Gimme's first mock

[gimmesix]

That's probably overkill and unrealistic, especially with many needs to fill. If the team did draft Barmore, they would probably spend the next 3 picks in other areas and look to add a NT late on day 2, early day 3. Keep in mind our secondary has 3 fa's, 2 of which are starters.

Actually, I added one more pick and one more player, so it's not any different than my original draft other than not taking Farley first. If I get a second-round corner, then it all evens out.

But I agree that Dallas is more likely to do my original draft than my very DT-heavy trade mock. In fact, Dallas is very likely to not even come close to my mock.

 

[gimmesix]

I agree McNeal might be all we need to add with the pieces we have.

So you're satisfied with our other DTs? NT alone wasn't the reason why the run defense sucked, especially up the middle. Both DTs bear responsibility.

I like Gallimore and think he might be a good rotational piece. I'm not sure Hill even belongs on a roster.

 

[waving monkey]

So you're satisfied with our other DTs? NT alone wasn't the reason why the run defense sucked, especially up the middle. Both DTs bear responsibility.

I like Gallimore and think he might be a good rotational piece. I'm not sure Hill even belongs on a roster.

If we added two tackles i wont mean a bit. I think McNeal is adequate.We must at least do one.

 

[jnday]

I want to trade down, but because there's no guarantee we can find a partner, I'm not including any trade.

1st CB Caleb Farley (would fill the need opposite Diggs and be a good value depending on what ratings you use)

2nd DT Alim McNeill (gives us a power player with some pass rush ability)

3rd DT Tyler Shelvin (loading up on the inside with some big boys to stop the run)

3rd CB/S Benjamin St-Juste (could end up making the transition to safety)

4th LB Cameron McGrone, Michigan (lots of athletic ability)

4th LB Paddy Fisher, Northwestern (tackling machine with some athletic limitations that could make him only a two-down linebacker)

5th S Talanoa Hufanga, USC (I don't expect him to be available this late, but he was in the ratings I used; might could swap his draft position with Fisher's)

6th DE Hamilcar Rasheed Jr., Oregon State (another player that some had ranked higher than the ratings I used)

6th FB Ben Mason, Michigan (if we're going to use one, we might as well get a true one)

7th K Jose Borregales, Miami (Zuerlein was a mixed bag, so let's get his replacement)

As you can tell, this is a defense-heavy draft. I especially want us to upgrade the tackle spots.

I think everybody wants the DT positions upgraded, but I doubt this is the draft that has the talent to do it.

 

[morasp]

I want to trade down, but because there's no guarantee we can find a partner, I'm not including any trade.

1st CB Caleb Farley (would fill the need opposite Diggs and be a good value depending on what ratings you use)

2nd DT Alim McNeill (gives us a power player with some pass rush ability)

3rd DT Tyler Shelvin (loading up on the inside with some big boys to stop the run)

3rd CB/S Benjamin St-Juste (could end up making the transition to safety)

4th LB Cameron McGrone, Michigan (lots of athletic ability)

4th LB Paddy Fisher, Northwestern (tackling machine with some athletic limitations that could make him only a two-down linebacker)

5th S Talanoa Hufanga, USC (I don't expect him to be available this late, but he was in the ratings I used; might could swap his draft position with Fisher's)

6th DE Hamilcar Rasheed Jr., Oregon State (another player that some had ranked higher than the ratings I used)

6th FB Ben Mason, Michigan (if we're going to use one, we might as well get a true one)

7th K Jose Borregales, Miami (Zuerlein was a mixed bag, so let's get his replacement)

As you can tell, this is a defense-heavy draft. I especially want us to upgrade the tackle spots.

Shelvin would be a good run stuffer.

 

[gimmesix]

I think everybody wants the DT positions upgraded, but I doubt this is the draft that has the talent to do it.

Not at 10. Just because it doesn't have any clear top 10 prospects doesn't mean there aren't any really good prospects.

 

[gimmesix]

If we added two tackles i wont mean a bit. I think McNeal is adequate.We must at least do one.

I think McNeill puts pressure on both Gallimore and Hill. I think adding Shelvin as well would challenge Woods' playing time. Both would be upgrades on a defense that badly needs to upgrade those spots. Having players like Gallimore and Woods as depth also keeps us from just putting bodies out there when we need to give the starters a rest. They are both decent players, just not great ones ... we need to continue striving for greatness.

Of course, what we need will depend a lot on what we do in free agency.

 

[Corso]

I think everybody wants the DT positions upgraded, but I doubt this is the draft that has the talent to do it.

Yeah and that sucks.

 

[visionary]

Based on what I saw, I think McNeill will be able to handle 3-tech early and give us a better run defender at the spot than what Gallimore provides. He's not considered ideal as a pass-rushing DT, but I believe that he can collapse the pocket some and he and Shelvin would be a handful for the offensive line clogging up the middle.

I really think McNeill is going to be a better pass rusher than some expect because (at least in my scenario) he would get more one-gap responsibilities instead of being the guy expected to take on the double-team. That's going to allow him to collapse the pocket, which we badly need.

However, I don't really care how Dallas decides to beef up the middle. I'm going off clips I've been able to find that generally focus on the player's best moments. I just want the Cowboys to seriously address the DT deficiency. If that means they feel Davyion Nixon is a better choice than McNeill in the second round, I'm fine with that. Same with Tuefele or Onwuzurike. I like McNeill better, but what do I know.

I like the idea of double-dipping early because I want to adequately, or even more than adequately, address the DT issue. I'd rather have too many good players there than not enough. You can plug in different names if you want, but I just want us to take two of the best DTs in this draft. The site I was using has McNeill as the second-best after Barmore (and available when we pick) and Shelvin behind Marvin Wilson and Nixon (who both would be gone based on those rankings).

In fact, Shelvin was rated slightly ahead of our pick, so I gave myself some leeway there, If I assume that he's gone, then I'd probably want Tommy Togiai as my second early DT. He was rated 78th, while Onwuzurike and Osa Odighizuwa also were there and rated slightly higher (75 and 76).

It's really impossible to know if the teams have similar ratings for these players.

Exactly my thinking
We need 2 starting DTs not one

 

[visionary]

Yeah and that sucks.

not really
There is a lot of talent in rds 2-4 that can play good minutes just not at 10

 

[Corso]

not really
There is a lot of talent in rds 2-4 that can play good minutes just not at 10

Right on. I'm certain you know more than I on the subject.

 

[gimmesix]

Shelvin would be a good run stuffer.

And honestly, I think that's what you should expect early in the third round. Teams want to find that 3-tech-type who's good at both, but those players usually come off the board fairly quickly. That doesn't mean you can't luck into one later, but you usually end up with what we've had: Crawford, Collins, Gallimore and even Hill. Good players (well, possibly not Hill) but not great ones.

The pure run-stuffers are more likely to start coming off the board when the best of the 3-tech-types are gone. I think Shelvin is at the top of that group.

To me, it's kind of like drafting a center. Hardly ever does the best center get taken in the top 10, even if he really deserves to be in the top 10. Teams just don't value them there. That's one of the reasons we were able to get Travis Frederick at 31.

Same with my fullback and kicker picks. I think they are the best players at their positions, but you can usually get them later ... although there is occasionally the early kicker pick.