Drafting a QB...

[MichaelWinicki]

I think any QB considered needs to have similar attributes as Romo, such as:

1. Accurate on short to medium throws.
2. The ability to move in the pocket.
3. Has the smarts to read a defense and go through his progression.

I honestly don't see the Cowboys drafting a classic drop-back passer who lacks mobility and is more suited for a verticle game.

I think the reason Brad Johnson was signed is that he has "Romo-like" player skills and so the offensive play calling as it applied to the passing game would not change a great deal.

I like the idea of having all the QB's on the Cowboys having a similar skill set. But the point of this post is to look at what QB's in the upcoming draft that have a similar skill set to Romo...

1. John Beck, BYU. An accurate passer who has mobility. Hos has been beating the Drum for Beck... I just don't him lasting until the Cowboy's pick in the 3rd round. No way would I spend a #2 on a QB.

2. Drew Stanton, Michigan St. Also accurate with mobility. Also reported to be a good leader. It looks like he'll be available in the 3rd round if the Cowboys were predisposed to select a QB that high.

3. Jared Zabransky, Boise State. Reported to be a very good student of the game. Combines accuracy and mobility. One draft guide said that he "Looks like a young Jeff Garcia". A 4th round type prospect according to one guide.

4. Jeff Rowe, Nevada. Physically larger than your these other "Romo-similar" QB but still has the ability to move in the pocket and is better suited to short/medium throws. Should be available in the 6th round.

In my opinion that's pretty much it for guys that look to be draftable.

Potential free agents that are most "Romo-like" are:

1. Luke Getsby, Akron

And that's about it at this point.

Anyone support the idea of drafting a QB with a similar skill set to Romo and to a lesser extent Johnson?

I look at the success the Niners had in having QB's that had very similar skills (Montana, Young, Garcia) all basically running the same offense and I think it's smart if the Cowboys could have the same mindset.

 

[Zaxor]

3. Jared Zabransky, Boise State. Reported to be a very good student of the game. Combines accuracy and mobility. One draft guide said that he "Looks like a young Jeff Garcia". A 4th round type prospect according to one guide.

after watching that bowl game I was/am hoping the Cowboys can get him as a FA or a very late 2nd day pick..he might develop into a similar player as Romo

 

[carphalen5150]

I really don't want to draft a QB. We signed Johnson, have Baker on the PS, and could go the UDFA route again. If there is some value there then fine, otherwise I am good with what we have.

 

[superpunk]

Did Kolb enter the draft? I caught 2 Houston games last year, and was pretty impressed with his command of the offense.

 

[Stash]

Why not Trent Edwards?

He looks to have all the skills to develop into a quality NFL quarterback.

If he's still there in Rd 3, I think the Cowboys would have to consider him, especially if they in fact trade down in Round 1 and acquire additional draft picks..

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Did Kolb enter the draft? I caught 2 Houston games last year, and was pretty impressed with his command of the offense.

Kolb is in this draft. He's project to be a 4th or 5th rounder. Why I didn't include him on this list is because he's more of a drop back passer BUT if I were to include another QB it would be him.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Why not Trent Edwards?

He looks to have all the skills to develop into a quality NFL quarterback.

If he's still there in Rd 3, I think the Cowboys would have to consider him, especially if they in fact trade down in Round 1 and acquire additional draft picks..

I'm not personally big on the guy but others may be. I'm even less big on spending a 1st day choice on a QB.

 

[Hostile]

I really don't want to draft a QB. We signed Johnson, have Baker on the PS, and could go the UDFA route again. If there is some value there then fine, otherwise I am good with what we have.

Eek, I so disagree with this Carp.

We hope we have hit on Romo. Baker also being a hit would be practically a faery tale. Two undrafted QBs who end up as contributing? I just can't buy it.

Johnson is in the twilight of his career. He is servicable for a year, maybe 2.

What if Romo's star fizzles? That is possible though I don't think it will.

We simply cannot be in the same situation as when Aikman left this team where no one is ready to step up and take the rudder if needed. It has taken too many years of fiddling to try and fill that spot. A QB pick in the 3rd round is good insurance.

I always want 3 capable QBs on the roster. IMO Beck is the perfect fit in this offense. He might even be better than Romo one day, but there's no rush for that to happen.

Besides, there will always be a team like Houston who is desperate for a QB who can bless us in a trade.

 

[zrinkill]

Trent Edwards sounds intriguing ..... if we finally fixed the line.

 

[carphalen5150]

Eek, I so disagree with this Carp.

We hope we have hit on Romo. Baker also being a hit would be practically a faery tale. Two undrafted QBs who end up as contributing? I just can't buy it.

Johnson is in the twilight of his career. He is servicable for a year, maybe 2.

What if Romo's star fizzles? That is possible though I don't think it will.

We simply cannot be in the same situation as when Aikman left this team where no one is ready to step up and take the rudder if needed. It has taken too many years of fiddling to try and fill that spot. A QB pick in the 3rd round is good insurance.

I always want 3 capable QBs on the roster. IMO Beck is the perfect fit in this offense. He might even be better than Romo one day, but there's no rush for that to happen.

Besides, there will always be a team like Houston who is desperate for a QB who can bless us in a trade.

The way I see it is that we have hitched our wagon, for better or worse, to Romo. Right now it would be overkill to take a QB in the first day. I just do not see the value in bringing in someone else right now. Now if there is tremendous value in the 5th-7th I can live with that, but right now I want to address WR, CB, OL, OLB before I even think about a QB.

 

[Hostile]

The way I see it is that we have hitched our wagon, for better or worse, to Romo. Right now it would be overkill to take a QB in the first day. I just do not see the value in bringing in someone else right now. Now if there is tremendous value in the 5th-7th I can live with that, but right now I want to address WR, CB, OL, OLB before I even think about a QB.

Whew, that's fatalist amigo. No matter how much I like a player, if we can get someone better, I am in favor of it. I can't remember when I have been more concerned than the revolving door at QB. I don't care to stay on that carousel. It doesn't go anywhere. 3 deep for me please.

 

[carphalen5150]

Whew, that's fatalist amigo. No matter how much I like a player, if we can get someone better, I am in favor of it. I can't remember when I have been more concerned than the revolving door at QB. I don't care to stay on that carousel. It doesn't go anywhere. 3 deep for me please.

If we get Zabransky in the 6th I am good with that, but we brought in Johnson to step in should Romo get injured. Our future lies with Romo...besides there is not a QB outside of Russell who gives me any reason to believe they will be better than Romo. This includes the sacred cow that is John Beck.:

 

[Doomsday101]

I don't think you can try and draft clones of other players. If Dallas drafts a QB I would hope they judge him by his own set of skills not how his game compares with Romo

 

[THUMPER]

I would have a problem if we DIDN'T draft a QB this year. Johnson is clearly a stop-gap player and Baker is a project at best. We need to have a guy who can step in if needed at least by next season.

I have total confidence in Romo and can't believe that those who think he played poorly at the end of the season even watched the games because he played very well given the circumstances. My concern is if Romo gets hurt.

I don't have a lot of confidence in Johnson at all. He looked pretty bad last season and isn't going to get any better at his age. I was hoping we would go after Harrington but evidently we decided not to pursue him.

Hopefully, Romo will stay healthy and we win the SB this year. But if he gets hurt and is out for more than a game or two we will be screwed with just Johnson to rely on.

Every team in the NFL needs a quality backup QB that can step in when needed. Right now I don't believe we have that. I wouldn't be in favor of spending a day-1 pick on a guy unless someone really good fell to us and he was too good to pass up. A 5th or later rounder would be OK with me.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I think that there is a possability that Beck might fall to us. I mean, certainly not a sure thing but it's possible. I think Stanton will go before Beck and maybe even Edwards but no way to tell for sure.

I think Zabransky is a guy that is going to make somebody work for there job eventually. This is a lifetime 62.2% thrower. He's thrown for over 8 thousand yards and he's got a TD to INT ratio of 58/37. Last year, he threw for 23 TDs and only 8 picks. Scouts are going to say that he played against inferrior talent or that he doesn't have an NFL arm, not a lot of upside, this kind of thing. However, the kid has managed to win 33 games and only lose 5 as a starter the last 3 years. He just wins and I always admire that quality in a QB.

Troy Smith is another guy that I would not mind drafting later if he's there. He has things he needs to work on but there are some skills there that might prove worthy of development. I wouldn't mind picking him up if we could get him late in the draft.

 

[Hostile]

If we get Zabransky in the 6th I am good with that, but we brought in Johnson to step in should Romo get injured. Our future lies with Romo...besides there is not a QB outside of Russell who gives me any reason to believe they will be better than Romo. This includes the sacred cow that is John Beck.:

There are no sacred cows. I will be more than happy with Zabransky, Kolb, Edwards, Stanton, Palmer, and a couple of others. I just happen to like Beck the best because of his accuracy and smarts.

 

[carphalen5150]

There are no sacred cows. I will be more than happy with Zabransky, Kolb, Edwards, Stanton, Palmer, and a couple of others. I just happen to like Beck the best because of his accuracy and smarts.

I like all the names you mentioned, just not before the 5th at the earliest.

Romo is the starter for the next 3-4 years...at the very least, so I'd just rather work on some squeakier wheels right now.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I think that there is a possability that Beck might fall to us. I mean, certainly not a sure thing but it's possible. I think Stanton will go before Beck and maybe even Edwards but no way to tell for sure.

I think Zabransky is a guy that is going to make somebody work for there job eventually. This is a lifetime 62.2% thrower. He's thrown for over 8 thousand yards and he's got a TD to INT ratio of 58/37. Last year, he threw for 23 TDs and only 8 picks. Scouts are going to say that he played against inferrior talent or that he doesn't have an NFL arm, not a lot of upside, this kind of thing. However, the kid has managed to win 33 games and only lose 5 as a starter the last 3 years. He just wins and I always admire that quality in a QB.

Troy Smith is another guy that I would not mind drafting later if he's there. He has things he needs to work on but there are some skills there that might prove worthy of development. I wouldn't mind picking him up if we could get him late in the draft.

If I had to take a QB it would be Zabransky.

I'm just don't want to have to spend a 1st day pick on a QB. As a matter of fact if we select a QB with any of our first 3 picks I'm signing up Hos for a subscription of "Teen Life" as a blatant act of terrorism-- I may even call him once in a while and hang-up.

 

[Hostile]

I like all the names you mentioned, just not before the 5th at the earliest.

Romo is the starter for the next 3-4 years...at the very least, so I'd just rather work on some squeakier wheels right now.

We hope. Not only is he still unproven over a long haul, there are injuries and free agency that could interupt those 3-4 year plans.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I may even call him once in a while and hang-up.

I recommend 3 AM. He does his best work right about then.