DC: Same Round & Position Flex, Cowboys Hope Wilson Can Produce Like Hitchens

[jobberone]

Same Round & Position Flex, Cowboys Hope Wilson Can Produce Like Hitchens
Tuesday, May 19, 2015 10:25 AM CDT

By Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer @nickeatman

IRVING, Texas - A hard-hitting linebacker drafted in the fourth round from a Big Ten school. It worked for the Cowboys last year in a major way.

If only the Cowboys can recreate the same success in 2015.

Now, the Cowboys aren’t exactly expecting the same first-year success from Damien Wilson as they got from Anthony Hitchens last year, but even if it’s somewhat close it will be a huge steal for a team that has experienced its share of injuries at linebacker.

The Cowboys have been trying to add depth at the position for the past two years and a pick like Wilson should help that initiative.

Getting him on the field right away might not be the easiest thing, though, considering veterans such as Sean Lee,Rolando McClain, Kyle Wilber, Jasper Brinkley and now Hitchens are expected to be ahead of him. But again, counting on these linebackers to stay healthy throughout the whole year is a dicey proposition for the Cowboys, who saw Lee miss the entire 2014 season while McClain missed most of the two playoff games and stayed banged up all year. Justin Durant, who is now in Atlanta, also missed 10 games after a hot start to 2014.

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2...flex-cowboys-hope-wilson-can-produce-hitchens

 

[CCBoy]

This team's defense has invested strongly into the linebacker positional group...for this season. They have added both 3 veterans and two drafted linebackers. I would think that the linebacker group will be very tight and aggressive as a group. I also am looking forward to banner seasons for Anthony Hitchens, Sean Lee, and Rolando McClain.

 

[Floatyworm]

This pick will always be tainted for me. We should have stolen Jay Ajayi in the 4th round. A starting RB. Instead we selected a backup LBer

 

[xwalker]

This pick will always be tainted for me. We should have stolen Jay Ajayi in the 4th round. A starting RB. Instead we selected a backup LBer

Jerry didn't want to pay for one of these:

 

[Galian Beast]

McClain replaced Lee last year and Carter replaced Durant, and Hitchens essentially replaced Carter.

Lee now replaces Carter, and McClain replaces Lee, but there is still risk to both of those players going down with injuries. That is why we have Wilson and Hitchens. We also have some veteran depth in case these players don't work out. We also need to find a starting strong side linebacker.

 

[xwalker]

McClain replaced Lee last year and Carter replaced Durant, and Hitchens essentially replaced Carter.

Lee now replaces Carter, and McClain replaces Lee, but there is still risk to both of those players going down with injuries. That is why we have Wilson and Hitchens. We also have some veteran depth in case these players don't work out. We also need to find a starting strong side linebacker.

Many people don't realize that Hitchens started over Carter. Hitchens started 11 games including weeks 12-16. Carter was active weeks 12-16 but was not a starter.

 

[Doomsday101]

This pick will always be tainted for me. We should have stolen Jay Ajayi in the 4th round. A starting RB. Instead we selected a backup LBer

I can't say I would not have liked Ajayi as well but I also understand given the injury history at LB that getting quality players at the position was not a bad move. As the article pointed out Lee missed the entire season, McClain missed time, Durant missed 10 games. Now with the loss of Durant and Carter Dallas felt the need to address those loses.

 

[dogberry]

Is that what an artificial knee looks like?

 

[Galian Beast]

This pick will always be tainted for me. We should have stolen Jay Ajayi in the 4th round. A starting RB. Instead we selected a backup LBer

Anthony Hitchens had 530 snaps last year.

Kyle Wilber had 211 snaps.

Cam Lawrence had 76 snaps.

Lance Dunbar had 138 snaps.

Joseph Randle had 94 snaps.

 

[xwalker]

Is that what an artificial knee looks like?

Yes.

Here is how it looks when "installed".

 

[bodi]

good article - I like what Eberflus said about him

http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/...us-joins-draft-day-show-discuss-damien-wilson

 

[AsthmaField]

LOL, watching the "Exclusive Interview with Damien Wilson" video towards the bottom of that article, the guys at DallasCowboys.com say hopefully Anthony Hitchens didn't set the bar so high that people are disappointed with Wilson.

One year ago this forum was tearing itself apart arguing about how bad a pick Hitch was.

The good news is that I think a lot of people have learned a lesson about not liking a mid round guy just because he was hardly talked about at all before the draft. Nearly everyone here has eaten their crow on that pick. There might be one or two guys that are foolish enough to stick to their guns on that pick (I can't quite remember who)... but for the most part, everyone has been very reasonable about Hitchens.

And BTW, I'm not excluding myself from the people who were wrong about the pick. I wanted Dallas to draft a LB there but I wanted Kevin Pierre-Louis, who went a few picks later to Seattle. I was disappointed that they skipped Pierre-Louis and took a guy that I had spent very little time looking at. I didn't get mad or anything but I did think the team picked the wrong guy.

What I did do though, was give Hitchens time to prove they picked the right guy and boy, did he ever. A really, really good pick that ended up saving the team's *** because of all the injuries.

This year, I actually liked Wilson a lot more than I did Hitch last year... but here we all are, just hoping that Wilson can live up to the high standard that Hitch set as a rookie.

Live and learn.

 

[Idgit]

LOL, watching the "Exclusive Interview with Damien Wilson" video towards the bottom of that article, the guys at DallasCowboys.com say hopefully Anthony Hitchens didn't set the bar so high that people are disappointed with Wilson.

One year ago this forum was tearing itself apart arguing about how bad a pick Hitch was.

The good news is that I think a lot of people have learned a lesson about not liking a mid round guy just because he was hardly talked about at all before the draft. Nearly everyone here has eaten their crow on that pick. There might be one or two guys that are foolish enough to stick to their guns on that pick (I can't quite remember who)... but for the most part, everyone has been very reasonable about Hitchens.

And BTW, I'm not excluding myself from the people who were wrong about the pick. I wanted Dallas to draft a LB there but I wanted Kevin Pierre-Louis, who went a few picks later to Seattle. I was disappointed that they skipped Pierre-Louis and took a guy that I had spent very little time looking at. I didn't get mad or anything but I did think the team picked the wrong guy.

What I did do though, was give Hitchens time to prove they picked the right guy and boy, did he ever. A really, really good pick that ended up saving the team's *** because of all the injuries.

This year, I actually liked Wilson a lot more than I did Hitch last year... but here we all are, just hoping that Wilson can live up to the high standard that Hitch set as a rookie.

Live and learn.

Seriously, we all already knew that lesson, I think. Mid round guys are lower-percentage players, we all get that. It doesn't take seeing all that many 6th round QBs or UDRFAs make it big to realize that players actually do get better as they learn and train and are coached for a system.

I like Wilson a lot, though. He and Jones are actually my favorites of our draft picks.

 

[AsthmaField]

Seriously, we all already knew that lesson, I think. Mid round guys are lower-percentage players, we all get that. It doesn't take seeing all that many 6th round QBs or UDRFAs make it big to realize that players actually do get better as they learn and train and are coached for a system.

I like Wilson a lot, though. He and Jones are actually my favorites of our draft picks.

If a lot knew it before, they sure forgot it quickly when Hitch was drafted... and it appears that a select few still haven't learned it.

 

[Gaede]

Yes.

Here is how it looks when "installed".

You should see the operation. Used to edit medical footage and the total knee replacement was just gory

 

[DallasEast]

I am having difficulty comprehending the post-draft ruing over not selecting Jay Ajayi during the first four rounds. He lasted easily into the fifth round. Every team passed him up a minimum of two times each. Heck, Cleveland selected a running back before picking Ajayi. Saying Ajayi would have been a steal in the fourth round is akin to someone stealing apples from a fruit stand with the attached sign: ROTTEN FRUIT/NOT FOR SALE!

Speculation of whether the team would have used a pick on Ajayi after the fourth round? That I can understand. The team would have addressed a problem area of the roster with a mid-round pick and took a chance on the health of a suspect running back afterwards.

 

[Idgit]

If a lot knew it before, they sure forgot it quickly when Hitch was drafted... and it appears that a select few still haven't learned it.

This is code for Risen Star being wrong again, right? Stop the presses.

I didn't like the Hitchens pick, either. I liked other LBs sill on the board better, and thought he looked sluggish and unspectacular in his college videos. What do I know? If we re-drafted that draft today, he'd maybe be a late first to mid second round pick.

Wilson looks like another player to me. Which means he'll probably stink. I like the way he runs to the ball and he tackles with some authority. If he doesn't overrun plays, he's got a chance to be a really good contributor in a suddenly-deep LB corps.

 

[Doomsay]

You should see the operation. Used to edit medical footage and the total knee replacement was just gory

Godspeed, I don't think I could ever do that. I'd imagine it could create some nightmares.

 

[AsthmaField]

This is code for Risen Star being wrong again, right? Stop the presses.

I didn't like the Hitchens pick, either. I liked other LBs sill on the board better, and thought he looked sluggish and unspectacular in his college videos. What do I know? If we re-drafted that draft today, he'd maybe be a late first to mid second round pick.

Wilson looks like another player to me. Which means he'll probably stink. I like the way he runs to the ball and he tackles with some authority. If he doesn't overrun plays, he's got a chance to be a really good contributor in a suddenly-deep LB corps.

Yeah, as I said, I wasn't crazy about the pick either. There were plenty that weren't. You, I and most people saw that we were wrong not to like it and had no problem admitting it. People in general feel that gracefully eating crow is an admirable quality. When someone refuses to do so, people remember.

To answer your question though, it wasn't just Risen that I was talking about... although he certainly is prominent among them. There are a few that I've seen that refuse to admit that Dallas made a good pick with Hitchens, and I'm not only talking about on Cowboyszone.

I liked the Wilson pick too, but as you say, that doesn't mean much in the scheme of things.

 

[jnday]

This is code for Risen Star being wrong again, right? Stop the presses.

I didn't like the Hitchens pick, either. I liked other LBs sill on the board better, and thought he looked sluggish and unspectacular in his college videos. What do I know? If we re-drafted that draft today, he'd maybe be a late first to mid second round pick.

Wilson looks like another player to me. Which means he'll probably stink. I like the way he runs to the ball and he tackles with some authority. If he doesn't overrun plays, he's got a chance to be a really good contributor in a suddenly-deep LB corps.

If Wilson makes it, it would be the equivalent of lightening striking twice at the same place. I hope it happens, but the chances are slim.