My initial reaction.

[Randy White]

I'm going to be honest, I wasn't thrilled with the pick. Personally I'm not one for drafting O-linemen in the first round because I'm from the Jimmy school of drafting on this one: you can find hungry ones in later rounds. I also have a problem with O-linemen who are late pushers in the draft. In all the years that I've been watching the draft, I don't remember one jumping into the top 10 so late and with so thin of a resume. I was also irritated at the way the draft was unfolding and seeing how the Cowboys basically put an added value on Smith that was a bit too much. Jerry said in the presser that he was entertaining offers all the way until the last minute, ten seconds. Assuming, for arguments sake, that the offers he was entertaining were roughly the price that Jacksonville paid the Deadskins to move up to #10, that means the Cowboys believe that Smith is worth a Castonzo or Carimi ( I'm not a Solder fan ) plus a 2nd round pick, plus the difference in salary between the 9th pick and the 16th pick, or whatever other pick was in play. I think that's too high of a price for Smith.

Having said all of that, I can see where the Cowboys are coming from with this pick. Looking at Smith, the first name that comes to my mind is Richmond Webb. For those of you who don't remember or don't know who Webb was, the second biggest reason why Dan Marino is in the HOF is because of Richmond Webb. From the second Webb was drafted, along with Keith Sims, it added at least 5 years to Marino's career. Dan was 29 years old when both of those guys came into the league. If the Cowboys' talent evaluators are right, it's possible that Smith could do the same for Tony, who even though is 2 years older than Marino at this same point, has alot less wear and tear then Dan did.

I'm intrigued to see which direction they go later on today. Following in that spirit, I wouldn't mind if the Cowboys move down from #40, get an extra 4th round ( perhaps a 3rd, if possible ) and pick Marcus Cannon from TCU to play guard. It would be curious to see an all rookie right side of Cannon and Smith on opening day in that starting front.

[BrAinPaiNt]

Just as a note for you...just in case you did not know.

Cannon will have to go through some Chemo soon. Now the prognosis is that he be ok after it...I think they said around 90%+ success rate with the chemo on his problem.

Now even though that is good news, he will be going through chemo for a time and I am sure there will be some time of recovery and getting back into good shape after the chemo.

Which means he might lose some time in camp.

[Randy White]

Thanks, Brain.

Change of plans then.. Perhaps Cannon could be taken with a late 3rd rnd pick ( after moving back ) or 4th rnd pick.

[BrAinPaiNt]

Thanks, Brain.

Change of plans then.. Perhaps Cannon could be taken with a late 3rd rnd pick ( after moving back ) or 4th rnd pick.

Yeah they might be able to get him later and there still are other OGs out there that I am sure they are interested in as well...Like Winewski, Rackley, Hudson, Ijilana (sp?) as some other names just off the top of my head.

[Everson24]

Just as a note for you...just in case you did not know.

Cannon will have to go through some Chemo soon. Now the prognosis is that he be ok after it...I think they said around 90%+ success rate with the chemo on his problem.

Now even though that is good news, he will be going through chemo for a time and I am sure there will be some time of recovery and getting back into good shape after the chemo.

Which means he might lose some time in camp.

I've battled the same cancer that Cannon has for the past three years. Mine was stage 4 and I think his is stage 2 or 3. If he undergoes the same chemo regimen that I did I doubt he does much for a team this year.

[Chocolate Lab]

Hey Randy, without going back and checking, I seem to remember when Levi Jones was supposedly a 20s kind of guy, then maybe teens as the draft got close, and then the Bengals took him top 10 (or maybe 11?) and he turned out to be really good for a long time. Maybe not great, but very a solid OT for years.

Anyway, I'm fine with Smith, but I do wish we could've found a way to trade down a couple spots and add a 3rd or even 4th rounder. Seems like we could have with Fairley and Ponder still on the board.

[bbgun]

I'm going to be honest, I wasn't thrilled with the pick. Personally I'm not one for drafting O-linemen in the first round because I'm from the Jimmy school of drafting on this one: you can find hungry ones in later rounds. I also have a problem with O-linemen who are late pushers in the draft. In all the years that I've been watching the draft, I don't remember one jumping into the top 10 so late and with so thin of a resume. I was also irritated at the way the draft was unfolding and seeing how the Cowboys basically put an added value on Smith that was a bit too much. Jerry said in the presser that he was entertaining offers all the way until the last minute, ten seconds. Assuming, for arguments sake, that the offers he was entertaining were roughly the price that Jacksonville paid the Deadskins to move up to #10, that means the Cowboys believe that Smith is worth a Castonzo or Carimi ( I'm not a Solder fan ) plus a 2nd round pick, plus the difference in salary between the 9th pick and the 16th pick, or whatever other pick was in play. I think that's too high of a price for Smith.

Having said all of that, I can see where the Cowboys are coming from with this pick. Looking at Smith, the first name that comes to my mind is Richmond Webb. For those of you who don't remember or don't know who Webb was, the second biggest reason why Dan Marino is in the HOF is because of Richmond Webb. From the second Webb was drafted, along with Keith Sims, it added at least 5 years to Marino's career. Dan was 29 years old when both of those guys came into the league. If the Cowboys' talent evaluators are right, it's possible that Smith could do the same for Tony, who even though is 2 years older than Marino at this same point, has alot less wear and tear then Dan did.

I'm intrigued to see which direction they go later on today. Following in that spirit, I wouldn't mind if the Cowboys move down from #40, get an extra 4th round ( perhaps a 3rd, if possible ) and pick Marcus Cannon from TCU to play guard. It would be curious to see an all rookie right side of Cannon and Smith on opening day in that starting front.

I don't disagree with the pick, as it fills a need. We just need to dispense with the lie that Smith was the pick all along. If he's your guy, you don't take the full 15 minutes exploring trade options with other teams. Hardly a ringing endorsement of the young Trojan.

[btcutter]

You have the luxury of looking back at how the 1st round unfolded. We did not know there wasn't going to be a run on OL or not when Dallas was on the clock.
Dallas probably value Smith significantly higher than rest of the OT and didn't want to risk dropping down too much to lose him.
I agree with JJ here. You take the top prospect and sleep tight. No need to get cute. Imagine what would happen if he traded down to 16 with Jax and lose out on the top 2-3 OT?

[SaltwaterServr]

I don't disagree with the pick, as it fills a need. We just need to dispense with the lie that Smith was the pick all along. If he's your guy, you don't take the full 15 minutes exploring trade options with other teams. Hardly a ringing endorsement of the young Trojan.

I'd call it doing your due diligence, and the best deals to be had can be the last second ones. If you know who your guy is, you can take all the time you want to see if someone else pulled an Atlanta for #9.

[BrAinPaiNt]

I don't disagree with the pick, as it fills a need. We just need to dispense with the lie that Smith was the pick all along. If he's your guy, you don't take the full 15 minutes exploring trade options with other teams. Hardly a ringing endorsement of the young Trojan.

I think he was the guy all along since they had done so much scouting on him.

And you take the full minutes if you think you are going to get some trades that you might not be able to pass up.

I am pretty sure the Browns wanted Julio Jones all along but they could not pass up on the trade they were offered.

So I don't see how you can automatically think it was a lie due to those criteria.

[bbgun]

I'd call it doing your due diligence, and the best deals to be had can be the last second ones. If you know who your guy is, you can take all the time you want to see if someone else pulled an Atlanta for #9.

The fact remains, they were willing to live without him by listening to trade offers. He may evolve into a nice player, but he wasn't someone they had to have.

[bbgun]

I think he was the guy all along since they had done so much scouting on him.

And you take the full minutes if you think you are going to get some trades that you might not be able to pass up.

I am pretty sure the Browns wanted Julio Jones all along but they could not pass up on the trade they were offered.

So I don't see how you can automatically think it was a lie due to those criteria.

I don't think Jerry would milk the full 15 minutes for dramatic or theatrical purposes only. If Smith was their guy from Day 1, the card would have been turned in promptly. Instead, Jerry put it up for auction.

[ZBTHorton]

I don't think Jerry would milk the full 15 minutes for dramatic or theatrical purposes only. If Smith was their guy from Day 1, the card would have been turned in promptly. Instead, Jerry put it up for auction.

I pretty much completely disagree with this.

Nearly every team took the entire time(or close to it). We were in a great position to trade back and pickup some value, so we listened. That doesn't mean we were any more sure or unsure about whether he was the guy we wanted. It's not like we declared during the press conference that Smith was the only player in the world we wanted or something.

[bsheeern]

The fact remains, they were willing to live without him by listening to trade offers. He may evolve into a nice player, but he wasn't someone they had to have.
How can you say that?

1. You don't know where he would have been picked if we didn't take him at 9. We could have moved back and still known he was going to be there for the most part. We could have had an offer from Jacksonville and used that against Washington and basically swapped picks with the skins, picked up a 3rd or so, and still guarantee us getting smith.

2. I hope there wasn't any player "they had to have". That's just not smart drafting.

3. Not working the phones is about the dumbest thing you can do. Look at what Cleveland got from atlanta. I'm sure they could care less who was available when they came up to pick once they found out what atlanta was willing to give up.

[realtick]

The fact remains, they were willing to live without him by listening to trade offers. He may evolve into a nice player, but he wasn't someone they had to have.

And the fact remains that despite being offered some apparently appealing trade packages (see the subsequent Jags/Redskins trade), the Cowboys chose instead to select Smith.

They also only had 10 minutes, not 15.

[Nirvana]

Smith unlike Costanza has unquestionable passion for the game whereas Costanza wants to go to Med school. Not someone you draft with a high pick. Carimi still isn't drafted. We made a great pick.

[UnoDallas]

The fact remains, they were willing to live without him by listening to trade offers. He may evolve into a nice player, but he wasn't someone they had to have.

and who can say Minn or Det would not have grabbed him

yea if it was a deal like Cleveland got then yes

I think we got our first T Smith hater

[Randy White]

Hey Randy, without going back and checking, I seem to remember when Levi Jones was supposedly a 20s kind of guy, then maybe teens as the draft got close, and then the Bengals took him top 10 (or maybe 11?) and he turned out to be really good for a long time. Maybe not great, but very a solid OT for years.

Good point on Levi. I had forgotten about him and I do think Smith is more athletic than Levi was.

Anyway, I'm fine with Smith, but I do wish we could've found a way to trade down a couple spots and add a 3rd or even 4th rounder. Seems like we could have with Fairley and Ponder still on the board.

Yea, that annoyed me quite a bit.

[RoyTheHammer]

The fact remains, they were willing to live without him by listening to trade offers. He may evolve into a nice player, but he wasn't someone they had to have.

If you use that criteria than no one in the draft save maybe one or two players was someone that a team had to have.

There's a price for everyone.. like Brain said, im pretty sure the Browns were set on Julio before Atlanta offered them that kings ransom of picks.

Just because Dallas wanted to wait to see if any over the top trade offers came in doesn't discredit the pick.

They knew who they were going to take, they waited to see if offers would come in.. when they didn't find any to their satisfaction they pulled the trigger and got their guy.

(A guy who was 5th on their entire draft board, btw.)

[RoyTheHammer]

I pretty much completely disagree with this.

Nearly every team took the entire time(or close to it). We were in a great position to trade back and pickup some value, so we listened. That doesn't mean we were any more sure or unsure about whether he was the guy we wanted. It's not like we declared during the press conference that Smith was the only player in the world we wanted or something.

If BB even watched the draft or the live war room feed, he'd know that there was a sense of calm in the draft room for the Boys the entire time. Actually from the time the draft started until the card was turned in for their pick, there was relatively no action at all going on in the war room. They knew who they wanted, clearly. No panic, no scrambling, no lengthy discussion. Nothing. Just a smart, safe pick that fills our biggest immediate and long term need.

[SaltwaterServr]

If BB even watched the draft or the live war room feed, he'd know that there was a sense of calm in the draft room for the Boys the entire time. Actually from the time the draft started until the card was turned in for their pick, there was relatively no action at all going on in the war room. They knew who they wanted, clearly. No panic, no scrambling, no lengthy discussion. Nothing. Just a smart, safe pick that fills our biggest immediate and long term need.

Exactly.

They did their due diligence and then went ahead with the pick they had originally planned on.

Construing taking one's time and listening to offers as "not being sold" on your pick is a massive reach of twisted logic.

[Beast_from_East]

Exactly.

They did their due diligence and then went ahead with the pick they had originally planned on.

Construing taking one's time and listening to offers as "not being sold" on your pick is a massive reach of twisted logic.

Yea, not listening to offers is about the dumbest thing you can do during the draft. What if somebody else pulled an Atlanta and offered us a ton of picks to move down?

Jerry did the smart move here.

[morasp]

The only thing I know about Smith is a clip someone posted two days ago. In that clip he looked terrible. All the experts say he is good and has lots of upside POTENTIAL so I hope they are right. Houck has been a very good judge of talent and he is very excited so that's a good sign. The sporting news had him rated as the best pass blocker in the draft and with the offensive we run that's important.

[Arch Stanton]

Smith unlike Costanza has unquestionable passion for the game whereas Costanza wants to go to Med school. Not someone you draft with a high pick. Carimi still isn't drafted. We made a great pick.

Carimi was drafted by the Bears.

I thought the Bears and Pack got some good value with Carimi and Sherrod.

[burmafrd]

You wait just in case someone pulls an Atlanta or Minneesota on you. BB just does not like the pick and is desperate for a reason to whine.

[Outlaw Heroes]

The fact remains, they were willing to live without him by listening to trade offers. He may evolve into a nice player, but he wasn't someone they had to have.

My gut tells me that they were waiting for one specific offer: from Minnesota. When the Titans left Gabbert on the clock, I think Jerry thought the Vikes just might be willing to part with their second rounder to jump up ahead of Washington. That would allow him to drop back to 12, add a pick in the first half of the second guy, and likely still get the guy he wanted all along.

[Randy White]

the Vikings are the 2nd team that has confirmed they try to trade with the Cowboys but found the price tag too high. Jerrah said there were three teams he was dealing with and 2 of them have been indentified ( Jags and Vikes ), so I wonder who the 3rd was ?

[SMCowboy]

the Vikings are the 2nd team that has confirmed they try to trade with the Cowboys but found the price tag too high. Jerrah said there were three teams he was dealing with and 2 of them have been indentified ( Jags and Vikes ), so I wonder who the 3rd was ?

The fact that the Vikings are saying that Jerry Jones wanted #12 and this year 2nd round pick to move back 3 spots says alot about how highly the Cowboys think of Tyron Smith....

[visionary]

I don't disagree with the pick, as it fills a need. We just need to dispense with the lie that Smith was the pick all along. If he's your guy, you don't take the full 15 minutes exploring trade options with other teams. Hardly a ringing endorsement of the young Trojan.

dont agree with htis BB
I am not the biggest JJ the GM fan but I htink we did the right thing here
You have to do your due diligence, which we did
Who knows how he will turn out but he has a chance to be great
He has all the tools to be the next great LT, if he turns into that, we will have a steal

[Sam I Am]

I don't disagree with the pick, as it fills a need. We just need to dispense with the lie that Smith was the pick all along. If he's your guy, you don't take the full 15 minutes exploring trade options with other teams. Hardly a ringing endorsement of the young Trojan.

The Cowboys aren't pushing daisies. You stay open to all possibilities. I am clearly the biggest Tyron Smith supporter on this board and I have no issue with what they did. They waited and they should have waited. You never know what could fall in your lap. Look at the craziness that Atlanta traded for Julio Jones. That was a freaking payday from hell.

[Randy White]

The fact that the Vikings are saying that Jerry Jones wanted #12 and this year 2nd round pick to move back 3 spots says alot about how highly the Cowboys think of Tyron Smith....

What I found interesting is that the Vikings implied that they would have probably done it ( moved up for Gabbert ) if they had a 3rd round choice, but they didn't. They didn't want to end up with just 1 pick in the first 3 rounds.

[SMCowboy]

I'm going to be honest, I wasn't thrilled with the pick. Personally I'm not one for drafting O-linemen in the first round because I'm from the Jimmy school of drafting on this one: you can find hungry ones in later rounds. I also have a problem with O-linemen who are late pushers in the draft. In all the years that I've been watching the draft, I don't remember one jumping into the top 10 so late and with so thin of a resume. I was also irritated at the way the draft was unfolding and seeing how the Cowboys basically put an added value on Smith that was a bit too much. Jerry said in the presser that he was entertaining offers all the way until the last minute, ten seconds. Assuming, for arguments sake, that the offers he was entertaining were roughly the price that Jacksonville paid the Deadskins to move up to #10, that means the Cowboys believe that Smith is worth a Castonzo or Carimi ( I'm not a Solder fan ) plus a 2nd round pick, plus the difference in salary between the 9th pick and the 16th pick, or whatever other pick was in play. I think that's too high of a price for Smith.


How does Smith have a thin resume, a multi year starter at USC, the conference OL of the year this year. And for the record, I still don't buy the argument that Tyron Smith pushed into the top 10 so late. The time that he "pushed into the top 10" there were no combine numbers, no Pro Days, nothing was going on. He just didn't start as high on "internet guru" mock drafts, because none of the "internet guru's" expected him to come out early. But obviously Dallas thought he would come out early, and were on him early, if he was the most scouted player by our scouts this year. I don't think it is as much him shooting up teams draft boards, as much as it is him shooting up "internet guru's" draft boards as more and more info about what teams thought about him became available, to match where teams had him rated to begin with....

[SDogo]

They also only had 10 minutes, not 15.

Which after last night circus and given the new format the NFL needs to look at again.

[ZeroClub]

Anyway, I'm fine with Smith, but I do wish we could've found a way to trade down a couple spots and add a 3rd or even 4th rounder. Seems like we could have with Fairley and Ponder still on the board.

Yeah, I felt like Jerry might have left some value on the table by not trading back a bit,

I also have a concern that over the long haul Jerry just won't be able to keep two LT salaries on the same roster.

We'll have to see how that plays out.

[Randy White]

How does Smith have a thin resume, a multi year starter at USC, the conference OL of the year this year. And for the record, I still don't buy the argument that Tyron Smith pushed into the top 10so late. The time that he "pushed into the top 10" there were no combine numbers, no Pro Days, nothing was going on. He just didn't start as high on "internet guru" mock drafts, because none of the "internet guru's" expected him to come out early.


Ususally linemen drafted in the top 10 are regarded as top 10 talent even before their senior year in college, sometimes even earlier than that, as is the case with Smith's teammate Matt Kalil, a will be junior who's regarded, as of right now, as a top 5 pick in next year's draft if he declares.

The Cowboys themselves didn't have Smith rated as a top 10 pick as late as December, as per Jerry Jones in his presser. Not a huge deal, but it shows he shot up the ladder late and it wasn't just with " internet gurus ".

As far as his resume is concern, he has 24 starts in his 3 years career for USC, with 10 other games as a back up and special team player ( he came in as a TE ). That's less than the typical lineman drafted in the top 10 usually has.

[Sam I Am]

The Cowboys themselves didn't have Smith rated as a top 10 pick as late as December, as per Jerry Jones in his presser. Not a huge deal, but it shows he shot up the ladder late and it wasn't just with " internet gurus ".



Really? I heard they had a scout at every single one of his games last year.

[burmafrd]

So he does not have as much experience? He also does not have as much wear either. He was highly regarded last year; no one really expected him to come out so a lot of draft types did not spend much time on him. and to be honest, listening to Jerruh on drafting is not a good idea.

[Randy White]

Which after last night circus and given the new format the NFL needs to look at again.


Oh no.. Last night was perfect. The first round lasted 3 1/2 hours and it looked quicker than that. I don't want to go back to the 4 and 5 hours first rounds where nothing happens but 5 commercials during team's alloted time.

I'm not a fan of the format because the first round feels like a tease and I'm not too patient, but I love the 10 minutes slots.

[Randy White]

Really? I heard they had a scout at every single one of his games last year.

Of course they did. Look at where he played. Every team had a scout in every USC game last year.

[Sam I Am]

Oh no.. Last night was perfect. The first round lasted 3 1/2 hours and it looked quicker than that. I don't want to go back to the 4 and 5 hours first rounds where nothing happens but 5 commercials during team's alloted time.

I'm not a fan of the format because the first round feels like a tease and I'm not too patient, but I love the 10 minutes slots.

I think 10 minutes is perfect. Any more and it drags on too long from a watching perspective. Any less and you (the teams) are really rushed if you are trying to make a deal.

[Sam I Am]

Of course they did. Look at where he played. Every team had a scout in every USC game last year.

I mean to watch him specifically. That is what was said.

We get it, you don't like the pick.

[Randy White]

So he does not have as much experience? He also does not have as much wear either. He was highly regarded last year; no one really expected him to come out so a lot of draft types did not spend much time on him. and to be honest, listening to Jerruh on drafting is not a good idea.


I agree with the wear and tear, I don't know about the " highly regarded " part. I hear ya about Jerrah but all Cowboys fans should know how to filter and decipher his encrypted messages by now.. It took a few years at the begining during the 90's ( especially after Jimmah Jenius ), but the decoder ring should be fully functional by this time.

[Randy White]

I mean to watch him specifically. That is what was said. We get it, you don't like the pick.

Apparently you don't get it. Not being " thrilled " with it ( and that's mostly with the selection he was picked with, not the player himself ), does not mean " not like it ".. Oh, and it's very interesting that they had a scout in every game " specifically for him " but as of December he wasn't rated as a top 10 pick by them.

In reality, the Cowboys might have had a scout in every USC game but I guarantee you it wasn't " specifically for him ". No scout " specifically " does work on just one player for an entire year.

[SMCowboy]

Apparently you don't get it. Not being " thrilled " with it ( and that's mostly with the selection he was picked with, not the player himself ), does not mean " not like it ".. Oh, and it's very interesting that they had a scout in every game " specifically for him " but as of December he wasn't rated as a top 10 pick by them.

In reality, the Cowboys might have had a scout in every USC game but I guarantee you it wasn't " specifically for him ". No scout " specifically " does work on just one player for an entire year.

While no scout goes specifically just for one guy, teams most certainly do send scouts for the main purpose of looking at one guy. And the word has been for a while that Dallas had a scout at every one of his games with his main goal being to watch Tyron Smith....

And how do we know that Dallas didn't have Tyron Smith as a top 10 pick in December? Because Jerry said so before the draft? Have you still not learned to NEVER believe anything Jerry Jones says before the draft....

I have no idea where the Cowboys viewed Tyron Smith in December, and the truth is you don't really know either. But, the fact that we had a scout at all of his games this year, with his main job to scout Tyron Smith certainly gives the impression that he was very high on their board from the beginning....