round prospects. I would almost think that receiver is a bigger target than LB, just based on the talent in this receivers class; however, with Miles Austin working on a long-term deal, receiver may not be a factor at all. Which brings us back to linebackers.

The Cowboys brought in (5) linebackers: Larry English, Lawrence Sidbury, Jason Williams, Jasper Brinkley, and Marcus Freeman. Of these players, I’d say English and Sidbury are the top of this pack, both of which would translate to OLB.  If drafted I would think these players would be groomed and battle it out with Anthony Spencer. The other three linebackers are projected mid-rounders, and ILB players

Of course, this could ALL be a smoke screen, since these lists are all viewed by other teams around the league you can bet there are some smokescreen type players in the mix just to throw off teams. The draft itself is a competition, and you never want to show all your cards, so I would imagine the Cowboys did not bring in some players they really have an interest in as well. So if your favorite player is not in this list it doesn’t mean the Cowboys are not considering him.

There’s alot of value in this year’s second round, so remember the Cowboys have a lot of picks to possibly even move back into the 2nd round and grab another player they want. I don’t see the Cowboys moving down like other years in the past, at least not on the first day. If anything, I see the Cowboys packaging picks to move up into the 2nd and 3rd rounds, perhaps coming away with 3 really solid draft picks, and then use the remaining picks for depth on the 2nd day.

Who would I take from the 30 brought in?

I would select WR Brian Robiskie – Ohio State, but I’m not sure he’ll make it to the 2nd round let alone the #51 pick, so maybe some wheeling and dealing would be required.

I’d also take LB Lawrence Sidbury – Richmond, he will probably be there at #51, and would be a good addition to backup Ware, or pressure for Spencer’s job. I’m not even figuring Ellis into the mix, as I don’t see him back here in 2010. So adding Sidbury could be a great addition here, and he fits the physical profile Phillips likes in his OLBs. So watch for that pick as well.