On the 7th Day of April Christmas the Cowboys Gave to Me

[Hostile]

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Children of all ages.

Sorry, always wanted to say that. Something about a circus hawker that always intrigued me.

Well, here we are a week out from Christmas in April and the smoke is thicker than heavy cream. What are the Cowboys going to do? We all want to know.

This Mock is a combination of my best guess of how the Cowboys are leaning and my own bias.

I do believe David DeCastro is the best player this team could grab. I believe he should be our starting Center in 2012. Coming out of High School he was the best ranked Center in the country. So he has experience. He can play any of the 3 interior OL spots and probably RT too. Dallas could take him if their guy is gone.

Make no mistake about it, the Cowboys are looking for "the right kind of guys." Team Captains, vocal leaders, A students, high motor guys, clean character. The only way they take a risky character guy is if he falls a lot.

#14. Mark Barron, SS, Alabama, 6'1", 215. There is not a doubt in my mind that this player is #1 on the Cowboys wish list. In the NFL Safety is probably the most tenuous position in the draft and on Sundays. The gap from the top Safeties down to the rank and file just might be the most drastic drop in the NFL. This, more than anything else, is why I believe Dallas is focused on Barron and could even move up to get him if they believe the Eagles or someone else might move ahead of them for him. If he is gone I believe DeCastro becomes a very real option.

#45. Kevin Zeitler, OG, Wisconsin, 6'4", 315. One reason why the Cowboys are not higher on DeCastro is because I believe they are really enamored with Peter Konz and Kevin Zeitler. I believe they are focused on Center, more than Guard in this Draft. I think they would prefer Konz to Zeitler, but would take Zeitler in a heartbeat. Can he play Center? If he can't Bernadeau probably gets asked to move there. Interior OL, particularly Center is going to get addressed. It is only a question of when. If they grab DeCastro in the first this pick could be Coby Fleener if he is still there or perhaps they look at Bruce Irvin, Vinny Curry, or Zach Brown. I personally hope they give a look at Jared Crick. Don't be shocked if they select Doug Martin if he is there.

#81. Casey Hayward, CB, Vanderbilt, 5'11", 190. In my opinion this is where the Draft loses value for Dallas this year unless someone falls. This is where I think Dallas would either use this pick to move up for Barron, or trade down here for a 4th round pick and another pick of indeterminate round at this time. If a Brandon Boykin, LaMichael James, or George Iloka fell this far they might make a pick that direction. They like Hayward and need depth, that is why he is my pick here. Truth be told, I think they want Ryan Broyles and may target him for their 3rd pick, but not necessarily at #81. If they trade this pick to move up for Barron, I could still see them using #113 and a later pick in a move to get Broyles.

#113. Ryan Broyles, WR, Oklahoma, 5'10", 192. If he gets anywhere near this pick we will move up for him or take him if he falls to us. I'd actually be quite shocked if we don't make some kind of a move to acquire him. A hell of a good player would have to be enticing us to pass on him. Simply put, this guy fits Garrett's Offense and Romo's strengths. If the Cowboys miss out on Barron, DeCastro, Broyles, and the 2 Wisconsin guys, bet your socks this pick is for Phillip Blake.

#135. Trevor Guyton, DE, California, 6'3", 285. At some point the Cowboys are going to get a DE and 86 Kenyon Coleman. I absolutely do not believe at this point Coleman will be on the 2012 Cowboys. In the last few years Cal has had some pretty good 3-4 DEs and Guyton could be the latest, though less acclaimed than his predecessors. Don't let that fool you. This kid has a great motor and attitude. Senio Kelemete could be a target here even if we take OL early. He has real value to us. This pick was Compensatory which means it cannot be traded. We are picking at 135 no matter what. If we miss out on Brules, T.Y. Hilton here might be a consolation.

#152. Tank Carder, ILB, TCU, 6'2", 236. Simply put, the Cowboys love his motor and his leadership. He played OLB at TCU, but the NFL guys see him as an ILB. He is smart and knows reads. He provides good depth and could be an absolute stud on Special Teams where guys with high motors usually excel. If we don't take him here the bet is TE. Look for Rhett Ellison or DeAngelo Peterson possibly. I prefer to wait and steal Linthicum out of Michigan State, but we won't wait. My pet cat is going to be near this spot. That is Hebron Fangupo out of BYU at NT. I think he will end up being a steal and I actually hope we grab him even if we reach a little.

#186. Nick Foles, QB, Arizona, 6'4", 240. I know many hate it, but we invested a lot in scouting this kid and I think they are going to roll the dice on him. I personally will love it because I think a lot of fans are going to be pleasantly surprised if we do. I think McGee not moving up to #2 speaks loudly. This could be where we grab our TE, Chase Ford possibly. I know the reports have been that we like Case Keenum and/or G.J. Kinne. I am not buying those reports weighed against how much scouting was spent on Foles.

#222. Drew Butler, P, Georgia, 6'1", 203. I personally hate taking Kickers or Punters in the Draft, and I much, much, much prefer brain Anger out of California. But we're not going to draft a Punter before the 7th round unless Anger falls. I don't trust Chris Jones. I don't believe the Cowboys think he is as good as McBriar. I'd love to have McBriar back if healthy. I don't think we risk it.

Talk to me.

[theogt]

I'll take it.

[rocboy22]

maybe take a flyer on another DE in the 7th instead of a punter, everything else I would be cool with

[fortdick]

So, Hos, have you given up hope on DeCastro?

I like your draft as option "B"

Option "A" for me is still DeCastro in the first and Smith in the second, then follow yours to completion.

I will not give up hope!

[Hostile]

Originally Posted by fortdick

So, Hos, have you given up hope on DeCastro?

I like your draft as option "B"

Option "A" for me is still DeCastro in the first and Smith in the second, then follow yours to completion.

I will not give up hope!

No, I never give up hope. I just think we are going after Barron and one of the Wisconsin guys at 14 and 45.

[Corleone]

Sounds good to me, I really like Broyles and Carder. Barron looks like he will be a Cowboy but I'll still be hoping for DeCastro. I like that you addressed Guard early in the draft because I think we still have big holes there until proven otherwise.

So Dallas likes Broyles THAT much? That's good, I'd love to see him here and could be a nice steal if he pans out.

[Dash28]

I like it.

[SDogo]

Looks just about right, not a whole lot of variance from mine as I work on the final draft. I'm just debating in Round 2 to put Martin down or not. Like you, I feel Broyles is a given but for that to happen I feel Dallas will pull the trigger in the 3rd.

[Hostile]

Originally Posted by SDogo

Looks just about right, not a whole lot of variance from mine as I work on the final draft. I'm just debating in Round 2 to put Martin down or not. Like you, I feel Broyles is a given but for that to happen I feel Dallas will pull the trigger in the 3rd.

Barron, Martin, Broyles followed by 2 OL in the 4th won't shock me at all.

[Zaxor]

all except the qb I think this may be real close to accurate if those players are on the board when they pick put a rb in where you have the qb and I think it will reflect what they hope will happen

[Woods]

I think it's a very realistic draft and a solid draft.

I do think that we may go for a TE instead of Foles at QB end of the Draft. But frankly said, at that stage in the draft, who knows? It could be that Garrett has his eyes on a couple of vets at TE who we pick up post-Draft.

I know it's easy to say, but I wish we had just 1 more pick around the 3rd to 4th round. That would get us the TE as well and we'd have most of our bases covered. (Wish Davis had signed with us!)

The only thing that would be left would be to get a 5th CB, and I guess that would be an UDFA type.

[Deep_Freeze]

Originally Posted by Hostile

Barron, Martin, Broyles followed by 2 OL in the 4th won't shock me at all.

Not really in love with the Martin pick, but I do believe this mock is probably alot closer to what we will look for during the draft, whether it happens for us or not.

The positions just make sense, would rather get a DE a bit higher though. I do know alot here like Broyles, for good reason cause he is a polished WR, although I do worry about us having to give him a redshirt year cause of his injury.

I still look at Joe Adams as a darkhorse backup just in case Broyles doesn't fall our way.

[DBOY3141]

Originally Posted by SDogo

Looks just about right, not a whole lot of variance from mine as I work on the final draft. I'm just debating in Round 2 to put Martin down or not. Like you, I feel Broyles is a given but for that to happen I feel Dallas will pull the trigger in the 3rd.

Say your hunch is correct and it goes.

barron
Martin
Broyles

when Stephen talks about coming out of this draft with 3 starters. I'm guessing players splitting time, could constitute starting? I don't see anyone starting after the 3rd round.

[fortdick]

Originally Posted by SDogo

Looks just about right, not a whole lot of variance from mine as I work on the final draft. I'm just debating in Round 2 to put Martin down or not. Like you, I feel Broyles is a given but for that to happen I feel Dallas will pull the trigger in the 3rd.

I assume you are talking about Doug Martin. If not, disregard the following.

Why, in the name of God, would we draft a RB in the second? We have holes all over, but RB is not one of them. We need a TE more than a RB! If this guy was Emmit Smith, okay, but he ain't!

/off rant

[cowboy_ron]

Hayward seems a little soft to me