Should the Cowboys have drafted Dalvin Cook?

xwalker said:

I didn't say it had to be at #28. They could have traded up from #60 to the early 2nd.

They needed to maximize their probability of success and Cook was the only player remaining that had a 1st round grade on their draft board.

That means they were most confident that Cook would be a good/great player of all the choices at #28.

Drafting Watt over Taco would have been good; although we don't know how well Watt would fit in a 4-3 defense.

The issue is that they were not "sold" on Watt or Taco. They were "sold" on Cook but just did draft him because of position.

Looking back at past drafts, the Cowboys (and other teams) likely would have come out ahead drafting the best available player regardless of position. The number of drafts busts would have been reduced.

If they had a healthy Cook and Zeke to to start the season (if Zeke was not holding out) they could have traded one for a DE.

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xwalker said:

Short Sighted Thought Process vs Managing a Roster for the long term

• What if the Cowboys had been legit contenders in 2017 but would have been doomed when Zeke was suspended.
• They built their offense around running the ball and put extreme resources into the OL for that purpose.
• They do all of that but then make themselves dependent on 1 player and it's a player with a propensity to have a few off-field issues.
• Zeke's agent had them over a barrel this year with the holdout because they didn't have other legit options except for a 4th round rookie.
• Taking another position does not help when that player does not work out.
• The draft is an exercise in probabilities. Focusing on need reduces the probability of drafting an elite player and increases the probability of drafting a bust.
• The top goal should always be to get players that will succeed. The top goal in the 1st/2nd round should be to get players that will become elite NFL players.
• Focusing on the specific needs of the upcoming season has caused many teams to make bad choices in the draft.
• If need is considered when drafting, it should be about the need the following year. That approach allows for more rational decisions.
• Teams that draft a QB at the top of the draft end up doing it based on the year they have a top 10 pick and need a QB.
• That approach limits them to just choosing from the QBs that are available that year.
• If you look at any 3 year period, some of those years were much better to draft a QB than other years, especially when you consider "fit" with the team/scheme.
• Teams go ahead and use a top pick on a QB because they need one and they pick the best of the bunch that year, but often times it would have been better to attempt to trade that pick to be in position to draft a QB the following year when the player that they really want will be in the draft.

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ABQCOWBOY said:

For every Randy Moss, there is a Taco Charlton. I mean, I'm not going to complain, our scouting staff and personnel group have done a very good job over the last several drafts. You can't hit on every one of them but Taco seemed to me like a very big miss. I think that pick was a management pick and not a personnel pick. JMO

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xwalker said:

The Cowboys had pick #28 and #60 for the 1st and 2nd rounds respectively in 2017.

Dalvin Cook was drafted at #41.

I posted back then that if he dropped to #60 that the Cowboys should definitely draft him.

I also said that they should consider him at #28 or with a trade down from #28 or trade up from #60.

Most replies were that it was not a good idea and would be over-kill at the RB position. People also said the RB position is not valuable.

Cook had injury issues his first 2 seasons; however, just based on talent it would have been a good move in retrospect.

A healthy Cook coming into this season would have meant either the Cowboys would let Zeke holdout OR Zeke would not have held out.

Cook's speed/explosiveness looks better than Saquan Barkley to me...

The Cowboys drafted Taco at #28 that year...

Who would or would not have drafted Cook?

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ClappingCarrot said:

Seems like an overreaction. I'd be willing to bet that Cook won't even get an extension in Minnesota.

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ShiningStar said:

i agree, every team can play this game, guess what, it wont change anything.


that was my point so i def agree with you

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CowboysFaninHouston said:

it never fails...a RB or another player has a good game against us and we should have drafted him. what would you do with Zeke and Cook? we already complain about running too much, now you want to use a #4 pick and a #41 pick to split 25 carries a game....come on man

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LACowboysFan1 said:

20-20 hindsight.

Besides, Cowboys had far greater needs than another running back, having a top back who is sitting on the bench does you no good....

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xwalker said:

It's not about this specific game. I posted multiple times about it during that draft as Cook was falling to the 2nd round.

Fans have a thought process that draft picks will succeed and therefore focus on position need.

In reality, the most important thing in the draft is to "hit" on the picks with picks living up to or exceeding their draft status.

If draft picks turn out to be very good or great players, it always works out to the team's advantage.

If draft picks become busts it is always a dis-advantage to the team.

Building an offense around the running game but then being totally dependent on 1 player (Zeke) is not a great strategy. Yes it worked out for the Cowboys with Emmitt but the chance of Zeke being unavailable is much much higher than it was for Emmitt. Zeke has already been suspended and almost suspended again this year. The dependence on Emmitt did bite them when he held out for 2 games.

Drafting based on immediate need has proven to cause many draft fails by NFL teams.

If need is considered in the top 3 rounds it should be more about need for the following year, not the immediate season.

Obviously if players have similar rankings then need makes the decision.

In the case of Delvin Cook, his ranking was clearly above Taco on their draft board with Cook as the only player available at #28 with a 1st round grade.

People say "they should've just drafted Watt"; however, they were not completely sold on either Taco or Watt as being 1st round talents.

I have spent significant time over the years reviewing draft history of both the Cowboys and all teams.

Fans/media are hyper-focused on need leading up to each draft but when looked at players and rosters a few years after the draft, the concept of need seems silly unless it QB which is a different issue than other positions.

The Cowboys had pick #51 in 2009. The only player remaining on their board as a 1st round pick was RB LeSean McCoy. The Cowboys traded down from #51 and McCoy was drafted at #53 by the Eagles. The Cowboys had Felix Jones and Marion Barber at RB and didn't "need" McCoy. Within a very short time frame, McCoy had more value than the entire Cowboys 2009 draft class and both Felix and Barber were done within a couple of years. If they had drafted McCoy and all 3 RBs remained elite, they could have traded one. The point is that they were "sold" that McCoy was by far the best player available because he had a 1st round grade. The probability of success would have been highest if they had drafted McCoy and that's not just based on hindsight. That was true then.

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CowboysFaninHouston said:

regardless of your stand at the time and I think I remember having a discussion on why back then too....and the question still remains regardless of ranking and need. do we draft a RB at #4 in zeke, then turn around and draft a RB at #41. specially that zeke had won rushing title and was great in 2016. how will you deploy a 2 RB scheme, when neither is a lead blocker. you get 25 carries a game, give or take a few and you are going to split the carries between the two? that's waste of a top 5 pick who you expect to carry full load and waste of a high second round pick.

again this doesn't have anything to do with if taco was ranked above, below or the same.....

and we should have probably drafted TJ Watt, or traded up for the guys we really wanted instead of settling on Taco.

again, you don't need two top RBs to succeed....

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• They could be on the field together for some number of plays.
• At the time using Cook as a hybrid RB/WR would have helped.
• They needed to get more speed on the field.
• Cook could have played 8 snaps in what is now the Tavon Austin role.
• Cook could have played another 8 snaps at RB.

• Dez turned into a slug.
• Witten was slower in 2017 than now.
• T.Williams was a very limited player.
• Beasley had great quickness but his long speed didn't scare defenses.

xwalker said:

Cook is a terrific receiver.

• They could be on the field together for some number of plays.
• At the time using Cook as a hybrid RB/WR would have helped

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xwalker said:

It's not about this specific game. I posted multiple times about it during that draft as Cook was falling to the 2nd round.

Fans have a thought process that draft picks will succeed and therefore focus on position need.

In reality, the most important thing in the draft is to "hit" on the picks with picks living up to or exceeding their draft status.

If draft picks turn out to be very good or great players, it always works out to the team's advantage.

If draft picks become busts it is always a dis-advantage to the team.

Building an offense around the running game but then being totally dependent on 1 player (Zeke) is not a great strategy. Yes it worked out for the Cowboys with Emmitt but the chance of Zeke being unavailable is much much higher than it was for Emmitt. Zeke has already been suspended and almost suspended again this year. The dependence on Emmitt did bite them when he held out for 2 games.

Drafting based on immediate need has proven to cause many draft fails by NFL teams.

If need is considered in the top 3 rounds it should be more about need for the following year, not the immediate season.

Obviously if players have similar rankings then need makes the decision.

In the case of Delvin Cook, his ranking was clearly above Taco on their draft board with Cook as the only player available at #28 with a 1st round grade.

People say "they should've just drafted Watt"; however, they were not completely sold on either Taco or Watt as being 1st round talents.

I have spent significant time over the years reviewing draft history of both the Cowboys and all teams.

Fans/media are hyper-focused on need leading up to each draft but when looked at players and rosters a few years after the draft, the concept of need seems silly unless it QB which is a different issue than other positions.

The Cowboys had pick #51 in 2009. The only player remaining on their board as a 1st round pick was RB LeSean McCoy. The Cowboys traded down from #51 and McCoy was drafted at #53 by the Eagles. The Cowboys had Felix Jones and Marion Barber at RB and didn't "need" McCoy. Within a very short time frame, McCoy had more value than the entire Cowboys 2009 draft class and both Felix and Barber were done within a couple of years. If they had drafted McCoy and all 3 RBs remained elite, they could have traded one. The point is that they were "sold" that McCoy was by far the best player available because he had a 1st round grade. The probability of success would have been highest if they had drafted McCoy and that's not just based on hindsight. That was true then.

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xwalker said:

Cook is a terrific receiver.

• They could be on the field together for some number of plays.
• At the time using Cook as a hybrid RB/WR would have helped.
• They needed to get more speed on the field.
• Cook could have played 8 snaps in what is now the Tavon Austin role.
• Cook could have played another 8 snaps at RB.

A huge issue in 2017 was a lack of speed on offense.

• Dez turned into a slug.
• Witten was slower in 2017 than now.
• T.Williams was a very limited player.
• Beasley had great quickness but his long speed didn't scare defenses.

Cook was drafted in 2017. Zeke was suspended in 2017 over something that happened before the 2017 draft.

The Cowboys had to have some idea that Zeke was under review and there was a possibility of suspension.

Even now, an injury or suspension for Zeke would put the Cowboys into a difficult situation unless 4th round rookie Tony Pollard can step up as a true lead NFL RB.

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Toruk_Makto said:

It would have been stupid to draft Cook in 2017.

Zeke was coming off a special rookie season and actually looked like a playmaker then.

Also Zeke already represented overkill at a position you should invest minimally in. Cook would have been organizational malpractice.

The fact that Taco did not work out does not make your idea any less stupid.

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CowboysFaninHouston said:

cook is a RB who is a good receiver. are you suggesting that cook should play WR? again, two top RBs...how do you split the carries, because there is only so many to go around....

and an injury to cook would put minny in a bad situation....wait...it did already last year and before that...

having to be 2 deep with 2 top RBs is just ridiculous...sorry, I don't buy the Madden NFL line ups.... I rather be three deep at CB or perhaps a safety or a DT as opposed to having two RBs...

as you have noticed, its not the offense that's the problem, its the defense inability to stop opposing teams and get off the field on crucial 3rd downs, which has been an issue with this team...

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