At the end of the season, most fans wanted Jason Garrett’s head on a platter, but we soon found out there wouldn’t be many changes on the coaching side, outside of promoting Rod Marinelli. The one move, that could and should have an immediate impact on the draft was when the Cowboys added Will McClay into the mix, he’s in charge of building the board and the one to bridge the scouts with the executives throughout this whole process. There shouldn’t be too much to think about with McClay buttoning up the draft board.
The Cowboys say McClay was not infused into the process because of the Shariff Floyd debacle, but fans know better. Tonight we’ll see if McClay will keep the ship steering in the right direction; as in, staying true to the board everyone has spent a billion hours building.
If McClay can utilize his talents as a pro personnel person and bring us some equally talented rookies, then we’ll know with this draft class. We need to hit on our selections and avoid another 2009 draft class. We need to hit on defense, and we need to go to the well on that side of the ball a couple of times.
The big what if will be Johnny Manziel. I don’t believe Jerry Jones when he says he’s not “gunned up” about a rookie QB. If that QB is Manziel, and he is there at #16, Jerry will make the pick. And we should not be surprised if Manziel is #1 on their draft board, so if that’s the case, then the Cowboys will have indeed stuck to their board. It’ll be interesting.
Let’s re-hash the prospects the Cowboys have met with:
Senior Bowl Interviews:
Will Sutton, DT, Arizona State
IK Enemkpali, DE, Lousiana Tech
Dee Ford, DE, Auburn
NFL Scouting Combine:
Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M
Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M
Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, Eastern Illinois
Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh
David Fales, QB, San Jose State
Workouts / Visits
Anthony Barr, LB, UCLA (4/15)
Ken Bishop, DT, Northern Illinois
Billy Turner, OT, North Dakota State
Xavius Boyd, LB, Western Kentucky
Demetri Goodson, CB, Baylor
Kaycee Ike, OT, UAB
Howard Jones, LB, Shepherd
Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh
Garrett Gilbert, QB, SMU
Bashaud Breeland, CB, Clemson
Taylor Gabriel, WR, Abeline Christian
Walt Aikens, CB, Liberty
C.J. Fiedorowicz, TE, Iowa
Ryan Shazier, LB, Ohio State
Demarcus Lawrence, DE, Boise State
Jimmie Ward, S, Northern Illinois
Jason Verrett, CB, TCU
Matt Hall, OT, Belhaven
Davon Coleman, DE, Arizona State
Derek Thompson, QB, North Texas
Kony Ealy, DE, Missouri
Jerrod Black, DT, Southeast Louisiana State
Brandon Dixon, CB, Northwest Missouri
Timmy Jernigan, DT, Florida State
Zack Martin, OT, Notre Dame
Will Clarke, DE, West Virginia
Josh Huff, WR, Oregon
LaMarcus Joyner, DB, Florida State
Dominique Easley, DT, Florida
Scott Crichton, DE, Oregon
Aaron Murray, QB, Georgia (Pro Day)
Cyril Richardson, OG, Baylor
Kerry Hyder, DT, Texas Tech
Chris Whaley, DT, Texas
Gabe Jackson, OG, Mississippi State
Ben Malena, RB, Texas A&M
Josh Harris, RB, Wake Forest
Will Sutton, DT, ASU
Kareem Martin, DE, North Carolina
Larry Webster, DE, Bloomsburg
What will the Cowboys Gameplan Be?
From this list of players, the Cowboys will have (5) players they will have no problem taking at #16: Manziel; Evans; Donald; Martin; and Barr
If all those players are gone, Jerry will be working the phones to trade down. By now, the Cowboys have already planned which teams those will be, and what compensation they will be looking for.
These are the players the Cowboys could target in the 20s-30s range: Shazier; Lawrence; Ward; Ealy; and Turner
What’s the Dream Scenario?
The dream scenario would be that the Cowboys trade out of the #16 pick, accumulate another early pick, and still get the guy they wanted. If the Cowboys can truly get a guy they have targeted after a trade down and get more picks, then the Cowboys will be in business in the 2nd-3rd rounds.
A Fan’s Worst Case Scenario
Jerry trades down and picks someone no one saw coming, and the pick is not received well, not until that named player proves he’ll be an asset; Case in point, Travis Frederick. The other worst case scenario is that Dallas trades down towards the bottom of the 1st round, and someone jumps back in, and we trade completely out of the 1st round. The Cowboys would likely garner a 1st round pick from that team for 2015; either way you cut it, fans would not be pleased initially. Then again, what if Jerry trades up really high and mortgages the future for this year? Fans should be ready for all these wild possibilities.
My Pet Cats
I like DeMarcus Lawrence, DE, Boise State; Caraun Reid, DT, Princeton; and Troy Niklas, TE, Notre Dame
That’s it guys. Outside of some wild breaking trade news before the draft starts, the next update will be live once our pick is selected. Wish us luck! Let’s turn this team around! Go Cowboys Nation.
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