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The NFL allows teams to invite draft prospects from local colleges for a pre-draft workout. We take a look at who the Cowboys have brought in so far.
Every year, in addition to 30 usually high-profile national draft-eligible players the Cowboys bring in for pre-draft visits, they also bring in up to 50 draft-eligible local prospects who are usually less well known.
These visits by local prospects are known as "Dallas Days". A player is considered a local prospect if he went to high school or college in the Dallas/Fort-Worth area, he was born there or his parents live there. That DFW area is defined as stretching from Sanctuary in the West to Princeton in the East, and from Prosper in the North to Glenn Heights in the South. SMU and TCU are the two colleges in the area from which the Cowboys are allowed to invite prospects.
These "Dallas Days" have delivered their share of Cowboys players in the past, with the likes of Patrick Crayton, Brandon Williams, Jacques Reeves, Stephen Hodge, Bryan McCann, Dez Bryant, Phillip Tanner and more recently Lance Dunbar, Cole Beasley, and Terrance Williams all visiting Valley Ranch during Dallas Day.
This year's invite list is headlined by Jay Ajayi and Oklahoma OT Daryl Williams, and it looks like Ajayi at least was given the royal treatment in Dallas:
#Boise St RB Jay Ajayi is at #Cowboys local prospects day today, had dinner with coaches & staff last night. Also had a #Ravens visit
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 10, 2015
Daryl Williams is also an interesting invite, as he could be a plug-and-play option at right tackle for the Cowboys - if he drops far enough in the draft.
Interestingly, the Cowboys are also using Dallas Day to work out former Arkansas QB Tyler Wilson. Wilson was originally a fourth-round pick for the Raiders in 2013, but was waved prior to the 2013 season. He was immediately picked up by the Titans and spent the season on their roster, but was released at the start of training camp in 2014. The Bengals then picked him up but let him go with the final roster cuts in 2014.
Another prospect of note is Octavio González, a defensive lineman for the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo León (UANL) Tigres, who is considered one of the best young talents in Mexico. "Tavo" previously worked out the Regional Combine in Houston, and participated in the North Texas pro day, where the 6-3, 262 González ran the 40 in 5.01 seconds against the wind and 4.81 seconds with the wind and added a 29-inch vertical jump and a 9'6 broad jump. He ran the short shuttle in 4.4 seconds, the three-cone drill in 7.54 seconds and had 29 bench press reps.
One other aspect bears watching: With TCU finishing last season as the No. 3 team on the AP Poll (and an unfortunate No. 6 in the College Football rankings), this provision for "local college player" gains an extra significance for the Cowboys this year, as they can invite every single draft-eligible TCU player for a workout at Valley Ranch - without cutting into their national quota of 30 prospects they're allowed to bring in.
So far, we know of 26 draft-eligible players who participated in the workouts at Valley Ranch today, and only three of them are TCU alumni, though that could easily change as we update our visitor tracker.
In addition to the 26 local prospects, we know of 23 national prospects who visited with the Cowboys over the course of the week. Here are all the players we know of so far:
Cowboys Pre-draft Visitors per 4/10/2015
CBS Rank
Name POS College CBS Rank
Proj. Rd
StatusDefensive Ends
16
Bud Dupree DE Kentucky 16
1
Official Visit29
Owamagbe Odighizuwa DE UCLA 1-2
Official Visit36
Eli Harold DE Virginia 1-2
Official Visit50
Danielle Hunter DE LSU 2
Official Visit69
Mario Edwards DE Florida State 2-3
Official Visit278
Frank Clark DE Michigan 7-FA
Official VisitCornerbacks
24
Kevin Johnson CB Wake Forest 24
1-2
Official Visit37
Byron Jones CB Connecticut 1-2
Official Visit44
P.J. Williams CB Florida State 2
Official Visit72
Jalen Collins CB LSU 2-3
Official Visit89
Josh Shaw CB USC 3
Official Visit822
Tray Walker CB Texas Southern - -
Official VisitRunning Backs
18
Todd Gurley RB Georgia 18
1
Official Visit22
Melvin Gordon RB Wisconsin 1
Official Visit62
Tevin Coleman RB Indiana 2
Official Visit86
T.J. Yeldon RB Alabama 3
Official Visit119
Javorius Allen RB Southern Cal 3-4
Official VisitLinebackers
34
Shaq Thompson LB Washington 34
1-2
Official Visit35
Eric Kendricks ILB UCLA 1-2
Official Visit45
Benardrick McKinney ILB Mississippi State 2
Official Visit336
Gabe Martin LB Bowling Green 7-FA
Official VisitOthers
56
Devin Smith WR Ohio State 56
2
Official Visit75
Damarious Randall FS ASU 2-3
Official VisitDallas Day Visitors per 4/10/2015
CBS Rank
Name POS College Height Weight CBS Rank
Proj. Rd
Status41
Jay Ajayi RB Boise State 6'0 221 2
Dallas Day96
Daryl Williams OT Oklahoma 6'5 327 3
Dallas Day117
Bryce Petty QB Baylor 6'3 230 3-4
Dallas Day138
Kevin White CB TCU 5'9 183 4-5
Dallas Day169
JaCorey Shepherd CB Kansas 5'11 199 5
Dallas Day171
Ty Montgomery WR Stanford 6'0 221 5
Dallas Day233
Chris Hackett FS TCU 6'0 195 6-7
Dallas Day240
Adam Shead OG Oklahoma 6'4 338 7
Dallas Day376
Marcus Murphy RB Missouri 5'9 198 - -
Dallas Day439
Quentin Hayes SS Oklahoma 6'0 189 - -
Dallas Day590
Valerian Ume-Ezeoke C New Mexico State 6'2 305 - -
Dallas Day690
Darius White WR Missouri 6'3 210 - -
Dallas Day764
Ross Apo WR BYU 6'3 212 - -
Dallas Day835
Desmond Roland RB Oklahoma State 6'2 203 - -
Dallas Day883
Sam Ajala WR Fordham 6'1 195 - -
Dallas Day925
David Porter WR TCU 6'0 205 - -
Dallas Day962
Darius Davis WR Henderson State 5'11 226 - -
Dallas Day- -
James Hairston K Rice 6'1 225 - -
Dallas Day- -
Cody Rademacher K SMU 5'10 189 - -
Dallas Day- -
Charles Cook S/LB Yale 6'3 200 - -
Dallas Day- -
Lyndell Johnson S Emporia State 6'3 215 - -
Dallas Day- -
Glen Coleman WR Florida International 6'2 200 - -
Dallas Day- -
DeMarcus Thompson WR Abilene Christian 6'0 180 - -
Dallas Day- -
Cam McDaniel RB Notre Dame 5'10 205 - -
Dallas Day- -
Derek Akunne LB North Texas 6'0 245 - -
Dallas Day- -
Octavio Gonzáles DE Universidad de Nuevo Leon 6'3 262 - -
Dallas DayPrivate Workouts
CBS Rank
Name POS College CBS Rank
Proj. Rd
Status55
Quinten Rollins CB Miami (Ohio) 2
Private Workout66
Ronald Darby CB Florida State 2
Private Workout122
Chris Conley WR Georgia 3-4
Private Workout134
Tyrus Thompson OT Oklahoma 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 WorkoutContinue reading...