Hard Choices Abound for the Front Office

[big dog cowboy]

I think with our franchise QB and our elite offensive line, the best way to build this team isn't necessarily as a defensive powerhouse, but rather to create as explosive an offense as we can.

Didn't watch the Super Bowl did you?

Defenses win championships.

 

[Galian Beast]

I, like Broaddus and Brugler, see Zeke as the least risky player Dallas could select in the 1st round.
I still think Dallas is likely to go defense here so I'm just speculating my wishes more than I know facts
on who they have rated high. Zeke could serve as our Emmitt and complete the new age triplets and
set up the offense to be killer in the 4th quarter of games next season. We've got a lot of building to
do to get our defense ready to take us to the big dance but, getting the offense humming on all cylinders
will give us time to build it.

The inability to ground out yards and downs, put a lot of pressure on a defense unable to close out close games.

You create more offensive fire power and exhibit the ability to grind games out at the end, and it will seriously help this defense get more pressure and close out games.

It's time to focus on the highlighting the offense's strengths rather than pound our heads against the defense.

 

[Galian Beast]

Didn't watch the Super Bowl did you?

Defenses win championships.

The idea that we can simply copy the Broncos is myopic. I agree that defense wins championships. We're spending entirely too much on offense, and are slated to spend even more with re-signing out offensive line. We have to focus on making that work. If the offensive line is the strength of the team, we have to lean on them while we can.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

I don't always agree with everything you post, GB, but I appreciate your willingness to open up the dialogue.

If Jerry is out on the QB prospect at #4, I'm all in on Zeke.

 

[Sydla]

Elliott is easily becoming one of the more overrated players in this draft by some Cowboys fans.

There have been 7 instances of 2,000 yard rushers in this league in its entire history, but now Ezekial Elliott is going the be a multiple year 2,000 yard rusher?

 

[jwooten15]

I'm torn as to which way I'd like to go in this draft, especially in the 1st round. I bet the front office is just as torn, no matter what Jerry says to the media.

 

[JW82]

How can people watch last season and not want to draft a qb?? All I heard last year was its a qb league, of cours we lost every game because of the qb... Romo will be 36 but he mught as well be 66. He is on borrowed time to say the least. We hope to never draft at 4 again so pull the trigger.
All in all I am ok with an offensive heavy draft. Bring in a DE and CB in free agency. Take one DT in this draft.

 

[Galian Beast]

Elliott is easily becoming one of the more overrated players in this draft by some Cowboys fans.

There have been 7 instances of 2,000 yard rushers in this league in its entire history, but now Ezekial Elliott is going the be a multiple year 2,000 yard rusher?

Ezekiel Elliott is one of the most accomplished running backs in college football. We have one of the best run blocking offensive lines in the NFL, and it will only get better with time.

I'm not saying he is going to hit 2000 yards every year, I'm simply saying it is a recipe for high production on the ground. This line, this scheme, this QB, the weapons on the outside, it is a recipe for creating an all time rushing champion with a running back of this caliber.

He was more productive than Adrian Peterson and Todd Gurley in college and no, I'm not saying he will be better or even as good as Peterson, but the compliments that we have here, Peterson did not have in Minnesota. You can build a franchise around a player like this for a short/medium time. Imagine the next 6 or 7 years. It would definitely buy us time to fix the defense.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Think of the last few years and after Carr who has the Cowboys spent big money on in FA?
What big splash FA have they brought in and signed?

The idea of getting rid of both Carr and Mo and replacing them in FA after the pattern they have recently adopted of not going crazy and over spending in FA...I doubt they do a 180 on that.

Not saying I don't like the idea of making the Offense the best. I have said in the past if you are going to be substandard to decent on one side of the ball you better be really great on the other side of the ball to make up for it.

But I just see no way of them getting rid of both Mo and Carr and not taking a CB in the first round or two because I don't think they will spend the money on a CB like Jenkins is wanting.

 

[Galian Beast]

I'm torn as to which way I'd like to go in this draft, especially in the 1st round. I bet the front office is just as torn, no matter what Jerry says to the media.

Ask yourself this, what one player has the highest ability and probability of drastically improving your team in the first round?

I think the answer is obviously Ezekiel Elliott. Bosa is intriguing, but he may never be that elite pass rusher off the edge. Ramsey helps a lot, but does he transform this defense? I don't think he does.

The positions that most impact a team are QB, pass rusher, running back, and offensive tackle.

 

[Galian Beast]

Think of the last few years and after Carr who has the Cowboys spent big money on in FA?
What big splash FA have they brought in and signed?

The idea of getting rid of both Carr and Mo and replacing them in FA after the pattern they have recently adopted of not going crazy and over spending in FA...I doubt they do a 180 on that.

Not saying I don't like the idea of making the Offense the best. I have said in the past if you are going to be substandard to decent on one side of the ball you better be really great on the other side of the ball to make up for it.

But I just see no way of them getting rid of both Mo and Carr and not taking a CB in the first round or two because I don't think they will spend the money on a CB like Jenkins is wanting.

I agree completely. I think that is why they are trying to re-sign Claiborne to an affordable deal. I do think they will go after a medium to top tier corner in free agency though to replace Carr.

You get your free agent cornerback, you re-sign McClain and Claiborne to affordable deals, you re-sign Hardy to an affordable deal, you re-sign Dunbar to an affordable deal, and you get yourself a backup QB. I think that is all doable depending on what Hardy will settle for.

You then use your top two picks on offense, and the rest on defense. You use all your resources next year on defense.

 

[Aven8]

I would still argue you could do all of this with where we sit now. Wentz/Goff at 4, Henry at 2, and a WR or DT at 3.

 

[Galian Beast]

I would still argue you could do all of this with where we sit now. Wentz/Goff at 4, Henry at 2, and a WR or DT at 3.

It would be a valid argument, my only response would be that I think Goff and Wentz are terribly overrated and in most years they wouldn't be considered first rounders, let alone top of the draft QBs.

I would say that Elliott is a much better fit for this team than Henry, and that waiting until the 3rd round makes it a lot less likely that you'll find someone who can come in right away and help this team.

I think adding a playmaker like Corey Coleman would give us something the Giants, Commanders, and Eagles have all had over us in the last few years, a real playmaker on offense with speed. Something our offense desperately needs.

 

[Galian Beast]

Coleman and Elliott have 78 touchdowns between them in their college careers (69 games) - 1.13 TDs per game

Dez Bryant has 32 in 28 games. - 1.14 TDs per game

Terrance Williams has 27 in 51 games - 0.53 TDs per game

This is why he isn't a number 1 receiver and it's why he isn't even a great number 2. He gets opportunities mainly because of the attention Dez gets, but even then he disappears at times which stalls our offense.

Adding Elliott and Coleman completely changes the dynamic of our offense, that's why they're worth a 1 and 2 instead of getting RBs and WRs in the 2nd and 3rd.

 

[waving monkey]

The drop off in defensive tackle doesn't start till late third. [also CB]
Dropping a short distance and grabbing Zeek seems acceptable.
If we pass on my grand designs of Wentz. Go Zeek.

 

[TrailBlazer]

How quickly some people forget the formula that's proven to work. Running game + Defense + efficient passing = Success.
Tony doesn't need to be throwing 30+ times a game anymore. We need to build the defense in this draft. Defense Defense Defense. We can get a starting RB in the 3rd round instead of the taking one in the top 10 as the OP suggested. So many flaws in the logic here...

Since the end of the season I've gone back and forth on what is the best way to build this team back up in 2016.

It's clear that we need to make significant investments in our defense in order to become more competitive moving forward. There is also a limit to what you can do here.

The crux of any argument I make is based on the idea that Tony Romo is a franchise quarterback and that while you have a franchise quarterback you possess the best chance to win a Super Bowl. I think his time left is our best window.

This tells me that we have to do whatever we can to build a team around him that can win.

I think with our franchise QB and our elite offensive line, the best way to build this team isn't necessarily as a defensive powerhouse, but rather to create as explosive an offense as we can.

I knew there was a good chance that Alshon Jeffery would be franchised, but he was my best hope at achieving this. I was also very interested in Lamar Miller, but I can't get my head around paying a running back 6+ million dollars a year, even if I think he could be a perfect fit.

This has brought me to my present mentality about the 2016 team.

We need to build the offense through the draft. If the 49ers covet Goff, maybe they could be enticed to trade their 7th pick and their 2nd round draft pick for our 4th pick.

With the 7th pick in the draft I would select Ezekiel Elliott and put him behind our offensive line. This is the best thing we can do for Romo and the best thing we can do for our defense. I think that gives us a 2000 yards a year running back behind this offensive line. It also saves us a great deal of money.

Now with one of our two second round draft picks, I'd like to draft Corey Coleman. The kid can flat out play, and would give this offense a dimension that it is sorely lacking. With the other options on this offense, I think we could bring him along a lot more quickly than an average rookie WR. He will face a lot of single coverage, and you could put him in the slot to help get him open more.

This still leaves us with the rest of the draft to focus on defense, but I think what we need to do in free agency is what the Cowboys have already hinted at. Basically keeping our house in order and getting a little help here and there.

Secondary - Release Carr, and replace him with a better playmaker. They're trying to keep Claiborne at the right price, but I don't see it happening. I think you could end up seeing two new corners from free agency, even if we have to overpay for someone like Janoris Jenkins. The problem with Jenkins is dealing with teams like the Rams who have a lot more cap space than we do. We don't want to get into bidding wars for these players. So it is going to be difficult to see what we do here.

Ultimately the secondary is our most difficult position to tackle.

Linebackers - They will simply re-sign McClain. He has limited options at this point. I think a deal gets done there. I know a lot of people aren't sold on him, but we aren't in position to go LB hunting right now. Too many holes to fill.

Similarly to the secondary, the defensive line is certainly in flux and will be difficult to address this year. Lawrence we might be able to depend on and Crawford should be better, but we still need more help especially with Gregory letting us down. If Mario Williams can be had for a 1 year cheap deal, I'd take it. He had a terrible year, and I'm sure most front offices are down on him right now, he is probably looking for his last big pay day, and would rather do a one year deal at a moderate rate than do a moderate mid term contract. Either way, he could help us potentially.

We use the rest of the draft to also address the defense. We still have a 2nd round draft pick, a 3rd round draft pick, and whatever compensatory picks we can get for the 4th.

 

[TrailBlazer]

Coleman and Elliott have 78 touchdowns between them in their college careers (69 games) - 1.13 TDs per game

Dez Bryant has 32 in 28 games. - 1.14 TDs per game

Terrance Williams has 27 in 51 games - 0.53 TDs per game

This is why he isn't a number 1 receiver and it's why he isn't even a great number 2. He gets opportunities mainly because of the attention Dez gets, but even then he disappears at times which stalls our offense.

Adding Elliott and Coleman completely changes the dynamic of our offense, that's why they're worth a 1 and 2 instead of getting RBs and WRs in the 2nd and 3rd.

These College stats are completely irrelevant. Coleman can't even run a full route tree. I don't have a problem taking a WR early but Doctson is my guy.

 

[Galian Beast]

How quickly some people forget the formula that's proven to work. Running game + Defense + efficient passing = Success.
Tony doesn't need to be throwing 30+ times a game anymore. We need to build the defense in this draft. Defense Defense Defense. We can get a starting RB in the 3rd round instead of the taking one in the top 10 as the OP suggested. So many flaws in the logic here...

Going with a RB in the 3rd round may get the job done, it also might not. It's time to put this offense on front street. Elliott is a sure thing especially with this offensive line.

 

[Galian Beast]

These College stats are completely irrelevant. Coleman can't even run a full route tree. I don't have a problem taking a WR early but Doctson is my guy.

I wouldn't say they are irrelevant. They are very relevant. It shows the most important skill for an offensive player, the ability to score points.

We don't need Coleman to be a complete receiver day one, we need him to be a playmaker, and he has that in spades. You get this kid the ball in space, and he scores touchdowns. What are teams going to do if we have Elliott with this line, Dez Bryant, Witten, Coleman, and Williams? It's a tough situation for a defense and it results in points.

 

[gmoney112]

A running back in the top 10. That's funny to me.

Did you watch him play in college and not just read stats? I saw AD play in person a few times, watched his games, I saw Gurley in a couple SEC games.

Zeke isn't even Gurley.

And there's absolutely no way I'm taking a player who statistically probably is going to start falling off a cliff after his first contract. That's a complete waste of a premium pick.