Exactly. Well stated and short and to the point, too.
I think you fix the offense first and concentrate on the offensive line.
I don't think Doug Free is anything special at LT. He isn't as good as Adams was for sure, not even close. Let's hope the Cowboys don't over rate him.
Passing on a blue chip player like Tyron Smith due to a serviceable LT like Doug Free, who may give you 4 or 5 serviceable years at LT if you are lucky, would be crazy.
Tyron Smith is 20 years old, with big time upside, and Dallas has lost playoff games at RT, due to the fact that they couldn't block the other team's LDE. The Giants and Eagles have pass rushers all over the place (high draft picks), and Clay Matthews is Green Bay. Dallas can't continue to try and block these teams with scrubs playing RT. The Commanders will consider Smith at 10. He's too good of a player, they have to block the Cowboys, Giants, and Eagles on both sides.
Vela put out his trade down/trade back up game, and I hate it. I realize that you have to entertain and do your thinking, but drafting Smith is the safe, conservative, smart move. It isn't as sexy as all the moving around, but it's smart. Smith could be the cornerstone of your offensive line for the next 12 years. Plus, Eric Williams and Rayfield Wright were pretty dang good at RT.
IMO, it would also be crazy to trade down and watch the Commanders or Vikings or Lions draft Smith and you get stuck with J.J. Watt or Cameron Jordan. By all means, go ahead and draft J.J. Watt and see how that works out for you. I'm talking to the Cowboys...
Jordan could help Dallas' defense for sure, but he will not save them or make Dallas' offensive line much better.
Plus, Tyron Smith is the better player and offensive line is the number 1 need, imso. An investment in Smith is like putting money in Tony Romo's and Felix Jones' and Dez Bryant's and Jason Witten's and Miles Austin's bank account. Smith is going to put them in a better position to succeed. The offense will determine this team's fate, not the defense. If that offense is humming (run and pass), the defense will benefit on multiple fronts.
Dallas isn't going to be able to fix both lines in one draft, so they better come out of the gate fast and start fixing the mess on that offensive line, because the value is going to be there at 9 (if Smith gets by Arizona). Smith is a cornerstone player, and J.J. Watt, Cameron Jordan, and Gabe Carimi are not cornerstone players.
Look at the Jets' offensive line and look at their playoff success. Smith compares favorably to D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Smith is the protype, new age NFL left tackle, and the Cowboys should take him and not think twice about it.
Dallas took 7 defensive players in the 2009 draft and blew that entire draft, including passing on 5 starting offensive linemen. So, if any scout or front office, defensive draft happy person wants J.J. Watt/Cameron Jordan or Carimi (in a trade back into round 1), I'd tell them that we are taking the best player, a player better than all three of them. Tyron Smith
Blue Chip players win Championships. Watt and Carimi are not blue chip players. Smith is a better player than Jordan and has way more upside and the film to back it up.
Tyron Smith>>>>>>>>>>>>>Watt/Jordan and Carimi or a lower tiered OT.
I would much rather have a blue chip player like 20 year old Tyron Smith, than Cameron Jordan/J.J. Watt or Gabe Carimi. I'd rather have Smith over the combination of Jordan/Watt and Carimi. Smith has the size, athletic ability, feet, balance, and physical build to be a dominant LT or RT.
Quality trumps quantity, and the last time the Cowboys passed on a very good value at OT, it was Phil Loadholt. They traded into the third and ended up with Jason Williams and Robert Brewster. They got cute and got burned, bad. Real bad...We all saw how that worked out in the playoffs. They way over rated Mark Colombo, and they better not over rate a serviceable LT like Free (who will play at 27) and get two inferior players, instead of securing one blue chip player. I'll take one blue chip player over two good to average players, every single time.
Again, Cameron Jordan and Gabe Carimi are as good as they are going to get. Smith's film against Jordan should end that horizontal debate, because Smith took care of Jordan in the run game, especially. Plus, Smith more than held his own with Jordan overall, when Smith needed to get bigger and stronger, which he is in the process of doing. Smith was a 19 year old junior, and Jordan was a more mature senior.
Back to the question.
I would take the first choice of Smith and Watkins, but Watkins probably isn't going to make it to 40. He's a good, cheap plug and play interior player, and you will get your money's worth on his rookie contract.
Some people may not think Smith is worthy of that 9th pick, but his pro day will most likely silence his critics. Bunting reported him up to 315. Smith is a freak athlete.
Not only does drafting Smith strengthen the Cowboys, it's hurts the Eagles and Giants, who are looking to draft an OT. By taking the best one, it pretty much insures that those teams will not get Smith, Solder, and perhaps Castanzo. Let one of them take Carimi, so he can get blown by on the edge by Ware or Spencer.
Tyron Smith can do for Dallas (on it's offensive line), what B.J. Raiji did for Green Bay's defensive line. The Packers sat at 9 and took Raiji.
