12/5/2013 mock draft

[XDez88BeastX]

Let me start off by saying I've given up on the "what is dallas going to do" direction of my mock & gone with how I want it, so this may seem unlikely but what the hey it's my mock.


1) Kelcy Quarles - DT USC
6'4" 298 lbs
36 tackles/13.5 TFL/ 9.5 sacks

This is my favorite player in the draft (not including Trent Murphy who I think goes top 15) & I believe he could be our long term answer at the 3-tech.

2) Ego Ferguson - DT LSU
6'3" 308 lbs
58 tackles/17 TFL /1 sack

This dude plays lights out at the nose guard position & has the athletic ability to also play the 3 if needed. With Quarles & Ego I believe our line would instantly be brought to the same level as the panthers & lions.

3) Tre Jackson - OG FSU
6'4" 330 lbs

The Oline has actually played better than expected but we still need depth and competition. Being a starting guard in a zone blocking scheme it will shorten his learning curve dramatically.

4) Za'Darious Smith - DE Kentucky
6'6" 254 lbs
59 tackles/6.5 TFL /6 sacks

At this point in the draft top tier talent on the DLine is pretty depleted so I'm going with measurables & potential. It seems we have a lot of shorter "DE's" in this draft & unless they have really long arms I'm not trusting them on the line at 6'6" Smith has the height to play & the Frame to add some weight & the potential to be clay for the Rod man to mold.

5) Boseko Lokombo - OLB Oregon
6'3" 233 lbs
55 tackles/ 7 TFL/ 3 sacks/ 1 int

I like what Carter has to offer but I'm not sure if the coaches are sold on him, Loko gives him some heavy competition at the Will spot & possible replacement if Carter can't get his head out of his ***.

7) Ben Malena - RB Texas A&M
5'8" 195lbs sub 4.5 40
Rushing
506 total 4.73 ypc 10 rushing TD's
Receiving
184 total 9.20 ypr 1 receiving TD

We need another scat back type player & I really don't think we have the luxury of using a higher draft pick on a situational guy. Malena isn't great but he has potential, I also like Ladarious Perkins in this spot as well. But any quick shifty back will so just someone please!

7) Spencer Long - OG Nebraska
6'4" 315 lbs

Long was a projected 2nd-4th round pick before his injury, you gotta take a shot on talent like that if he is still around in the 7th.

7) Will Clarke - DE. WVU
6'6" 276 lbs
36 tackles/ 17 TFL/ 6 sacks

This is a needle in a hay stack in the 7th but the dude has a good measurables & production.

 

[xwalker]

The top 4 and Long look good. Clarke is a similar type to Selvie and Rayford in that he does not appear super quick, but can win with his length. I have not studied any of the others.

 

[XDez88BeastX]

The top 4 and Long look good. Clarke is a similar type to Selvie and Rayford in that he does not appear super quick, but can win with his length. I have not studied any of the others.

Thanks for the input. Here is a link on Lokembo he looks similar to a Bruce Carter type player to me as far as skillset.

 

[xwalker]

Thanks for the input. Here is a link on Lokembo he looks similar to a Bruce Carter type player to me as far as skillset.

He looks great in that video. He looks fast and appears to have a feel for blitzing. He'll need to gain some weight, but at 6-3, he should have the frame to get bigger.

I wonder if 3-4 teams will look at him as an OLB. That would probably cause him to get drafted earlier.

 

[XDez88BeastX]

He looks great in that video. He looks fast and appears to have a feel for blitzing. He'll need to gain some weight, but at 6-3, he should have the frame to get bigger.

I wonder if 3-4 teams will look at him as an OLB. That would probably cause him to get drafted earlier.

possibly but there are also a lot of undersized DE 's that 3-4 teams may be looking to convert. If we lost out on him in the 5th I'd prbly look for a similar OLB FB or higher ranking RB than Malena

 

[Manwiththeplan]

Let me start off by saying I've given up on the "what is dallas going to do" direction of my mock & gone with how I want it, so this may seem unlikely but what the hey it's my mock.


1) Kelcy Quarles - DT USC
6'4" 298 lbs
36 tackles/13.5 TFL/ 9.5 sacks

This is my favorite player in the draft (not including Trent Murphy who I think goes top 15) & I believe he could be our long term answer at the 3-tech.

2) Ego Ferguson - DT LSU
6'3" 308 lbs
58 tackles/17 TFL /1 sack

This dude plays lights out at the nose guard position & has the athletic ability to also play the 3 if needed. With Quarles & Ego I believe our line would instantly be brought to the same level as the panthers & lions.

I don't think we take two DTs to start the draft, and may not with in the first two picks if we resign Hatcher. Hayden is pretty bad and only gets by on hustle, but if we can limit his snaps, I think Drake Nevis will perform better in 2014 and don't forget Tyrone Crawford and Ben Bass will be back from injury.

 

[XDez88BeastX]

I don't think we take two DTs to start the draft, and may not with in the first two picks if we resign Hatcher. Hayden is pretty bad and only gets by on hustle, but if we can limit his snaps, I think Drake Nevis will perform better in 2014 and don't forget Tyrone Crawford and Ben Bass will be back from injury.

As I said this draft is what I would do not what I think dallas will do. I like Nevis as a backup rotational player I really do, Ben Bass is a tweeter that was supposed to play strong side DE & 3DT & Tyrone Crawford is going to play DE so neither Crawford or Bass really have much to do with our DT position as much as they have to do with our DE position.

 

[xwalker]

I don't think we take two DTs to start the draft, and may not with in the first two picks if we resign Hatcher. Hayden is pretty bad and only gets by on hustle, but if we can limit his snaps, I think Drake Nevis will perform better in 2014 and don't forget Tyrone Crawford and Ben Bass will be back from injury.

They need a starting 1-tech with better athleticism than Hayden and they will need a starting 3-tech is Hatcher is not re-signed.

Obviously, they could sign another Free Agent instead of Hatcher. I would prefer to sign a younger player. Despite a torn ACL and despite the fact that the Cowboys need to stay away from injury prone players, I would prefer the 27 year old Henry Melton over the 32 year old Hatcher.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

As I said this draft is what I would do not what I think dallas will do. I like Nevis as a backup rotational player I really do, Ben Bass is a tweeter that was supposed to play strong side DE & 3DT & Tyrone Crawford is going to play DE so neither Crawford or Bass really have much to do with our DT position as much as they have to do with our DE position.

Having trouble finding the article, but the plan was to have Crawford as the back-up NT. There was a lot of confusion and trying of different things prior to training camp and well into it due to all the injuries on the D-Line, but imo, Ben Bass and Crawford would be bad fits at DE in a Tampa 2 system.

I know everyone points to Seattle and they play a DT (who could play NT tbh) at LDE, but I don't think that would work here. Seattle has a big d-line, with 3 players over 300 pounds (almost like in a 3-4, or really that 2000 Ravens defense) which excels at stopping the run. Red Bryant, Brandon Mebane and Tony McDaniel have a combined 2.5 sacks on the season, which only accounts for the league's 13th best unit in ypg, but allows them to devote the rest of their resources to stopping the pass. Chris Clemons, Cliff Avril, Michael Bennet and Bruce Irvin really just have to focus on rushing the passer and due to Earl Thomas' range as a safety, the corners can press and play aggressive. If our goal is to immolate Seattle, we really don't need need to spend high draft picks on DTs, especially pass rushing DTs and need to find a way to get an all-pro safety.

A more realistic goal for our defense, because let's be honest, we will only go as far as our offense takes us, are the Indianapolis Colts defenses. While they did have an all pro safety in Sanders, most years they were led by Freeney and Mathis. While Ware has struggled with injuries, I don't think he's done quite yet, and while I like Selvie, I think if the value is there, we should get a DE to play opposite of Ware so we can use Selvie on a part time basis only. The LB play will improve with time, Lee will be a DPOY candidate if he can finish this season strong, and Bruce Carter has pro-bowl potential himself, not to mention Devonte Holloman who should supplant Durant next season.

In the secondary, I think we would benefit from more man coverage as opposed to zone, which isn't Kiffin's style, but I think if he spends this offseason studying film, he can come up with some converges that fit our players, while also fitting his scheme.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

They need a starting 1-tech with better athleticism than Hayden and they will need a starting 3-tech is Hatcher is not re-signed.

Obviously, they could sign another Free Agent instead of Hatcher. I would prefer to sign a younger player. Despite a torn ACL and despite the fact that the Cowboys need to stay away from injury prone players, I would prefer the 27 year old Henry Melton over the 32 year old Hatcher.

I do agree that we need a better 1 tech than Hayden, but where I disagree with is using a first or second rounder on a 1 tech. Again, if the value is there, I'd take a DE over a DT in round 1. Would then even consider a Guard in round 2. All of this changes if a DT falls to us, but right now I'm more than fine waiting till later to get a DT.

 

[visionary]

i like your picks
well done

 

[XDez88BeastX]

Having trouble finding the article, but the plan was to have Crawford as the back-up NT. There was a lot of confusion and trying of different things prior to training camp and well into it due to all the injuries on the D-Line, but imo, Ben Bass and Crawford would be bad fits at DE in a Tampa 2 system.

I know everyone points to Seattle and they play a DT (who could play NT tbh) at LDE, but I don't think that would work here. Seattle has a big d-line, with 3 players over 300 pounds (almost like in a 3-4, or really that 2000 Ravens defense) which excels at stopping the run. Red Bryant, Brandon Mebane and Tony McDaniel have a combined 2.5 sacks on the season, which only accounts for the league's 13th best unit in ypg, but allows them to devote the rest of their resources to stopping the pass. Chris Clemons, Cliff Avril, Michael Bennet and Bruce Irvin really just have to focus on rushing the passer and due to Earl Thomas' range as a safety, the corners can press and play aggressive. If our goal is to immolate Seattle, we really don't need need to spend high draft picks on DTs, especially pass rushing DTs and need to find a way to get an all-pro safety.

A more realistic goal for our defense, because let's be honest, we will only go as far as our offense takes us, are the Indianapolis Colts defenses. While they did have an all pro safety in Sanders, most years they were led by Freeney and Mathis. While Ware has struggled with injuries, I don't think he's done quite yet, and while I like Selvie, I think if the value is there, we should get a DE to play opposite of Ware so we can use Selvie on a part time basis only. The LB play will improve with time, Lee will be a DPOY candidate if he can finish this season strong, and Bruce Carter has pro-bowl potential himself, not to mention Devonte Holloman who should supplant Durant next season.

In the secondary, I think we would benefit from more man coverage as opposed to zone, which isn't Kiffin's style, but I think if he spends this offseason studying film, he can come up with some converges that fit our players, while also fitting his scheme.

no, there was speculation of him playing tackle before TC because he had bulked up to play a 3-4 DE, it was later released that he had cut back down to 270-280 & would play strongside DE and possibly slide to the inside occasionally much like an Israel idonije or Michael Bennett type player. You can go to any website & see that he is listed as DE as well.

 

[XDez88BeastX]

i like your picks
well done

Thank you

 

[Manwiththeplan]

no, there was speculation of him playing tackle before TC because he had bulked up to play a 3-4 DE, it was later released that he had cut back down to 270-280 & would play strongside DE and possibly slide to the inside occasionally much like an Israel idonije or Michael Bennett type player. You can go to any website & see that he is listed as DE as well.

Actually you are right, Rotoworld and a few other places did confirm he was gonna be a LDE. However, I still think it would be a mistake to draft 2 DTs with our first 2 picks. If Hatcher leaves in free agency, I'd much rather sign a DT in free agency, even if it means starting a rotational guy at the 1 tech and spending a first on a 3 tech.

 

[RS12]

I don't think we take two DTs to start the draft, and may not with in the first two picks if we resign Hatcher. Hayden is pretty bad and only gets by on hustle, but if we can limit his snaps, I think Drake Nevis will perform better in 2014 and don't forget Tyrone Crawford and Ben Bass will be back from injury.

I am am leary about every D Lineman on the roster and signing Hatcher to any kind of big money deal.

 

[conner01]

i don't know that we would take 2 dt's in the top two rounds. but it sure would'nt hurt my feelings if we did. we also need a guard very bad so that factors in also. but you can't be too storng up the middle