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Is the list of names the Cowboys are bringing in for pre-draft visits to Valley Ranch a good indicator of what the Cowboys will do in the draft?
Every year in early April, the Cowboys are allowed to bring in up to 30 usually high-profile, national draft-eligible players for official pre-draft visits. Additionally, they also bring in as many draft-eligible local prospects as they like for visits and workouts during "Dallas Day", also sometime in April.
Over the last nine years, eight of the Cowboys' nine top picks in the draft all visited Valley Ranch as part of the Cowboys' official pre-draft visits. Bobby Carpenter ('06), Anthony Spencer ('07), Felix Jones ('08), Jason Williams ('09), Dez Bryant ('10) and Tyron Smith ('11) were all brought in for pre-draft visits, while Morris Claiborne ('12) became the exception that confirms the rule: Claiborne became the first Cowboys top pick since DeMarcus Ware in 2005 who wasn't invited to Valley Ranch prior to the draft. But the Cowboys got right back on track when they invited Travis Frederick for a pre-draft visit in 2013, and then brought in Zack Martin for an official visit last year.
In 2014, the Cowboys the Cowboys brought in their top two draft picks, Zack Martin and DeMarcus Lawrence, for pre-draft visits, and also brought in 7th-round pick Ken Bishop as well as UDFA signings Davon Coleman, Chris Whaley, Ben Malena and Dashaun Phillips to Valley Ranch.
In 2013, the pre-draft visitors proved to be a veritable bonanza for the Cowboys personnel department: Cowboys draft picks Travis Frederick, Terrance Williams, J.J. Wilcox, B.W. Webb, and Joseph Randle were all brought in for pre-draft visits, as were six UDFA signings (Jakar Hamilton, Brandon Magee, Kendial Lawrence, Taylor Reed, Lanear Sampson and Devin Smith).
In 2012, they brought in Kyle Wilber, Matt Johnson, Ronald Leary, and UDFA Lionel Smith, the year before it was the top three draft picks Tyron Smith, Bruce Carter, and DeMarco Murray along with UDFA Andre Holmes.
So we know that the predictive value is pretty good when we look at the list after the fact. But is there something we can glean from the invitation lists ahead of time? Here are the players we know of so far:
Cowboys Pre-draft Visitors per 4/7/2015
CBS Rank
Name POS College CBS Rank
Proj. Rd
Status16
Bud Dupree DE Kentucky 1
Official Visit18
Todd Gurley RB Georgia 1
Official Visit22
Melvin Gordon RB Wisconsin 1
Official Visit24
Kevin Johnson CB Wake Forest 1-2
Official Visit29
Owamagbe Odighizuwa DE UCLA 1-2
Official Visit34
Shaq Thompson LB Washington 1-2
Official Visit35
Eric Kendricks ILB UCLA 1-2
Official Visit36
Eli Harold DE Virginia 1-2
Official Visit41
Jay Ajayi RB Boise State 2
Official Visit55
Quinten Rollins CB Miami (Ohio) 2
Official Visit45
Benardrick McKinney ILB Mississippi State 2
Official Visit50
Danielle Hunter DE LSU 2
Official Visit56
Devin Smith WR Ohio State 2
Official Visit62
Tevin Coleman RB Indiana 2
Official Visit66
Ronald Darby CB Florida State 2
Official Visit75
Damarious Randall FS ASU 2-3
Official Visit86
T.J. Yeldon RB Alabama 3
Official Visit89
Josh Shaw CB USC 3
Official Visit119
Javorius Allen RB Southern Cal 3-4
Official Visit336
Gabe Martin LB Bowling Green 7-FA
Official Visit822
Tray Walker CB Texas Southern - -
Official VisitDallas Day
117
Bryce Petty QB Baylor 117
3-4
Dallas Day138
Kevin White CB TCU 4-5
Dallas Day169
JaCorey Shepherd CB Kansas 5
Dallas Day171
Ty Montgomery WR Stanford 5
Dallas Day233
Chris Hackett FS TCU 6-7
Dallas Day/ P. Workout240
Adam Shead OG Oklahoma 7
Dallas Day439
Quentin Hayes SS Oklahoma - -
Dallas Day953
Darius Davis WR Henderson State - -
Dallas Day- -
Cody Rademacher K SMU - -
Dallas Day- -
Charles Cook S Yale - -
Dallas Day- -
Lyndell Johnson S Emporia State - -
Dallas DayPrivate Workout
69
Mario Edwards Jr. DE Florida State 69
2-3
Private Workout122
Chris Conley WR Georgia 3-4
Private Workout232
Jeremiah Poutasi OG Utah 5-6
Private Workout166
Laurence Gibson OT Virginia Tech 6-7
Private Workout280
Hutson Mason QB Georgia 7-FA
Private Workout351
Chaz Green OT Florida - -
Private Workout613
Vernon Johnson WR Texas A&M Commerce - -
Private Workout- -
Visesio Salt OL Utah - -
Private Workout- -
Travis Lee CB Miles College - -
Private Workout- -
Darius Allen LB Colorado State-Pueblo - -
Private WorkoutFocusing only on the prospects brought in for a pre-draft visits a few things stand out:
After failing to see any defensive linemen on the early versions of this visit tracker, some observers were poopooing the idea of of the Cowboys bringing in any defensive linemen. With Bud Dupree, Owamagbe Odighizuwa, Eli Harold and Danielle Hunter now on the list, that particular train of thought was badly derailed. Interestingly, these four guys are not mid- or late-round prospects.
There's a convincing argument to be made that the Cowboys have enough mid- to late-round equivalent defensive linemen on their roster already, and that only first- or second-day picks would provide a worthwhile talent upgrade.
At cornerback, the Cowboys may be looking for upgrades across all rounds - if the CBSSports rankings I used above are anything to go by, and that's a big "If". Teams will almost certainly have different grades on these prospects, sometimes perhaps even wildly different assessments, as this Tweet would seem to indicate:
Damarious Randall finished his visit with the #Cowboys today. I've been told they love him and consider him the best safety in the class
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) April 7, 2015
The other thing that's noticeable - but which may mean absolutely nothing - is that there seem to be a lot of players on this list who could see their name called in the second round. Obviously, the Cowboys' 27th pick is already almost a second-round pick anyway, but how many players do you see here who really have a first-round grade. Four, maybe five? Are the Cowboys preparing to trade down, or are they simply reflecting the fact that there probably won't be many (any?) players left at No. 27 with a first-round grade.
Lots of things to ponder here. What's your take on this list so far?
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