BTB: Dominique Easley's Medical Report Comes In Positive

[NewsBot]

Good news for one potential Cowboys prospect in the 2014 draft.

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Cowboys Draft Targets: DT Dominique Easley

rabblerousr

BTB offers a series of detailed scouting reports on these players, compiled from the work of top draft analysts. A look at Florida defensive tackle Dominique Easley.

Cowboys Draft 2014: Scouting Dominique Easley

Joey Ickes

Scouting prospect Dominique Easley in the 2014 draft.

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Cowboys Draft Targets: DT Dominique Easley Cowboys Draft 2014: Scouting Dominique Easley

One of the most intriguing prospects for the Dallas Cowboys to consider in the 2014 draft is defensive tackle Dominique Easley out of Florida. The Cowboys are desperate to re-build a defensive line that has gotten worse with the departures of DeMarcuse Ware and Jason Hatcher. Even with some recent additions, they will still likely address the position group early in the draft.

We've covered Easley as a prospect here on BTB extensively, but a quick reminder.

-- He could play basically anywhere along the defensive line although as a 3-tech seems most natural. He's explosive with a knack for disrupting plays and should be a Top-15 prospect based on athletic talents.

-- But his medical history, two ACL tears, has dropped him at least to the second round, maybe even further if the medical report didn't come back with good news.

Apparently, the report came back with good news according to Bryan Broaddus.

Medical report on Easley turned out well. Rehab has been positive and is making progress to be ready at some point during training camp.

— Bryan Broaddus (@BryanBroaddus) April 30, 2014​

So, now what does Dallas do if Easley is available at pick #47 in the second round? In the SB Nation mock draft the BTB front-page writers went ahead and snapped him up at #47, hoping that the medical report would be positive.

On the other hand, if the Cowboys did bring in Easley, they sure would be banking on a bunch of knees to be healthy. Henry Melton is coming off his own ACL injury, and Anthony Spencer is trying to rebound from micro-fracture surgery on a knee. That's a lot of hoping that knees will be healthy.

Where do you stand on Dominique Easley after this latest report?

Continue reading...

 

[DuDa]

He may be recovering from latest knee injury nicely but him tearing his ACL in consecutive seasons will turn teams off. How many more ACL tears can he come back from? Is he a brittle player? I don't see the Cowboys picking him with the recent barrage of injuries they have had nor should they. I would take him on the 3rd day if he fell because of the value.

 

[SportsGuru80]

No thanks... I'm sick of all these medical red flagged players!

 

[JPostSam]

He may be recovering from latest knee injury nicely but him tearing his ACL in consecutive seasons will turn teams off. How many more ACL tears can he come back from? Is he a brittle player? I don't see the Cowboys picking him with the recent barrage of injuries they have had nor should they. I would take him on the 3rd day if he fell because of the value.

a history of injury is indeed disconcerting.

however, i think the use of "brittle" has gotten out of hand when it's used to describe knee injuries to 300-pound men who run full speed into other 300-pound men all day long.

baseball players injury their knees walking their dogs.

 

[jobberone]

Depends on reports esp the operative reports and rehab. The state of the art for repair of ligaments in knees doesn't concern me unless you have a concomitant injury esp to the cartilage. With the ability to construct ligaments and use cadaver ligaments there isn't a problem repairing just an ACL injury. There is no such thing as having a weak ligament (almost a certainty) and it takes a certain mechanism of injury to disrupt an ACL. So no players with that propensity.

Not a problem as long as no other problems in the knee.

 

[LatinMind]

I just get the feeling he;s going to be a Cowboy in RD2

 

[VThokie7]

If his medicals check out I'm taking the risk on Easley.

 

[Tobal]

I don't think he makes it to our pick in round 2, I think he'd be a top 15 top 10 guy in this draft with no medical issue... I love the player, and at 47 I'm sprinting to the table. Only way he ends up in Dallas is a trade down to 26 or lower IMO, which is worth nothing.

 

[texbumthelife]

All knee's team 2015 - DE Anthony Spencer, DT's Henry Melton and Dominique Easley

 

[Nirvana]

I just may buy his jersey if we draft him. I did the same thing after we drafted Ware. That's the only one I've got, so it's time to replace it.

This guy is gonna be great - book it.

 

[Leadbelly]

I just get the feeling he;s going to be a Cowboy in RD2

That's a better feeling than the one I'm getting...Cowboy in RD1 in a trade down.

I can't really recall an instance where a team's coordinator spent so much time with a 2nd round prospect. Makes me think they're really crossing their T's to see if he's worthy of RD1.

 

[jnday]

All knee's team 2015 - DE Anthony Spencer, DT's Henry Melton and Dominique Easley

They can keep Sean Lee company in the hot tub.

 

[Fredd]

1st round would make me apprehensive...2nd round, not as much...

 

[jobberone]

1st round would make me apprehensive...2nd round, not as much...

I can understand that but this is how I see Easley. He's in the same tier as Donald....at least. I rank him higher. A properly repaired knew with no injury to the MCL or cartilage is not much of a concern these days. So I have no problem taking him at 16 although I'd prefer to trade down a bit to pick up a third or even 2nd and get him in the later first round. It all depends on how they feel about the player and how much they may like others.

I wouldn't have a problem with going S, LB, CB or (ducking) drafting Ebron out of NC. I'd have ZERO problem taking Ebron at 16. He's going to be a terror lining up at the Y, W, H/F or even X or Z as well as putting him in motion.. He's a mismatch for corners and most LBers and S. I'm sure the site will explode along with reports of broken clickers, TVs, monitors but he is a value pick at 16. This guy is a receiving TE and WR with decent blocking who is a playmaker. There's your WR pick. Let them have to game Bryant, Witten, and Ebron.

The moral of the story is we are in a great spot IMO. We can likely draft up a few spots fairly cheap, trade down and get an extra 2-4 pick, or stay put and get a good starter or even a playmaker. Pray for QBs to go early.

 

[starfrombirth]

I can understand that but this is how I see Easley. He's in the same tier as Donald....at least. I rank him higher.

That's my analysis as well. I saw a player who was stronger and more disruptive than Donald and had a non-stop motor. I really like him IF the knees are clear. I would rather we take him than Barr even. Easly isn't a project like Barr.

 

[Fredd]

I can understand that but this is how I see Easley. He's in the same tier as Donald....at least. I rank him higher. A properly repaired knew with no injury to the MCL or cartilage is not much of a concern these days. So I have no problem taking him at 16 although I'd prefer to trade down a bit to pick up a third or even 2nd and get him in the later first round. It all depends on how they feel about the player and how much they may like others.

I wouldn't have a problem with going S, LB, CB or (ducking) drafting Ebron out of NC. I'd have ZERO problem taking Ebron at 16. He's going to be a terror lining up at the Y, W, H/F or even X or Z as well as putting him in motion.. He's a mismatch for corners and most LBers and S. I'm sure the site will explode along with reports of broken clickers, TVs, monitors but he is a value pick at 16. This guy is a receiving TE and WR with decent blocking who is a playmaker. There's your WR pick. Let them have to game Bryant, Witten, and Ebron.

The moral of the story is we are in a great spot IMO. We can likely draft up a few spots fairly cheap, trade down and get an extra 2-4 pick, or stay put and get a good starter or even a playmaker. Pray for QBs to go early.

I think that I would be OK with Ebron as well AS LONG as they have a plan to use him and the other TE's on the team...Hanna would be traded for a 6th or 7th next year IMO if we take Ebron

 

[tm1119]

Depends on reports esp the operative reports and rehab. The state of the art for repair of ligaments in knees doesn't concern me unless you have a concomitant injury esp to the cartilage. With the ability to construct ligaments and use cadaver ligaments there isn't a problem repairing just an ACL injury. There is no such thing as having a weak ligament (almost a certainty) and it takes a certain mechanism of injury to disrupt an ACL. So no players with that propensity.

Not a problem as long as no other problems in the knee.

Good post. Since you seem to know what you're talking about, is there any truth to the notion that a properly repaired acl by a guy like Andrews is actually stronger than original? Or is he just as susceptible to another torn acl as before the injury?

 

[Sydla]

He might be on the same tier as Donald if he didn't have the medical history............ but he does have the medical history. Furthermore, I am sure many said the same thing after his first knee injury - that with proper surgery and no complications and limited damage to other parts of his knee, he'd be fine............... and then he wasn't. Both knee injuries were non-contact according to the stories as well.

There's so much that goes into coming back from a knee injury.......... part physical, part mental. A guy coming off two knee injuries might be more tentative in how he plays than someone who has never had a serious knee injury.

As a 2nd rounder? Worth the flier. First rounder? Too big a risk.

 

[xwalker]

Depends on reports esp the operative reports and rehab. The state of the art for repair of ligaments in knees doesn't concern me unless you have a concomitant injury esp to the cartilage. With the ability to construct ligaments and use cadaver ligaments there isn't a problem repairing just an ACL injury. There is no such thing as having a weak ligament (almost a certainty) and it takes a certain mechanism of injury to disrupt an ACL. So no players with that propensity.

Not a problem as long as no other problems in the knee.

What is the success rate for a 2nd surgery to repair an ACL in the same knee if he had another injury?

I've seen that the the primary method of repair is to use part of the Patella. They can't do that again is he has another injury because they've both been used.

It does seem that most players with ACL injuries and not cartilage damage are fine after the surgery. My impression is that it might be stronger after the surgery. I think the new ACL is sometimes physically bigger than the original.

 

[noletime95]

Easley would have been a top 5-10 pick if he hadn't gotten hurt. He was the best player on a dominate defense in Gainesville. He's a risk, no doubt. But man, the upside is off the charts.