Cowboys don't strictly draft BPA

[ShiningStar]

so do we draft another TE or RB if they are BPA? really? I guess most would have passed on Fred.

 

[pancakeman]

From what I understand Will McClay puts the board together but when they are on the clock, everyone's gets a say. It's not hard to understand that players right next to each other on the board are so close that the room will be divided on which one to take. I don't see why they don't just rank the top 350 or so players in the exact order they would take them and not have to do anything on draft day but look to the name at the top of the list. All the arguements about who to take should already have been decided by draft day.

The only thing I can think of is that maybe they have some guesses as to when players might be likely drafted by other teams, so even though they like player A better than player B, if they perceive player B has been overrated or A underrated by the other teams, it might make sense to choose player B first and hope A is still there at the next pick.
And the team's earlier picks will likely shape later ones: you may argue that BPA philosophy says take a tight end in the 2nd even if you already have a good starter TE, but surely no one would say if you take that tight end, and in the 3rd yet another TE is at the top of your list, you'd take him too.

 

[dallasdave]

There really shouldn't be any controversy or discussion here. When you need defensive players and the BPA at your pick is a center, guard, running back, or QB ( for the Cowboys), you choose a closely rated or mostly closely rated position of need.

Well said indeed my friend Replace Doug Free

 

[bayeslife]

You know it's weird that Myles Jack was rated only one spot lower than Smith yet they still gambled on his health. Hope it works out

 

[jobberone]

I'm taking the BPA in the first round regardlessof position. Then I'll consider drafting for need in the later rounds.
If I'm on the clock and the 2nd best offensive tackle is setting there with the 5th best defensive end I'm taking the offensive tackle.

Most would. There is no black and white, all or nothing formula. You follow your board when you can and take a player at a PON when you can. Sometimes you can't take a player at a PON. In that case you take the BPA within reason. If the BPA is a RB when Dallas picks I can promise you they will trade out or take the BPA at a PON and if that's not possible you just take the next guy up that fits the team best.

 

[gmoney112]

News Flash, no one drafts BPA.

 

[DandyDon52]

I'm taking the BPA in the first round regardlessof position. Then I'll consider drafting for need in the later rounds.
If I'm on the clock and the 2nd best offensive tackle is setting there with the 5th best defensive end I'm taking the offensive tackle.

that depends on how good you evaluate players, it might turn out that the DE is actually the better player in NFL.
They took escobar in 2nd round, was he really a 2nd round talent in NFL ??
Taking bpa is ok if you make some trades later for what you really need .

I thought they drafted darius jackson, was he a udfa?

 

[stilltheguru88]

Like most NFL teams, the Cowboys don't strictly draft BPA, but also take into consideration position need. Makes sense right?! Of course it does.

The 2016 draft board was leaked and according to this article, BPA was generally followed, but not always.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2016...as-cowboys-2016-draft-board-possibly-revealed

A running back, guard, and wide receiver had higher grades then Tapper, but instead of drafting BPA, the FO chose to address a need: DE. A guard, running back, and corner had higher ratings than Dak, but the Cowboys chose to address the back up QB position. See how that works. Forgot to add that Cook was rated higher than Malik but we chose defense

Thank you. The BPA crowd is so annoying. Nobody uses that philosophy with no flexibility.

 

[stilltheguru88]

I’ve noticed that, too. They actually have kind of formulaic draft strategy.

1st round = BPA
2nd round = discount superstar risk
Middle Rounds = fill in ranks for areas of concern
Late Rounds = more fill-ins / high upside guys

I think their strategy is actually really good, except for the 2nd round. They swing for the fences there when they only need to get on base.

If that's the case Desmond King may be the second rounder.

 

[Hardline]

News Flash, no one drafts BPA.

With a few exceptions they do.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

News Flash, no one drafts BPA.

Yup some people apply principles but it is extremely rare for people to mindlessly abide by them in pretty much everything.

 

[Bullflop]

You know it's weird that Myles Jack was rated only one spot lower than Smith yet they still gambled on his health. Hope it works out

The staff apparently felt there was enough of a drop off between Smith and Jack to warrant taking a risk. Jerry fancies himself as a gambler and perhaps he proved it with that pick. If it was a committee-type thing as he likes to contend, there must have been others that agreed with him as well. Anyhow, I think we're all hoping Smith proves himself worthy of that #2 pick. It's certainly been controversial enough, that's for sure.

 

[RandyOh]

1st off following BPA no matter what position is only an acceptable strategy for teams that have a strong core built on both offense and defense and very few have that. The best strategy is taking the BPA that fills a need. No that does not mean reach on your main need though. If our top needs are DE, CB, WR, OT, S then you don't take the 8th ranked DE that has a 1st-2nd grade over the 3rd ranked WR or OT that has a legit 1st round grade.

 

[gmoney112]

1st off following BPA no matter what position is only an acceptable strategy for teams that have a strong core built on both offense and defense and very few have that. The best strategy is taking the BPA that fills a need. No that does not mean reach on your main need though. If our top needs are DE, CB, WR, OT, S then you don't take the 8th ranked DE that has a 1st-2nd grade over the 3rd ranked WR or OT that has a legit 1st round grade.

Yeah.

I imagine some of the more "high tech" teams even implement some analytics into their pick selection like baseball does with WAR and stuff. If two players are similarly graded, but the 3rd OG has a slightly higher grade than the 6th DE, what is your projected Win Above Replacement for each? A team that has two very high quality guards to begin with, is probably going to have a drastically lower WAR for that higher graded G than the DE.

And there are positions where you're just not going to touch in the first, no matter what. When NE was younger, that was QB. Etc.

For us, it'll be QB, RB, and G. Considering our situation, unless something crazy happens like Williams/Davis falling, I think you can take WR off the table too in the first. If Jaylon can lose the brace, then LB is off as well. A Tackle would have to be insane value to pick in the first, but I could see one past the 2nd round.

Just drafting BPA isn't going to give you the best "team". It might give you the best collection of players with individual talent, but what happens if you have 4 Pro-Bowl caliber guards and no one to rush the passer?

That's just how it works. You have too limited resources to address everything, so you have to use the ol' noggin' and see what's going to help you the most. Especially in a year-to-year league like the NFL.

The goal should be that your scouting is good enough to where you can take a slightly less "talented" player, but his talent will help the team win more overall.

 

[RandyOh]

Yeah.

I imagine some of the more "high tech" teams even implement some analytics into their pick selection like baseball does with WAR and stuff. If two players are similarly graded, but the 3rd OG has a slightly higher grade than the 6th DE, what is your projected Win Above Replacement for each? A team that has two very high quality guards to begin with, is probably going to have a drastically lower WAR for that higher graded G than the DE.

And there are positions where you're just not going to touch in the first, no matter what. When NE was younger, that was QB. Etc.

For us, it'll be QB, RB, and G. Considering our situation, unless something crazy happens like Williams/Davis falling, I think you can take WR off the table too in the first. If Jaylon can lose the brace, then LB is off as well. A Tackle would have to be insane value to pick in the first, but I could see one past the 2nd round.

Just drafting BPA isn't going to give you the best "team". It might give you the best collection of players with individual talent, but what happens if you have 4 Pro-Bowl caliber guards and no one to rush the passer?

That's just how it works. You have too limited resources to address everything, so you have to use the ol' noggin' and see what's going to help you the most. Especially in a year-to-year league like the NFL.

The goal should be that your scouting is good enough to where you can take a slightly less "talented" player, but his talent will help the team win more overall.

As they call it on the Draft show "window dressing". We should not have any QB's, OG, C, or RB's on our boards for the 1st-3rd round. Now their are exceptions like Christian McCaffrey or Alvin Kamara who can be a Darren Sproles like change of pace and all around Swiss army knife for offense and special teams, but your not going to take a 3 down RB in then 2nd over a Safety or a CB even if the RB is graded higher.

 

[xwalker]

So, I'm just gonna say it, why have Driskel ranked ahead of Dak, when you are gonna take Dak?

Because the scouts make the draft board and during the 4th round Scott Linehan stood naked on the table in the War Room and said he would come to work naked everyday if they drafted Driskel over Dak. Will McClay said "I can't look at that white buttocks everyday and gave in to draft Dak". Jerry said "who?" and they said #15 from Mississippi State. Jerry replied that he had just finished his 15th Johnnie Walker Blue and gave the pick a thumbs up.

 

[DFWJC]

Most teams take a player at a PON who are in a tier around their pick. Or close to it. The further you drop in the draft the larger, in general, the tier.

this

 

[DFWJC]

Jordan Howard was really good this year. Looks like Dallas had him evaluated better than most.
If they didn't take Zeke in the first, they'd had no problem getting Howard 3-4 rounds later.
Things worked out fine though!

 

[Manwiththeplan]

Because the scouts make the draft board and during the 4th round Scott Linehan stood naked on the table in the War Room and said he would come to work naked everyday if they drafted Driskel over Dak. Will McClay said "I can't look at that white buttocks everyday and gave in to draft Dak". Jerry said "who?" and they said #15 from Mississippi State. Jerry replied that he had just finished his 15th Johnnie Walker Blue and gave the pick a thumbs up.

You know, I know you are being sarcastic, but I can actually see this playing out like you described

 

[xwalker]

Like most NFL teams, the Cowboys don't strictly draft BPA, but also take into consideration position need. Makes sense right?! Of course it does.

The 2016 draft board was leaked and according to this article, BPA was generally followed, but not always.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2016...as-cowboys-2016-draft-board-possibly-revealed

A running back, guard, and wide receiver had higher grades then Tapper, but instead of drafting BPA, the FO chose to address a need: DE. A guard, running back, and corner had higher ratings than Dak, but the Cowboys chose to address the back up QB position. See how that works. Forgot to add that Cook was rated higher than Malik but we chose defense

Cowboys drafted Maliek Collins 3-67 with some players listed as 2nd rounders still available:
Kendall Fuller 3-84
Connor Cook 4-100


They drafted Charles Tapper 4-101 with players listed as 3rd rounders still available:
Quinton Jefferson 5-147
Ronald Blair 5-142

Paul Perkins 5-149
Jordan Howard 5-150
Devontae Booker 4-136

The odd one to me is passing on DE Ronald Blair when they took DE Charles Tapper. Maybe they saw Blair as a DT in their scheme and they had already taken M.Collins.