BPA WR or highest ranked Defensive player?

[Tussinman]

Why does everyone just love to reiterate "BPA"? I truly don't get it. Of course you shouldn't reach for need, but taking players at positions of strength will also get you nowhere, unless you have no weaknesses. And there's often no such thing as BPA anyway, as players who are available at your pick are rated so closely together that there's generally no clear BPA anyway.

I think it's just a term that for some reason people have fallen in love w/, even though no team uses it as a standalone strategy.

I kinda of agree, especially in the first 2 rounds.

Take a player that's a near guranteed lock to start day 1. Drafting a player that sits on the bench for 2 or 3 years and then you have to pay them a 2nd contract after only starting 1 or 2 seasons is a waste of an early pick.

Thornhill was predicted to be a day 1 starter at a position of need, should of gotten him. Like you said BPA especially in early rounds are rated so close to each other anyways so take someone that improves the team NOW.

 

[bcavi]

I don’t think I would take Epenesa or Chaisson at #17.

I would be fine with either at 17 unless you think a player, I'd say within 5 picks is markedly better at their respective position.

Epenesa had good production in college. He's a powerful dude, and he played well. He may not have wildcat measurables, but in my eyes he's good enough to consider where the Cowboys pick. I would still take Chaisson over him because I think he'll exceed his college production, no longer having a stacked roster like he did at LSU. I am not sure how he was schemed at LSU. Maybe he was generally told to hold the edge, rather than pin his ears back and go after the passer. Either way, I agree with ksk that he has boom or bust potential, although I don't think he'll fall of the earth, regardless.

 

[Rayman70]

I would be fine with either at 17 unless you think a player, I'd say within 5 picks is markedly better at their respective position.

Epenesa had good production in college. He's a powerful dude, and he played the well. He may not have wildcat measurables, but in my eyes he's good enough to consider where the Cowboys pick. I would still take Chaisson over him because I think he'll exceed his college production, no longer having a stacked roster like he did at LSU. I am not sure how he was schemed at LSU. Maybe he was generally told to hold the edge, rather than pin his ears back and go after the passer. Either way, I agree with ksk that he has boom or bust potential, although I don't think he'll fall of the earth, regardless.

I THINK I RATHER HAVE AJ. You mentioned it, the power. He's a heavy handed edge guy that has a knack for doing enough to get to the QB. The production at Iowa is huge.

 

[Rayman70]

At 17 you take the BPA defensive player.

WR can wait until day 2 because there are so many.

^^this^^ is likely what will happen.

 

[bcavi]

I THINK I RATHER HAVE AJ. You mentioned it, the power. He's a heavy handed edge guy that has a knack for doing enough to get to the QB. The production at Iowa is huge.

I don't think we can go wrong with either. I do think Chaisson will be gone anyway. At least from what I've seen from a few mock draft boards.

 

[CowboyRoy]

In 2019 the Cowboys were:
Total Yards: 1st
Passing TDs: 6th (despite worst starting field position)
Passing 1st downs: 4th

All Offensive Players were All Pro???
Witten: Long past his prime.
#2 WR: Gallup. No.
#3 WR: Cobb. Last accolade was 2014 Pro Bowl.
La'el Collins: No Pro Bowls or All Pro selections yet.
Frederick: Not close to himself in 2019. I'm not certain if he played as well overall as Looney did in 2018.
Connor WIlliams / Xavier Sua-Filo: No.

Tyron: He missed 3 games forcing Fleming to play LT. The starting OTs in 1 game were Fleming at LT and a rookie UDFA at RT.
Cooper: Yes, but he played through injury most of the season.
Martin: Yes.
Zeke: Yes, but career low for Rush Yards per game. Not in football shape to start the season.

You may well go down as the WORST judge of Oline talent in the history of the world!!

Looney replaces Frederick and out of nowhere, the Cowboys give up 56 sacks. Frederick returns at 70% and the sacks go down to 23? Yet here you sit analyzing that Looney played better than Frederick in his return?

***????

And lets not forget that you were the guy that told me for 3 YEARS that Chaz Green was a good player?

 

[Jfconrow]

I think I would just like to see them build in the trenches. A shinny new WR would be cool but Dallas historically has had so many weapons there’s not enough balls to go around. I’m even hesitant to draft an early CB, Dallas has had a great secondary for years and they don’t really produce turnovers or keep the score down. Give me a LB for some big hits or dynamic SS, otherwise I’m hoping for OL and DL.

 

[DanA]

You may well go down as the WORST judge of Oline talent in the history of the world!!

Looney replaces Frederick and out of nowhere, the Cowboys give up 56 sacks. Frederick returns at 70% and the sacks go down to 23? Yet here you sit analyzing that Looney played better than Frederick in his return?

***????

And lets not forget that you were the guy that told me for 3 YEARS that Chaz Green was a good player?

The tape can't show communication.

Maybe Looney matched Frederick in terms of one on one blocking (dubious but maybe arguable), but anyone that tells me that Frederick didn't play a huge part in improving our O-line's overall play through better communication than Looney and ability to set blocking assignments pre-snap.....I just can't respect their opinion.

 

[Bullflop]

Its a term people use when its suits their agenda.

Agreed. Most teams like to go on record talking up a BPA preference but when push comes to shove, they're bending the truth to suit what many fans want to hear. 90% of them end up picking the best player available at a position of need, even though they claim otherwise. In effect, going strictly BPA ends up being far more of a myth than a fact with the vast majority of teams in the NFL.

 

[CowboyRoy]

The tape can't show communication.

Maybe Looney matched Frederick in terms of one on one blocking (dubious but maybe arguable), but anyone that tells me that Frederick didn't play a huge part in improving our O-line's overall play through better communication than Looney and ability to set blocking assignments pre-snap.....I just can't respect their opinion.

Yah, its ridiculous. Looney is a career backup and Frederick is an all pro. There is going to be a huge drop off. Then just look at the results. 56 sacks and 23 sacks. Doesn't take a genius.

Now the Running game didn't seem to suffer as bad. But then that makes some sense. All looney had to do was snap it and fire off the ball and block his guy. Pass blocking is a much more complex event.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Agreed. Most teams like to go on record talking up a BPA preference but when push comes to shove, they're bending the truth to suit what many fans want to hear. 90% of them end up picking the best player available at a position of need, even though they claim otherwise. In effect, going strictly BPA ends up being far more of a myth than a fact with the vast majority of teams in the NFL.

Maybe further on down the draft they just blindly pick BPA. But not with the first pick they don't. And certainly with the 17th pick there is going to be multiple positions where there is stud available.

 

[xwalker]

You may well go down as the WORST judge of Oline talent in the history of the world!!

Looney replaces Frederick and out of nowhere, the Cowboys give up 56 sacks. Frederick returns at 70% and the sacks go down to 23? Yet here you sit analyzing that Looney played better than Frederick in his return?

Looney/Frederick were not the only differences between the 2018 and 2019 OL...

2018 OL Recap:
The OL coach was fired during the season.

Martin missed 2 games and struggled with a back injury.

Rookie Connor Williams started the season at LG then got injured.

XSF then started but had minimal practice time in the scheme.

Tyron had 3 different injury issues thar he struggled with during the season.

La'el was most affected by the new OL coach in a negative way. He spent training camp trying to play with different technique and that affected him even after the OL coach was replaced.

Frederick's issues were more about run blocking, especially 2nd level blocking where he was late to get to LBs.

Summary:
They definitely missed Frederick's line calls and leadership in 2018; however, in 2019 Frederick was physically far from his pre-illness self and he seemed to have some struggles related to changing his technique/approach in an attempt to offset his new limitations. Oddly he still seemed strong but his movements seemed to suffer much more than his strength. I really think Frederick would have improved this season based on the experience of the other NFL OLineman that had the same disease.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Looney/Frederick were not the only differences between the 2018 and 2019 OL...

2018 OL Recap:
The OL coach was fired during the season.

Martin missed 2 games and struggled with a back injury.

Rookie Connor Williams started the season at LG then got injured.

XSF then started but had minimal practice time in the scheme.

Tyron had 3 different injury issues thar he struggled with during the season.

La'el was most affected by the new OL coach in a negative way. He spent training camp trying to play with different technique and that affected him even after the OL coach was replaced.

Frederick's issues were more about run blocking, especially 2nd level blocking where he was late to get to LBs.

Summary:
They definitely missed Frederick's line calls and leadership in 2018; however, in 2019 Frederick was physically far from his pre-illness self and he seemed to have some struggles related to changing his technique/approach in an attempt to offset his new limitations. Oddly he still seemed strong but his movements seemed to suffer much more than his strength. I really think Frederick would have improved this season based on the experience of the other NFL OLineman that had the same disease.

Who said Looney was the only problem? Which doenst change anything.

And by the way......in 2019 Martin was the most injured he had ever been, Williams blew out his knee and missed the end of the season and Tyron Smith was banged up just like in 2018. So really, the ONLY big difference between 2018 and 2019 was Looney.

I will say that Collins played poorly the first half of 2018 and played better in 2019. But again, some of that was probably the fact that their leader, Frederick was not there.

 

[Verdict]

I would be fine with either at 17 unless you think a player, I'd say within 5 picks is markedly better at their respective position.

Epenesa had good production in college. He's a powerful dude, and he played well. He may not have wildcat measurables, but in my eyes he's good enough to consider where the Cowboys pick. I would still take Chaisson over him because I think he'll exceed his college production, no longer having a stacked roster like he did at LSU. I am not sure how he was schemed at LSU. Maybe he was generally told to hold the edge, rather than pin his ears back and go after the passer. Either way, I agree with ksk that he has boom or bust potential, although I don't think he'll fall of the earth, regardless.

I think Chaisson seems like a second or third round value to me. I don’t see eye popping talent there.

I have seen less of Epenesa. He will probably go high. I’m just not sure he will be all that and a bag of chips.

I would rather have a good solid hit at 17 than a boom or bust guy. Murray or Gallimore seem more solid, less risk.

 

[kskboys]

I think Chaisson seems like a second or third round value to me. I don’t see eye popping talent there.

I have seen less of Epenesa. He will probably go high. I’m just not sure he will be all that and a bag of chips.

I would rather have a good solid hit at 17 than a boom or bust guy. Murray or Gallimore seem more solid, less risk.

Oh, Chaisson has the talent. Only question is whether it will translate.

Epenesa is more of a solid type player w/ a high floor. Highly unlikely to bust.

 

[kskboys]

Agreed. Most teams like to go on record talking up a BPA preference but when push comes to shove, they're bending the truth to suit what many fans want to hear. 90% of them end up picking the best player available at a position of need, even though they claim otherwise. In effect, going strictly BPA ends up being far more of a myth than a fact with the vast majority of teams in the NFL.

Well said.

 

[bcavi]

I think Chaisson seems like a second or third round value to me. I don’t see eye popping talent there.

I have seen less of Epenesa. He will probably go high. I’m just not sure he will be all that and a bag of chips.

I would rather have a good solid hit at 17 than a boom or bust guy. Murray or Gallimore seem more solid, less risk.

Based upon draft grades, I can see Murray. I think this may be high for Gallimore. What I'd question is who has the greatest likelihood to see the field vs an Epenesa or Chaisson, which RDE is so up in the air right now, I feel they'll have a better opportunity and would be impactful players. Murray could very well be our 3rd linebacker in the rotation. They think he'll project better as an outside LB rather than inside, so he'd definitely have a chance unseating Lee there. Of course this is based upon if all the previous aforementioned players are not there when we pick. I will say this, a funny thing that I've seen is Chaisson and Epenesa being drafted way at the back end of the 1st round, and some have them at 13 and 16, respectively, so it's a crapshoot really.

 

[kskboys]

I think Chaisson seems like a second or third round value to me. I don’t see eye popping talent there.

I have seen less of Epenesa. He will probably go high. I’m just not sure he will be all that and a bag of chips.

I would rather have a good solid hit at 17 than a boom or bust guy. Murray or Gallimore seem more solid, less risk.

Although we don't know how it will turn out, this is similar to the Clowney vs Mack draft. Chaisson is like Clowney, extremely athletic w a very high ceiling, but a lower floor to go w/ it. Epensa appears to be a very solid player at the very least, but not as high of a ceiling.

W/ Epensa, we'd finally get that "other DE", the great run stopper on the other side who should be a stalwart for 10 years. However, there's a definite chance that he's more than that. He could easily be a Cam Jordan type, who is BTW a grossly underrated player in the NFL just because he's not a high sack number guy.

Very tough choice, if they're both available.

 

[youngjerryjones]

There are a handful of guys that seem to want one of these top 3 highly ranked WR's as BPA even over some defensive guys that would fill holes. So what would they or anyone else do if these players came up on the board when the Cowboys were up to pick?

And I am not saying all these guys are realistically available.

I will use Ruggs as the #3 WR that potentially falls to the Cowboys.

Ruggs or Chaisson? DE

Ruggs or Fulton CB

Ruggs or Henderson CB

Ruggs or Kinlaw DT

Ruggs or Xavier McKinney SS

Ruggs or Trade Down

He's really good and I am all about drafting BPA but we really need a RDE and I think with what we can get with Randy and Aldon we can develop him to be a beast. I don't think Kinlaw is as big of a need anymore but he would set us up on the Dline for the future as well. Ruggs would be that tyreek hill type to take our offense over the top, all you need is 3 game wrecking plays from him and he will dictate coverage.

 

[CowboyRoy]

He's really good and I am all about drafting BPA but we really need a RDE and I think with what we can get with Randy and Aldon we can develop him to be a beast. I don't think Kinlaw is as big of a need anymore but he would set us up on the Dline for the future as well. Ruggs would be that tyreek hill type to take our offense over the top, all you need is 3 game wrecking plays from him and he will dictate coverage.

Bottom line is when you draft you have to look out two years minimum.

DE, DT, CB, TE, Safety, Center. All these positions have a bandaid.



Sitting on our bench healthy and ready to break out.