Cowboys stand pat, exclusively pick pre-draft visitors in 7-round mock

[morasp]

A different take on who the Cowboys might take. I hadn't even heard about this pass rusher from Houston but their analysis sounds plausible.

Everyone wants to trade back, but what happens when there’s no partners to dance with? The Cowboys have assembled several prospects in their visit list who seem like ideal selections for the top of Round 2. If there is no one to trade with, however, Dallas will likely need to select one of those targets a bit early.

In the latest mock draft, that’s exactly the scenario which played out. In fact, Dallas didn’t move off of any of their 2017 selections, staying put for all seven of their selections.

The results? A draft that allowed them to pick up five players who were official pre-draft visitors and another two players who the Cowboys worked out away from the facility.

Dallas tried to keep the Bowser visit quiet, as he wasn’t one of the numerous leaks that happens every year. The player himself let the cat out the bag with his instagram post.

Bowser fits the profile Dallas looks for in a right defensive end perfectly. He’s considered by most as a second-round prospect, but his fit in Dallas is a little more intriguing. Dallas is in desperate need of a right defensive end, and their physical model favors players who seem to be better suited as 3-4 outside linebackers. Bowser stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 247 pounds. He’s in the same mold as Leonard Floyd, whom the Cowboys liked a lot from the 2016 draft. He’s also of similar build to 2015 draft pick Randy Gregory.

http://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/201...vely-pick-pre-draft-visitors-in-7-round-mock/

 

[visionary]

Not bad

 

[morasp]

Not bad

I usually don't agree with mock drafts but that's what I thought too. All the players have been in contact with the Cowboys and a lot of them are under the radar.

 

[NorthwestDallas40]

I posted a thread about Bowser last week. More than any of the DE prospects, he fits the Marinelli mold of twitchy, bendy RDE. May be a little high at 28,but he is rising fast. Could see Seattle beating us to him at 26.

 

[Alexander]

I would go to war with that.

 

[rkell87]

Best mock I've seen

 

[KingintheNorth]

Do not like first pick much but the rest of the draft is a homerun.

 

[bodi]

1 No. 28: Tyus Bowser, DE, Houston - 3-4 out side LBER
2 No. 60: Quincy Wilson, CB, Florida - gone by 60
3 No. 92: Juju Smith-Schuster, WR, USC - gone by 92
4 No. 133: Tedric Thompson, S, Colorado
6 No. 211: Aaron Jones, RB, Texas-El Paso
7 No. 228: Avery Moss, DE, Youngstown State
7 No. 246: Treston DeCoud, CB, Oregon Stat

 

[Oh_Canada]

Where do I sign up?

 

[jterrell]

A different take on who the Cowboys might take. I hadn't even heard about this pass rusher from Houston but their analysis sounds plausible.

Everyone wants to trade back, but what happens when there’s no partners to dance with? The Cowboys have assembled several prospects in their visit list who seem like ideal selections for the top of Round 2. If there is no one to trade with, however, Dallas will likely need to select one of those targets a bit early.

In the latest mock draft, that’s exactly the scenario which played out. In fact, Dallas didn’t move off of any of their 2017 selections, staying put for all seven of their selections.

The results? A draft that allowed them to pick up five players who were official pre-draft visitors and another two players who the Cowboys worked out away from the facility.

Dallas tried to keep the Bowser visit quiet, as he wasn’t one of the numerous leaks that happens every year. The player himself let the cat out the bag with his instagram post.

Bowser fits the profile Dallas looks for in a right defensive end perfectly. He’s considered by most as a second-round prospect, but his fit in Dallas is a little more intriguing. Dallas is in desperate need of a right defensive end, and their physical model favors players who seem to be better suited as 3-4 outside linebackers. Bowser stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 247 pounds. He’s in the same mold as Leonard Floyd, whom the Cowboys liked a lot from the 2016 draft. He’s also of similar build to 2015 draft pick Randy Gregory.

http://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/201...vely-pick-pre-draft-visitors-in-7-round-mock/

they gave us the spider chart for Bowser as a LB in order to pimp him out as a right end.
please stop doing that kind of stuff. i get they didn't create the spider chart but you can't sell us water and tell us it's wine.

floyd is an OLB. he played in 12 games missing a handful spread throughout the season but has a couple more with zero stats. tough playing at his size.

Dallas will gladly draft a pass rusher who is 245... in round 2 or 3.
Guys in round 1 need to be able to start and play 3 downs.
the first order of business for any of these guys Dallas takes will be to add weight.
same process they followed with Gregory.
if we take him at 28 there's a good chance you essentially eat a redshirt year.

btw, bowser is from 2 hours outside dallas. he went to college 4 hours away. his visit wasn't a surprise (dallas visited essentially every pass rusher graded low 1st to 3rd rounds) and dallas never released any lists of visitors, agents and players do.
you can't really have surprise visits with guys you invite to the Star where you are giving paid tours daily and tons of fans are visiting the pro shop and taking pics on the outdoor field.

 

[jterrell]

fwiw, i like the overall logic of looking at visits and of targeting edge4 r1, cb r2.
and some of the later picks seem great fits.

wilson is probably gone by 45 but there will be CB in that area who can ball.
but i do think dallas wants more game-ready Edge guys at 28. guys 255-265 who can play multiple downs day 1.

 

[JBell]

they gave us the spider chart for Bowser as a LB in order to pimp him out as a right end.
please stop doing that kind of stuff. i get they didn't create the spider chart but you can't sell us water and tell us it's wine.

floyd is an OLB. he played in 12 games missing a handful spread throughout the season but has a couple more with zero stats. tough playing at his size.

Dallas will gladly draft a pass rusher who is 245... in round 2 or 3.
Guys in round 1 need to be able to start and play 3 downs.
the first order of business for any of these guys Dallas takes will be to add weight.
same process they followed with Gregory.
if we take him at 28 there's a good chance you essentially eat a redshirt year.

btw, bowser is from 2 hours outside dallas. he went to college 4 hours away. his visit wasn't a surprise (dallas visited essentially every pass rusher graded low 1st to 3rd rounds) and dallas never released any lists of visitors, agents and players do.
you can't really have surprise visits with guys you invite to the Star where you are giving paid tours daily and tons of fans are visiting the pro shop and taking pics on the outdoor field.

If Dallas wanted to make Bowser a full-time player right away they could. Bowser play a lot of coverage at Houston. He can play SLB on run downs and slide to RE in passing situations.

And Bowser's spider chart would still be impressive as a DE.

 

[jterrell]

If Dallas wanted to make Bowser a full-time player right away they could. Bowser play a lot of coverage at Houston. He can play SLB on run downs and slide to RE in passing situations.

And Bowser's spider chart would still be impressive as a DE.

Dallas doesn't use a SLB that often. They essentially play a 4-2-5.
So I don't think that would be a good solution at all; to teach him two positions and detract from goal 1 which is add weight and teach him to handle playing as a DE.

The spider chart was at LB if they/you want to compare him at Edge please do but don't sell me he's in some 80% in size at Edge. He's not.

Interesting prospect but prolly does need a redshirt year and they've bummed me out drafting those guys.

 

[darthseinfeld]

fwiw, i like the overall logic of looking at visits and of targeting edge4 r1, cb r2.
and some of the later picks seem great fits.

wilson is probably gone by 45 but there will be CB in that area who can ball.
but i do think dallas wants more game-ready Edge guys at 28. guys 255-265 who can play multiple downs day 1.

Bowser would be a Leo here, he would never be a full time DE. He would play LB in base downs and RDE in subs

 

[darthseinfeld]

Dallas doesn't use a SLB that often. They essentially play a 4-2-5.
So I don't think that would be a good solution at all; to teach him two positions and detract from goal 1 which is add weight and teach him to handle playing as a DE.

The spider chart was at LB if they/you want to compare him at Edge please do but don't sell me he's in some 80% in size at Edge. He's not.

Interesting prospect but prolly does need a redshirt year and they've bummed me out drafting those guys.

When they go 4-2-5, he will be at DE. When they play in a 4-3 front they will have him at OLB. He has enough size to rush the passer right now in a 4-2-5 front. He just can play there in run downs.

With Bowser think Vic Beasley and Bruce Irvin. Both play(ed) Leo in a similar system to what we want to run

 

[jterrell]

When they go 4-2-5, he will be at DE. When they play in a 4-3 front they will have him at OLB. He has enough size to rush the passer right now in a 4-2-5 front. He just can play there in run downs.

With Bowser think Vic Beasley and Bruce Irvin. Both play(ed) Leo in a similar system to what we want to run

There are plenty of games we play 4-2-5 75% of the game or more.
The key to that scheme and gameplan is being able to stop the run with the 6 man front.
So we deploy quality run capable DEs in those sets.
It gives us one extra DB which is far better for coverage while also being enough to stop the run.

Irvin is a good example and exactly what I am talking about. He was a good part-time rusher as a rookie as a back up Leo.
Racked up sacks too!
But he couldn't win the LEO job over Chris Clemons as a rookie because his run defense was poor then SEA signed Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett to play DE. Irvin was then shuffled off to LB for base sets and really just kind of languished as a part-time rusher.
He never won a full-time DE job and was allowed to walk to Oakland in free agency. He never matched his rookie sack total.

Vic Beasley is the tale in the other direction. ATL didn't use him as a LB at all year 1 and he had a spare 4 sacks.
Quinn came in and moved him to LEO/SAM but as a starter and in fact the only SAM on the roster. He rushes virtually every down. He's much more akin to Von Miller than a SAM linebacker. Now obviously a big part of that is the game plan. ATL was the league's highest flying offense. They played to get ahead and than pass rush you. They didn't attempt to grind it out like DAL or SEA on offense and beat you in the end with force.

So you have the concept down very well but the specifics of the team are very important. Not all 4-3 over/unders are created equal.

Does DAL want to play more 4-3? I don't think so. I think they found the 4-2-5 masked the coverage issues and we obviously just lost a lot of coverage bodies.
And more to the point we saw what they did with Randy Gregory.
That gives you an idea of how they want to use a pass rusher.

Last year DAL wasn't in a 4-3 over much at all. They simple played a nickel with largely zone behind a 4 man pass rush and very infrequent blitzing.
The team's one true LEO almost never got on the field outside of special teams.

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

Grade A Draft, but I'd like to see a TE as well.

 

[darthseinfeld]

There are plenty of games we play 4-2-5 75% of the game or more.
The key to that scheme and gameplan is being able to stop the run with the 6 man front.
So we deploy quality run capable DEs in those sets.
It gives us one extra DB which is far better for coverage while also being enough to stop the run.

Irvin is a good example and exactly what I am talking about. He was a good part-time rusher as a rookie as a back up Leo.
Racked up sacks too!
But he couldn't win the LEO job over Chris Clemons as a rookie because his run defense was poor then SEA signed Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett to play DE. Irvin was then shuffled off to LB for base sets and really just kind of languished as a part-time rusher.
He never won a full-time DE job and was allowed to walk to Oakland in free agency. He never matched his rookie sack total.

Vic Beasley is the tale in the other direction. ATL didn't use him as a LB at all year 1 and he had a spare 4 sacks.
Quinn came in and moved him to LEO/SAM but as a starter and in fact the only SAM on the roster. He rushes virtually every down. He's much more akin to Von Miller than a SAM linebacker. Now obviously a big part of that is the game plan. ATL was the league's highest flying offense. They played to get ahead and than pass rush you. They didn't attempt to grind it out like DAL or SEA on offense and beat you in the end with force.

So you have the concept down very well but the specifics of the team are very important. Not all 4-3 over/unders are created equal.

Does DAL want to play more 4-3? I don't think so. I think they found the 4-2-5 masked the coverage issues and we obviously just lost a lot of coverage bodies.
And more to the point we saw what they did with Randy Gregory.
That gives you an idea of how they want to use a pass rusher.

Last year DAL wasn't in a 4-3 over much at all. They simple played a nickel with largely zone behind a 4 man pass rush and very infrequent blitzing.
The team's one true LEO almost never got on the field outside of special teams.

The thing is though most teams run a 4-2 alignment most downs. Even most 3-4 teams favor a 4-2 Nickle package to a 3-3-5 like we ran. NFL teams tend to spend 70% percent of snaps in sub packages. Either a 4-2 or a 4-1. The real relevance between 4-3 and 3-4 has been greatly diminished, as in most cases teams will rush with 4 down lineman in subs. That I think we are mostly in agreement with.

A Leo will be a DE most of the time, as when you are in an subpackage they will be at RDE. The only time the will be at SAM is when the team is in base with will only be 20-30% of the time. Usually obvious run downs.

So when you're talking about a Leo, you're really talking about a DE that will get moved to SAM on obvious run plays.

 

[ghst187]

Best mock I've seen

I agree. Lovebirds to have Jones or Evans for the S pick but I like Tedric lot in a later round.

 

[phildadon86]

I would go to war with that.

Would you call him Daddy?