Grade the Cowboys 2012 rookie Draft class

[Ultimategamer5567]

Draft Class: 2012

1. Claiborne, CB
3. Crawford, DE
4. Wilber, OLB
4(2). Johnson, S
5. Coale, WR
6. Hanna, TE
7. McSurdy, ILB


Give an opinion on each player one-by-one if you would.

And how do you see these players impacting the team next year?

[ManicDepressiveMan]

1. Claiborne, CB F Gave up a second round pick for the, at best, third best CB in the draft.

3. Crawford, DE B Did a decent job as a rookie. Like his potential.

4. Wilber, OLB D Not looking great here. Hurt then when he came back looked terrible besides one big hit on special teams.

4(2). Johnson, S I Hopefully we actually see this guy next season.

5. Coale, WR I Hey, another guy who will "be like an extra draft pick" when he actually plays.

6. Hanna, TE B Looks like the biggest fear that he couldn't catch was not the case. Like this guy's future.

7. McSurdy, ILB I Don't think this guy will amount to anything, but will give the benefit of the doubt before grading him.

So we are looking at a 1.75 GPA here not counting all the I's.

Potential to get a lot better if Claiborne becomes a superstar and the injured guys pan out.

So I give it a D, subject to change.

[cowboysooner]

Its either an F or an I for every player outside of Claiborne, Crawford and Hanna who were all B's in my book.

If we end up with an A, two B's and a couple of B's or C's then it is a good year.

[Cowboy_Shawn]

1. Claiborne, CB - (B) I thought he played well. He wasn't great but he wasn't terrible either. He looked like a slightly above average NFL CB. I gave him a B because he's a rookie. If he were a 3rd year CB and turned in that performance I'd have given him a C.

3. Crawford, DE - (C-) not much of an impact. I didn't really notice him making many plays. I can see him developing into a Jason Hatcher type of guy later on down the road, but I don't get the vibe that he'll be a top tier DL. As I mentioned I didn't see him many impact plays.

4. Wilber, OLB -(C) Average player at very best. ST and backup LB appears to be his peak.

4(2). Johnson, S (F) I hated the pick on draft day and to this day I still hate the pick. Johnson has proven to be brittle. IMO, the guy doesn't have a futre in the NFL.

5. Coale, WR (I)

6. Hanna, TE (A) He gets an A because he made the most of his limited opportunity. Obviously he's playing behind a Pro Bowler but he caught virtually everything thrown his way and he's improved his blocking. I like the speed element he adds to the TE position. Kind of reminds me of a Jimmy Graham in terms of athleticism.

7. McSurdy, ILB (I)

[Ultimategamer5567]

Claiborne: I thought he played fairly well as a rookie. Rarely did he seem like the game was too big for him. Needs to be used to his strengths better. B.
Crawford: Showed some flashes of pass rush ability at times. For a so-called raw prospect, he handled himself well. But needs to get more consistent. B-.
Wilber: Didn't show much, if anything, to indicate an NFL future. However, he is still fresh out of college, so there's still time. D-.
Johnson: Never saw him play. Incomplete.
Coale: Like Matt Johnson, he never saw the field. Incomplete.
Hanna: This guy has speed, and made a few nice plays when given the chance.
He did not drop passes as his scouting report out of college warned. He has solidified his position as the #2 TE. For a 6th-rounder: A.
McSurdy: Never made it onto the field. Incomplete.

Overall: C-; Incomplete.

[patrickstillhere]

1. Claiborne, CB B
3. Crawford, DE B
4. Wilber, OLB D
4(2). Johnson, S C-
5. Coale, WR I
6. Hanna, TE C+
7. McSurdy, ILB F

[lostar2009]

we you kinda look at this the first time so many draft picks has hung around.

But in general i will give these guys a C no one made a significant impact this year.

[Ultimategamer5567]

Originally Posted by patrickstillhere

1. Claiborne, CB B
3. Crawford, DE B
4. Wilber, OLB D
4(2). Johnson, S C-
5. Coale, WR I
6. Hanna, TE C+
7. McSurdy, ILB F

What did Matt Johnson do while he was injured to earn a higher grade than Kyle Wilber? :0

[Apollo Creed]

B- based on long term potential. Shut down blue chip corners don't grow on trees and in a passing league you need guys like Mo. I don't regret the trade up even though last years draft class was very deep.

But in terms of immediate satisfaction? C-. Hanna looks like a servicable 2nd TE, Wilber and Johnson are major ? marks, Crawford looks like he can provide versatility and be a plug and play guy next year. McSturdy was a safe pick for a 7th rounder, high upside, good character. All the guys were captains, which most players drafted by the NFL tend to be (nothing unusual there) and all seem to be very very high character guys.

Almost a little too high character if you ask me, sometimes you need bullies.

[ninja]

As a whole, based on 2012 production (summarized below) solely: F

1) Claiborne had one INT (IIRC) the whole year and it was on a tipped pass. Beaten like a rented mule on crossing routes.
2) Crawford couldn't beat out overweight Spears with 2 degenerative knees.
3) Wilber was outplayed in camp by undrafted FA LB Adrain Hamilton and only made the roster because he was a draft pick. Looked clueless in very limited action. Hardly even made the active list.
4) Johnson? Mastered running on sidelines with parachute. Waste of a roster spot most of the year. Finally put on IR.
5) Coale? Even if healthy, probably loses roster spot to undrafted FA Beasley.
6) Hanna was the creme de la creme. Too bad Garrett didn't use him earlier and more often.
7) McSurdy? Absolutely nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Made previous 7th rd pick FB Chapas look like a steal.

As a whole, looking forward 2013 and beyond: C-/D+

1) Claiborne played healthy all year and looks like he belongs in this league and just needs experience. And more confidence. Too many times Ryan had him playing 7 yds off the LOS. Ridiculous.
2) Crawford might be starting next year out of urgency. Needs to bulk up. cowboys might have a player here. TBD.
3) Wilber? Who knows? Needs reps and needs to hit the weights.
4) Johnson, Coale, and McSurdy? Not in the plans if can't stay healthy.
7) Hanna has a bright future. Good pick.

[perrykemp]

Originally Posted by ninja

As a whole, based on 2012 production (summarized below) solely: F

1) Claiborne had one INT (IIRC) the whole year and it was on a tipped pass. Beaten like a rented mule on crossing routes.
2) Crawford couldn't beat out overweight Spears with 2 degenerative knees.
3) Wilber was outplayed in camp by undrafted FA LB Adrain Hamilton and only made the roster because he was a draft pick. Looked clueless in very limited action. Hardly even made the active list.
4) Johnson? Mastered running on sidelines with parachute. Waste of a roster spot most of the year. Finally put on IR.
5) Coale? Even if healthy, probably loses roster spot to undrafted FA Beasley.
6) Hanna was the creme de la creme. Too bad Garrett didn't use him earlier and more often.
7) McSurdy? Absolutely nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Made previous 7th rd pick FB Chapas look like a steal.

I think Claiborne played better than you did, however, it's hard to argue with the rest of your analysis.

[lurkercowboy]

Three guys stand out.

Claiborne played well for a rookie corner. Bright future.

Crawford had a lot of playing time and will only improve with an off-season in the training program. He is already a rotation guy andI see him developing into a starter.

Hanna will be a weapon next season as the second TE.

Who knows about the other picks?

[Eddie]

So the answer is .... NOT to give up multiple picks for a single player.

Haven't we learned that the hard way ???

[Yakuza Rich]

1. Claiborne, CB
3. Crawford, DE
4. Wilber, OLB
4(2). Johnson, S
5. Coale, WR
6. Hanna, TE
7. McSurdy, ILB


Claiborne – Excellent man-to-man cover corner who greatly improved his zone coverage and tackling. Main issues were covering slants and drag routes, but improved as the year went along which shows he can learn. Could be similarly effective as Revis. Well worth a 2nd round pick if the team was prepared to gear up more for the 2013 season than the 2012 season.

Crawford – showed real promise as he played well all year long. Played a high amount of snaps in the second half of the season. I think Ryan prefers to have run stoppers start at DE and that could prevent him from starting in 2013, but still effective.


Wilber – more of a special teams players. I don’t think he’s the answer to replace Spencer. If Spencer leaves, will have to find a replacement elsewhere.

Johnson – coaching staff loved him. Defensively, I think the organization judges talent well, but has a hard time meshing skill sets and ignores key positions out of theory too much. If Church comes back well and Johnson is as good as the Cowboys staff thinks, that would be a tremendous positive in 2013.

Coale – had the right idea filling a secondary need at the Y-Receiver. However, I don’t know if he can stay healthy or beat out Harris or Beasley.


Hanna – coaching staff seemed to trust him more as the season went along. Played pretty decent on special teams (John Phillips was underrated on ST as well). I see him as a replacement to Witten. Probably a fairly productive, but not outstanding TE. High side a Dallas Clark or Dustin Keller side.


McSurdy – most likely a ST player.




YR

[TheFinisher]

Claiborne: B-

Didn't have the impact that the team was expecting trading up for him, but he never really looked lost and played game in and game out very solid. Would have liked to see him flash those ball skills more than he did this season, remember that was his biggest strength coming into the draft, but hopefully that comes in time as be becomes more comfortable and confident.

Crawford : C-

The team knew he would need some development before making an impact for us, but he was forced into the rotation due to the injuries we suffered along the DL. Being undersized at 5-Tech he hurt us on running downs, which should have been expected, but there were not enough flash plays to balance it out. Needs to get bigger and stronger in the off-season.

Wilber: D

Made his way onto special teams but was a non-factor in the defensive rotation despite opportunities due to injuries to get on the field.

Johnson: I/F

Question mark because he couldn't stay healthy.

Coale: I/F

Health, not sure he has a future here due to emergence of Beasley and Harris.

Hanna: C-

Nice surprise who has an intriguing skillset, made some contributions in the pass game down the stretch and looks like he has a chance to be apart of the future.

McSurdy: F

Doubt he's brought back, but 7th Round picks rarely pan out.


Overall: C-

The grade of this class will weigh heavily on Claiborne. We traded up to #6 and sacrificed our 2nd Rounder because we thought he had the ability to be a shutdown CB. I'm still hopeful he can become that, but judging him solely on his rookie year it was really just ok. The rest of the class was forgettable in their first year and outside of Mo, no one really has a physical skillset to get overly excited about.