First Mock of 2012 + Offseason Plan - Dallas Cowboys Forum

casmith07 · 01-02-2012

Alright, after talking with some folks I respect around here, including SDogo, and doing a little research (and homering out in Round 2), I present to you, my offseason plan and mock draft!

We will begin with...free agency. Players in blue are re-signed.

Unrestricted free agents
Alan Ball
Martellus Bennett
Keith Brooking - retirement
Derrick Dockery - possible retirement, possible re-signing for veteran depth
Abram Elam
Montrae Holland
Jon Kitna - retirement
Daniel Loper
Mat McBriar - this one is interesting...Chris Jones might be given a legitimate opportunity in camp next summer.
Sammy Morris
Laurent Robinson
Anthony Spencer - I would move him to DE
Frank Walker
Bradie James - 1 year deal, veteran depth

Restricted free agents
Kevin Ogletree
Tony Fiammetta
Chauncey Washington - practice squad

Exclusive rights free agents
Clifton Geathers
Jermey Parnell - depth, project
Jesse Holley - he just keeps sticking around, and is a pretty good special teams player

I'm also going out on a limb and saying that Kyle Kosier will retire in light of his injury, and Newman will either be waived or will retire.

Free Agents From Other Teams
Cortland Finnegan, CB, Tennessee Titans -- Finnegan comes in and provides an immediate toughness to the CB position. He is able to jam virtually anyone at the line and is not afraid to hit you in the mouth. As long as we aren't playing the Houston Texans, we shouldn't have to worry about any 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. It is also said that Finnegan is a great community guy and an all around nice guy off the field.

Calais Campbell, DE, Arizona Cardinals -- Arizona likely won't be able to re-sign him, and we are hurting big time for a defensive end that can actually get to the Quarterback. Coupled with trying out Spencer on a 1-year deal as a DE re-conversion project, Campbell can come in and immediately give opposing quarterbacks and offensive coordinators fits as they figure out how to attempt to block/hold DeMarcus Ware and Campbell.

Carl Nicks, OG, New Orleans Saints -- here's another guy that his team would like to keep him, but might not be able to afford him. At a worst case scenario, bringing in Carl Nicks helps to sure up at least one guard spot left vacant by Kosier, and leaves us to only worry about one other spot between Guard and Center...I think we should be prepared to go into the next season with either Kowalski/Costa at Center again, and Holland at Guard.

The Draft - note, the draft picks are listed with thoughts of the free agency signings in mind, but are not hand-in-hand.

1. David DeCastro, OG, Stanford - probably the most NFL ready lineman in the draft, though similar things were stated about Gabe Carimi. DeCastro helps to round out an offensive line in transition and provides another beast along the offensive line in the vein of Tyron Smith (though I am salivating to see Smith next year with more time under his belt).

2. Jayron Hosley, CB, Virginia Tech - likely a 2nd round prospect, Jayron Hosley won't knock your teeth out hitting due to his size, but he's fearless in flinging his body around and is the definition of a "ball hawk" that the fans are clamoring for even if I hate buzzwords. Hosley can come in and immediately start opposite of Jenkins, or can play the slot while Finnegan mans the starting spot (if Finnegan were not signed). Hosley is the kind of CB that plays the ball, not the man, and is very good in zone coverage. Lets just hope Dave Campo isn't around to turn him into a pedestrian. This is the "casmith07's Bona Fide Homer Pick Of The Year!" pick of the draft.

3. Brandon Boykin, CB, Georgia - projecting as a 3rd rounder, but in the bowl game today playing like a Top 10 talent, Brandon Boykin can provie immediate depth vacated by Alan Ball and possibly Orlando Scandrick on the roster (Scandrick can be cut this year despite his new contract, saving us $5.3M against the cap). Not only does he cover well, and play the ball, but he tackles very well and also returns kicks and punts with gamebreaking ability, something that we desperately need. With this pick, we've found three starting-quality players at CB in free agency and the first three rounds of the draft, and have given ourselves insurance against Mike Jenkins possibly testing free agency.

4. Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame - the class of tight ends this year is weak, but we need one with Martellus Bennett almost assuredly signing somewhere else this off-season. Eifert has done well for Notre Dame and is tall and athletic. He'll need some work as a blocker, but he has a little Gronk in him as far as his athleticism and route running. A big tall target that could turn into a nice replacement for Witten as a pass catcher down the line. He also won't be concerned with making rap videos and twitter wars.

5. Brandon Lindsay, DE/OLB, Pittsburgh - with the possibility of moving Spencer to DE, or even re-signing him to maintain as an OLB, we still need to look to add someone to play whichever position is still a gap. Hoping for a player like Lindsay to slide to the 5th round is wishful thinking, but ends tend to go undervalued in the draft by teams.

6. Chandler Harnish, QB, Northern Illinois - we need to start looking for a replacement for Romo. Bigger needs in the upper rounds have us drafting other positions, but from this year forward I believe we should draft at least 1 Quarterback every year. Harnish churn's Kitna's spot and starts as the #3, but could easily be elevated to #2 next year if we find someone we like better than McGee.

7. Jonathan Bostic, ILB, Florida - we'll need some depth, bringing back Bradie James as a kind of player-coach for veteran depth. Florida is known for great team speed on defense, and Bostic is no different, projecting to run the 40-yard dash in the 4.60-4.63 range.

Have at it, tear it up, I don't care!

junk · 01-02-2012

Unless you plan on Spencer adding about 35 pounds....or changing your defense....I don't think he's an option as a 3-4 end.

SDogo · 01-02-2012

That's a lot of Green Back being tossed around in FA and I hear the Cardinals are prepared to slap Campbell with the "tag". While I would love to have him I don't think it's a realistic possibility for more reason then 1.

We have to land Nicks or Grubbs..........no question about it and when we do, it does not change the fact that DeCastro should be priority #1.

Unlike Many, I have no issues with bringing Finnegan in although if we do I don't see a CB being taken back to back so early in the draft. Notice I did not say I don't see two CB's picked because I think that's the route Dallas will take.

I'll take your word on Hosley, I admit, I'm not real schooled on him. As far as Boykin, he is becoming one of my favorite prospects quick and I don't see any way he makes it to Round 3 at this point.

TE in Round 4 or 5 is very likely, just unfortunate this years class is "blah" at best.

Really like the Lindsay pick in 5.

Harnish is a interesting prospect, the opinions on him are all over the place right now. I really wish we could Cousins but I get the feeling he may be this years Christian Ponder.

UncFelix28 · 01-02-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by SDogo

We have to land Nicks or Grubbs..........no question about it and when we do, it does not change the fact that DeCastro should be priority #1.

Unlike Many, I have no issues with bringing Finnegan in although if we do I don't see a CB being taken back to back so early in the draft. Notice I did not say I don't see two CB's picked because I think that's the route Dallas will take.

Yup that's what my plan would be as well.. You would have a solidified o-line for years to come with Smith-Free-Decastro-Nicks & would only need to focus on getting a solid Center.. Would be very nice if this fell into place, even though if we were to get Nicks I would rather go defense in the 1st round so that would take Decastro out of the picture for me

casmith07 · 01-02-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by SDogo

That's a lot of Green Back being tossed around in FA and I hear the Cardinals are prepared to slap Campbell with the "tag". While I would love to have him I don't think it's a realistic possibility for more reason then 1.

We have to land Nicks or Grubbs..........no question about it and when we do, it does not change the fact that DeCastro should be priority #1.

Unlike Many, I have no issues with bringing Finnegan in although if we do I don't see a CB being taken back to back so early in the draft. Notice I did not say I don't see two CB's picked because I think that's the route Dallas will take.

I'll take your word on Hosley, I admit, I'm not real schooled on him. As far as Boykin, he is becoming one of my favorite prospects quick and I don't see any way he makes it to Round 3 at this point.

TE in Round 4 or 5 is very likely, just unfortunate this years class is "blah" at best.

[View Full Quote]

Assuming we don't keep Newman and Scandrick, we'll save $14M approximate on the cap, taking us to nearly $30M in cap space for next year, not counting the other cuts/free agents that won't be back. But yeah those three guys will be a ton of money.

Hosley's going to be a good one. His vertical leap is ridiculous too - many of his INTs in his career at Tech were of the "climb the ladder" variety, out jumping guys that had 3-6 inches on him in height, too.

Leadbelly · 01-02-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by casmith07

Assuming we don't keep Newman and Scandrick, we'll save $14M approximate on the cap, taking us to nearly $30M in cap space for next year, not counting the other cuts/free agents that won't be back. But yeah those three guys will be a ton of money.

Hosley's going to be a good one. His vertical leap is ridiculous too - many of his INTs in his career at Tech were of the "climb the ladder" variety, out jumping guys that had 3-6 inches on him in height, too.

Assume we don't keep Scandrick? We signed him to a six year deal a little over 4 months ago. LOLZ.

He's starting next year and likely for a while.

If we sign a FA CB, brace yourself for a guy more in the Richard Marshall class. Ball's return is probably dependent on whether we draft 1 or 2 CBs.

** Also, love Jayron Hosley too.

Actually, our big CB contract this offseason will probably be resigning Mike Jenkins long term.

**MichaelWinicki** · 01-02-2012

Hey Cas... No way can Spencer play as a 3-4 DE.

I don't see the Cowboys spending that kind of coin in FA for several reasons.

Muhast · 01-02-2012

Boykin is going to go in the 2nd. He is going to run a good 40 as well as having a nice body of work as both a DB and Return man.

I like the idea of taking 2 CB's early though.

Dash28 · 01-02-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelWinicki

Hey Cas... No way can Spencer play as a 3-4 DE.

I don't see the Cowboys spending that kind of coin in FA for several reasons.

I think we will land two big signings imo.

If Grubbs and Nicks hit the open market, we have to go all out and grab one.

RS12 · 01-02-2012

Only Robinson, Fiametta and Parnell should be re signed. Everybody else can go lower the talent level of somebody elses team. DeCastro wont be there at 14 but Kosiers injury makes him a must.

casmith07 · 01-02-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leadbelly

Assume we don't keep Scandrick? We signed him to a six year deal a little over 4 months ago. LOLZ.

He's starting next year and likely for a while.

If we sign a FA CB, brace yourself for a guy more in the Richard Marshall class. Ball's return is probably dependent on whether we draft 1 or 2 CBs.

** Also, love Jayron Hosley too.

Actually, our big CB contract this offseason will probably be resigning Mike Jenkins long term.

Adam says that if we cut him, we save $5.3M in real money this year. Just a thought.

JonJon · 01-02-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leadbelly

Assume we don't keep Scandrick? We signed him to a six year deal a little over 4 months ago. LOLZ.

He's starting next year and likely for a while.

If we sign a FA CB, brace yourself for a guy more in the Richard Marshall class. Ball's return is probably dependent on whether we draft 1 or 2 CBs.

** Also, love Jayron Hosley too.

Actually, our big CB contract this offseason will probably be resigning Mike Jenkins long term.

Quoting AdamJT13

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamJT13

And that's a major problem with this team. We could cut Scandrick, save $5.3 million of cap room and try to use that money to find an actual quality starter. Instead, we'll almost certainly pay Scandrick $7.1 million next season and hope that he's not terrible.

I definitely do no think he is worth $7.1 million for one season. Hopefully, someone in the organization thinks like me. You can replace his production and most likely exceed his production with the $5.3 million we would save.

SDogo · 01-02-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonJon

Quoting AdamJT13

I definitely do no think he is worth $7.1 million for one season. Hopefully, someone in the organization thinks like me. You can replace his production and most likely exceed his production with the $5.3 million we would save.

That some eye opening information on Scandrick as well as some eye opening numbers. Raises some serious questions IMO.

windward · 01-02-2012

Nice set up. I'd take that offseason.

JonJon · 01-02-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by SDogo

That some eye opening information on Scandrick as well as some eye opening numbers. Raises some serious questions IMO.

VERY questionable. I see why so many think we will never get anywhere with Jerry Jones making decisions.