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In out first mock, we stayed put and picked accordingly. Today, in Part II, we take a completely different route. That ol' wheeler and dealer side of Jerry Jones has made his return.
Since Jerry Jones purchased the Dallas Cowboys in 1989, Dallas has traded out of its first-round selection 20 times. That is equivalent to 77% of their drafts ending with a first-round trade. It's safe to say that it's certainly possible for 2015 to bring a similar result.
With the Cowboys set to select at 27, the most likely scenario would to find a partner that wants to come back up into the first round. With the plethora of running backs, defensive and offensive linemen, it's not a far-fetched idea to swallow. In order to complete this exercise, I went back to the helpful Fanspeak tool we used before and selected the premium tool which simulates trades. As in the previous mock, I operated under the CBS Big Board. Without any further ado, here's how the Cowboys ended up:
The 27th pick was traded to the St. Louis Rams for picks 41, 72, and 137. The first night in Chicago would come to an end without a selection in Dallas. However we now move on to day two of the NFL Draft.
With the 41st pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys select...
Cornerback Quinten Rollins, Miami (OH)
Analysis- Solid build and strength for his height. Great flexibility with equally good hand-eye coordination. Impressive tackling technique for limited experience. Only has one year in the position which shows his bad mechanics at times. Good mental and physical toughness with a masterfully mature work ethic. Offers too much cushion at times but development could make him a quality starter. Solid durability with high confidence and short-term memory. Should excel at the next level with proper coaching.
With the 60th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys select...
Defensive End Preston Smith, Mississippi State
Analysis- Has impressive wing-span and heavy hands that allow him to shed blockers quickly. Has a pretty good arsenal of pass-rushing moves. Has quickness and power to collapse the A-gap and create interior pressure as well. Has troubles setting the edge and needs technique work before he could completely beat tackles outside. Needs help developing a quick-twitch to improve his abilities.
The 72nd pick is traded to Kansas City Chiefs for picks 80 and 146.
With the 80th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys select...
Running-back T.J. Yeldon, Alabama
Analysis- A tall but lean prospect that uses his deceptive speed to make defenders miss. Has impressive body control and great vision. He's quick to the hole but is equally good at cutting back when needed. He displays impressive athleticism and accelerates quickly with top-end speed. Sometimes Yeldon is too patient and runs a little too high. He also needs work in the pass blocking department.
With the 91st Pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys select...
Offensive Tackle Donovan Smith, Penn State
Analysis- Big, fluid athlete with good foot quickness and a high competitive nature that translates well at the next level. Has a smooth way of sliding that help get him good leverage. Very quick to the second level and is very cognizant of blitz protection. Has versatility and flexibility to play many different positions on the line. Big frame but still needs improvement in other areas before he's sure-fire NFL-ready. Plays a little too high at times which is a bad habit. He leaves a lot of space inside and is vulnerable to swims and spins.
With the 124th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys select...
Free Safety Kurtis Drummond, Michigan State
Analysis- Well coordinated body to stick with receivers downfield. Natural instincts to rally to the ball with range and discipline. Nice timing to play ball well in coverage and knock down passes (33 deflections). Has very good ball-skills and makes fluid, athletic, and acrobatic plays. Nice play-making abilities, has ball-hawk tendencies. At times he allows receivers to box him out. A little too lean, needs more muscle tone. Needs development in footwork and doesn't have ideal speed. Can get grabby at times and needs improvement with jamming receivers.
With the 137th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys select...
Defensive Tackle Xavier Williams, Northern Iowa
Analysis- Possesses greatly proportioned-frame with great length and active limbs. Good forward lean and very athletic for his size. High motor, consistent effort all four quarters, never leaves the field. Has a killer instinct to finish blockers quickly. Tough guy who prefers the dirty work, coach's dream, self-motivated player. Doesn't play with overwhelming strength and lacks ideal bulk for position. Needs development in staying low at the point of attack. Also needs improvement in pass rush moves and technique but was three-year starter with improvement each year.
With the 146th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys select...
Linebacker Ben Heeney, Kansas
Analysis- Great speed and tackling angles. Has a motor that never quits, a very smart and instinctive player. Floats well into coverage , a physical downhill blitzer who rarely left the field. Resilient mentality and leaves it all out on the field. A little undersized and limited at times in space, needs work in changing direction-speed. Show some body stiffness, needs to improve technique.
With the 155th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys select...
Wide Receiver Stefon Diggs, Maryland
Analysis- Very balanced athlete with strong strides and home-run ability. Has sharp breaks and explodes of the line, quite dangerous in the open field. Especially good with crossing routes and has great feet. A proven return-man with an average of 25.8 yards, consistent production in college. A little skinny and lack ideal body size for the next level. Tends to get himself in trouble with indecisiveness. Needs help learning how to manipulate defenders but has got better with spatial movement. A bit of a hot-head and will need to learn to not lose his cool at times. A few durability concerns but is very loose athlete with violent, strong cuts.
With the 211th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys select...
Strong Safety Sam Carter, TCU
Analysis- Possesses overall good stature and musculature for the position. Has good vision to attack the line of scrimmage in run-support. Has been know to create havoc in the backfield. He has a great knack for rerouting wide receivers and taking them out of plays altogether. May be too aggressive for his own good at times and rides receivers throughout the play that may draw flags in the NFL. He often leaves himself vulnerable to cutback lanes and whiffs on misjudged angles. Will need help playing the ball rather than the man but has great awareness and route recognition.
With the 218th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys select...
Offensive Guard Mark Glowinski, West Virginia
Analysis- Looks the part more of an NFL Tackle with his long frame and athletic lower-half. Good initial quickness off the ball and great lateral agility. Best asset is surely his hand-placement and upper body strength, has the ability to lock-on and control a defender from there out. Great locker room guy with tremendous motor and work ethic. Has great upside but may be year away from significant playing time. He's a little rough around the edges, needs improvement with sliding and isn't as nimble as you would like. Some tightness in his hips but plays with great strength and ability to create gaping lanes.
My initial take on Part II is rather positive. Rollins is a day-one contributor but could creep into the end of the first round by draft day. I would have taken Edwards again but he wasn't available at 60 this time. I like Preston Smith and am higher on him then some folks. I really like the Mississippi State program and believe Smith could help right away. As Rabble told me earlier this week, getting those multiple picks in the "sweet spot" of the draft will only help the Cowboys build a contending roster. The second trade was a gamble but still worked well in value for the T.J. Yeldon and Donovan Smith picks. Both third-rounders have a significant chance to be eventual replacements for Murray, Free, or whoever.
The Drummond kid interests me, I don't see him replacing J.J. Wilcox right off the bat or anything, but I like his skill-set. I think that he could really add some depth behind the starters and compete for a bigger role. I also liked having three picks in the fifth round and thought each of those picks presented good pieces as backups or special teamers in 2015. Xavier Williams is that type of player that could develop into something more for the defensive line and perhaps rather early. The Carter and Glowinski picks were to create depth and also provide upgrades behind current roster holders.
As always there will certainly be some disagreements with this wheeling-and-dealing mock. I welcome your opinions in the comment section and look forward to sharing ideas throughout the next two months. Don't forget that free agency begins on March 10th, stay tuned to BTB for all the news in the coming weeks.
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