Draft thoughts before next week

[jnday]

I think I like your first option better than the second, again because I just don't see value in a first round TE.

But Mayer and then say Sanders? It's not terrible. Again, the hurdle for me is the 26th pick turning into a TE or RB or WR. I just can't get excited about that.

The 26th pick will have a second round grade if past drafts are any indicators of value. Dallas usually has about 15 players with first round grades. If a player with a first round grade in Dallas’s rankings falls to 26th , I would think that position wouldn’t matter and TE, RB, WR, etc, are just as likely to be drafted if they fall to Dallas .

 

[jnday]

It's not even about winning the SB. We didn't even get any further in terms of playoff wins compared to the 2014 team that had a 3rd round pick as their TB.

Elliott was a very nice running back for a number of years. No one denies that. But at the end of the day, we used a premium pick on a position that largely doesn't move the needle as much as other positions. Again, for all his greatness, the Cowboys didn't take that next step beyond where they had been right before he was picked. If you want to call him a successful pick based on his individual achievements over that time period, that's fine and I won't disagree.

But in terms of the ultimate success of the franchise, he wasn't a game changer, he didn't alter the direction of the franchise. The team was basically the same team - miss the playoffs here, make the playoffs there, get bounced early, repeat................ I look around the league and see multiple teams use their prime assets to make the overall team better and then backfill the TB position. That's the model I want to follow. Build the OL, then worry about the TB later.

As for your question, can you say with certainty that if the Cowboys hadn't taken Elliott but instead had taken Jordan Howard later in the draft, a guy who ran for 1300 yards as a rookie, the team still wouldn't have been successful?

You can’t play the “if” game in this situation. You can only use facts. The facts are that Zeke had a great year and he was the heart of the team. You have no way of knowing if another RB would have had the same success. Would another RB block as well, would they have run as well, would they have caught the ball as well? All you can say with certainty is that Zeke played a major role in the 13-3 record that year. There is no proof that another RB could have done the same.

 

[fivetwos]

Take Carter out of the mix for this purpose, but is there even a DT in this entire draft that’s a no doubt needle mover as opposed to someone who will join the Gallimores and OOs in a rotation and not be all that much better?

I’m aware of the need at DT, but I also don’t want to be reaching and thinking it’s going to help.

Maybe the best bet to fix the DT problem for now is to build the offense correctly, win time of possession, get leads, and run defense becomes less of an issue.

That’s at least one way to look at it.

 

[Sydla]

You can’t play the “if” game in this situation. You can only use facts. The facts are that Zeke had a great year and he was the heart of the team. You have no way of knowing if another RB would have had the same success. Would another RB block as well, would they have run as well, would they have caught the ball as well? All you can say with certainty is that Zeke played a major role in the 13-3 record that year. There is no proof that another RB could have done the same.

Facts are as great as Elliott was, the team did no better than a team led by a third round TB.

We don’t need a first round pick on a TB to have a great run game. That’s just reality.

 

[Fla Cowpoke]

- Let's get this out of the way early. I am absolutely biased towards using premium picks (1st and 2nd rounders to me) on the OL or DL. Other than the QB, I don't think there is another position or group of players that affects a game more than the OL and DL. So I got into most drafts just hoping that a stud at OT or OG or OC or DT or DE or even OLB (edge) is sitting there for us to pick in the first two rounds.

- Conversely, I don't care how big a stud a RB is, I just don't see the value in taking one really high. I just don't. Yes, I get BPA and certainly there is a scenario where a TB is easily the best player available but that gap between him and what's available in the first, for example, has to be massive for me. I'd rather take a small reach on a DT in the first than take a TB. I absolutely do not, under any circumstances, go chasing a TB in the first round using a premium or mid round picks to trade up. That's just ****** roster building right there. The reality is this is a capped league. Resourcesd are not finite. Teams have continually shown that if you invest in the OL you can then patch up the RB position with minimal resources. You don't need to throw a first round pick (or trade up in the first) for a TB to build a good run game that can win in January/February. Plow your money and your top picks into the lines. That's how you build a championship roster. Not go chasing a shiny, flashy toy in a TB.

- TE is an interesting situation. To me, it's just above RB in terms of value. Ferguson is a nice prospect but he has a ceiling. I think we can get by with him but he's also not a guy that I look at and say, yeah, we good there. You can absolutely upgrade that position. But again, I can't really justify using a first round pick on one unless he's such a freak of nature and complete player. Unfortunately, that's not the case here. Mayer is the best all around guy but he has limitations. Washington looks like a freak but he has real downside. Kincaid is basically a big WR. The board would have to be pretty barren for me to consider a TE at 26 as a great pick. LaPorta at 58? OK, then I can get behind something like that.

- I've come around on Drew Sanders. Not sure I would use 26 on him, but if he's there at 58? I'd think long and hard. The reality is the Cowboys don't value DT. They don't seem to mind that certain teams can just rough up their DT rotation. So in order for Dallas to be a great D they have to get after the QB and create turnovers. Sanders is a piece that Quinn could probably use, paired with Parson, at LB that could create havoc.

- I am firmly in the get your TB in the 3rd-5th round camp. There are a lot of guys in that range - Bigsby, the kid from Pitt with too many letters in his name, Spears, McIntosh, Evans. Grab one there. Not at 26. And for freaksakes, not at 15 because Jerry got stupid and traded away a 2nd round pick to do it.

- I am not high on this WR class. Yeah, I know there are Hyatt fanboys out there and people think JSN is really good but again, looking at how the Cowboys build their roster and what they have and what they have done, I can't justify a guy like Hyatt, for example, at 26. Yeah, he runs fast. So did Carl Lewis, but he couldn't catch a football. The comparison is crude but the point is with how Dallas does things, they typically need their #1 to play and play alot and make an impact. Hyatt is a stach and hope guy. He's too raw to expect an impact early. He's not taking snaps from Gallup or Cooks. I just can't use a first round pick on a lay away.

- I hope they take a QB late. Kid from UCLA, kid from Purdue. Just fill the pipeline with QBs and maybe you get lucky and one hits. Late round picks are a total crap shoot. I'd rather take a flier on a QB late than some ridiculous project WR or LB.

Really enjoyed this and am pretty much completely on board. These late round comp picks should absolutely be used to take a flyer on a QB. And that QB should pretty much be guaranteed the number 3 spot to develop for a couple years.

I was not a Dinucci fan, but I think with him getting some XFL playing time we can see that he probably has the skills to be a backup in the NFL. I don't ever see him as a starter. But watching him some I have got a better appreciation for what he can do. He never seemed like he had a grip on the offense when here, and maybe that is just because he PT was so limited and backups get such limited reps. Using him as an example, taking a guy that has decent measureables and has produced at the level he played at it is worth taking a flyer on.

RB is not the position to use a first round pick on. Way too many options in free agency and later in the draft. We had good RB's signing for a few million over vet minimum. Build a good OL and anyone can produce as a RB.

At TE, we have not had a field stretching TE in a long, long time. And I don't recall them ever being a huge part in GB. They did have decent TE play during the McCarthy years, but it just seems that we don't value the position as anything more than maybe being that safety valve for the QB and possibly as a move the chains guy. That is what Schultz was. That is what Witten was for the great majority of his career. I think the guys we have can do that. If we want to take a flyer on a guy that might be more of a downfield option then go for it on day 3.

 

[Malhavoc]

The 26th pick will have a second round grade if past drafts are any indicators of value. Dallas usually has about 15 players with first round grades. If a player with a first round grade in Dallas’s rankings falls to 26th , I would think that position wouldn’t matter and TE, RB, WR, etc, are just as likely to be drafted if they fall to Dallas .

And especially a player with a top 5 ranking like Robinson. Folks are wasting their time debating whether he’ll be taken if available. There is practically a 0 percent we don’t take him.