In a vacuum, this was a good first day...

[theogt]

There's nothing inherently wrong with the guys we picked. They're good values at where they're picked. They're talented players. And they will likely all contribute to our team.

But the draft doesn't happen in a vacuuum.

In context, we took a backup RB with our 1st overall pick, traded up for a guy when equal talent could have been had at our original position, and then of all things drafted a backup TE just hours after trading away our equally talented backup TE for peanuts.

In a vacuum, it's a good draft. Probably a very good draft. But in context, it just doesn't make sense. So I can see why there are two sides to this argument. But people shouldn't be upset about others not being happy with this draft in its context.

 

[adamknite]

I'm with you on the TE part. I think Bennett is very talented, but I just don't get the reasoning. Maybe I'm not looking at the big picture, but if you ask me, if we don't trade our 2nd Round TE for a 4th rounder, then we don't have any reason to draft a TE in the 2nd this year.

But I liked the Jenkins and Jones picks.

 

[AdamJT13]

we took a backup RB with our 1st overall pick

Any player we drafted was going to be penciled in as a backup. At least we got one at one of the positions that rotates.

traded up for a guy when equal talent could have been had at our original position

Equal talent? At cornerback, or overall?

 

[theogt]

Any player we drafted was going to be penciled in as a backup. At least we got one at one of the positions that rotates.

Not longterm.

Equal talent? At cornerback, or overall?

At cornerback.

 

[ZB9]

the Cowboys got the players they targeted in the first round. I guess you are assuming that they didnt put in a crapload of research into every player on their board?...and i guess you assume that they dont know what they are doing?

They obviously realize how important this draft is. I trust that they put quite a bit of time into scouting the players in this draft and developing a sound plan. I dont understand why people put so much stock into what players ESPN says a team should pick, when that team has been spending months analyzing everything about these players. There is a reason why the Cowboys had those specific guys targeted.

 

[theogt]

the Cowboys got the players they targeted in the first round. I guess you are assuming that they didnt put in a crapload of research into every player on their board?...and i guess you assume that they dont know what they are doing?

They obviously realize how important this draft is. I trust that they put quite a bit of time into scouting the players in this draft and developing a sound plan. I dont understand why people put so much stock into what players ESPN says a team should pick, when that team has been spending months analyzing everything about these players. There is a reason why the Cowboys had those specific guys targeted.

Your argument is that because they made the decisions, those decision must therefore be good ones.

It's a terrible argument.

 

[AtlCB]

Your argument is that because they made the decisions, those decision must therefore be good ones.

It's a terrible argument.

........and your argument is that since Mel Kiper told me that Mendenhall is the second coming, we should have drafted him?

 

[theogt]

........and your argument is that since Mel Kiper told me that Mendenhall is the second coming, we should have drafted him?

You is an excellent reader.

 

[AtlCB]

Not longterm.

Really? Let's say we drafted Mendenhall. Mendenhall signs a five year contract. By the time Barber's new contract ends, Mendenhall is a free agent. The only way that Mendenall ever starts is if Barber is injured or Mendenhall clearly wins the starting job.

At cornerback.

Houston would have taken Jenkins, and San Diego took Cason. Exactly who left at CB is as talented as Jenkins?

 

[AdamJT13]

Not longterm.

Jones can be a starter.

At cornerback.

I'm sure you had your pet player that you think was "equal," but Jenkins was ranked (much) higher than any other cornerback available.

 

[Nav22]

In context, we took a backup RB with our 1st overall pick

Would you consider Julius our backup RB last year? How about Barber?

It's a rotation. Felix will complement Barber better than Julius did.

Who did you prefer at 22? Mendenhall? He'd be a backup too. And he wouldn't complement Barber nearly as well as Felix can.

Mendenhall's the better overall prospect at RB, I won't argue that.

But here comes my basketball analogy again. If you're the Lakers and you need a complement for Kobe Bryant, and you have a choice between Dwyane Wade and Pau Gasol, who do you take? Wade is the better overall player than Gasol, but who fits in better with your team? Would Wade complement Kobe as well as Gasol could? Highly unlikely.

At cornerback.

So you're assuming Brandon Flowers is as talented as Mike Jenkins? That may be your opinion, but it was not shared by the majority of draft experts, nor the Cowboys and their scouts. There's a reason he slipped to 35th overall.

 

[theogt]

Really? Let's say we drafted Mendenhall. Mendenhall signs a five year contract. By the time Barber's new contract ends, Mendenhall is a free agent. The only way that Mendenall ever starts is if Barber is injured or Mendenhall clearly wins the starting job.

Let's say Barber gets injured. Mendenhall would be our starter. Felix will not be.

Houston would have taken Jenkins, and San Diego took Cason. Exactly who left at CB is as talented as Jenkins?

That's actually a good point. There's no way to know and from the looks of it, Houston was hell-bent on getting a tackle. But the possibility definitely wasn't worth the risk.

But even then Flowers would have been there. And honestly I would have rather had Flowers instead of Jenkins. But that's just a personal opinion.

 

[theogt]

Jones can be a starter.

Not according to Jerry.

I'm sure you had your pet player that you think was "equal," but Jenkins was ranked (much) higher than any other cornerback available.

Yeah. Darn those personal opinions. How dare someone actually express their own opinion?

You like stats, huh Adam? Why don't you look at Cason's and Flowers's college pass stats?

 

[theogt]

Would you consider Julius our backup RB last year? How about Barber?

It's a rotation. Felix will complement Barber better than Julius did.

Who did you prefer at 22? Mendenhall? He'd be a backup too. And he wouldn't complement Barber nearly as well as Felix can.

Mendenhall's the better overall prospect at RB, I won't argue that.

But here comes my basketball analogy again. If you're the Lakers and you need a complement for Kobe Bryant, and you have a choice between Dwyane Wade and Pau Gasol, who do you take? Wade is the better overall player than Gasol, but who fits in better with your team? Would Wade complement Kobe as well as Gasol could? Highly unlikely.

Being better than Julius Jones isn't exactly a qualification denoting first round talent.

So you're assuming Brandon Flowers is as talented as Mike Jenkins? That may be your opinion, but it was not shared by the majority of draft experts, nor the Cowboys and their scouts. There's a reason he slipped to 35th overall.

Yup, it's my opinion that Cason and Flowers are actually more talented than Mike Jenkins. But that's only because I value things OTHER THAN 40 yard dash times.

 

[Nav22]

Yeah. Darn those personal opinions. How dare someone actually express their own opinion?

You said it like it's a generally accepted fact. But anyone who actually believes Flowers was as talented as Jenkins would be in the strong minority.

Not according to Jerry.

Nice spin. I just watched the PC and he never said Jones can't be a starter. He simply emphasized that he was drafted to be paired with Barber.

 

[AtlCB]

Let's say Barber gets injured. Mendenhall would be our starter. Felix will not be.

I guess it's an opinion on the durability of Barber. If Barber stays healthy, Felix is the better joice. If Barber misses significant time, Mendenhall is the better choice.

That's actually a good point. There's no way to know and from the looks of it, Houston was hell-bent on getting a tackle. But the possibility definitely wasn't worth the risk.

But even then Flowers would have been there. And honestly I would have rather had Flowers instead of Jenkins. But that's just a personal opinion.

My opinion is that Jenkins will be a lot better than Flowers. For this reason, I see giving up a 5th and 7th as a reasonable price to get Jenkins.

On both points, we will know who is right and who is wrong in a few years.

 

[KDWilliams85]

I don't see it like that.

Felix Jones
Felix has a dynamic that Mendenhall doesn't have. He could be of impact on special teams. Jones has fresh legs compared to Mendenhall because he split carries behind McFadden. You can split the hair any way you like; but, the bottom line is that Jones can produce with less opportunity. That's exactly what Dallas needs. Barber will wear them down and Felix will just pick the bones. If you believe that wasting a first round pick on a back-up was exactly that, Jones could very well supplant Barber based on that. Barber wasn't a first round pick. Talent is talent. It carries no matter where you're picked. It's how well that talent translates, something that can't be measured. Barber was drafted as a back-up for Julius. Now, we have Felix to fill Barber's departed flats.

The mere notion that we drafted Jones signifies that Jerry isn't certain that Barber can operate as well has he does on his own. He's placed pressure on Barber by saying that, "I think enough of Jones that he can supplant you. I want you to get your game on a higher level." You can compare this situation to that of Michael Turner and LT in San Diego. Now, whether Turner is good enough to be a major contributor is open for debate, but the debacle they created is incarnated in Dallas. Instead of the backup, it's the starter who's on the hot seat. By Week 6, we will know if Barber has a future here.

Mike Jenkins
Jenkins is here as a high-profile insurance policy for Anthony Henry or Terence Newman. Age is a problem at the position and Jenkins can contribute early. He has a better chance of taking Henry's job but nobody is safe if Jenkins trashes them. Jenkins' role in the defense will increase when Henry departs or if we get value for Newman should be become expendable with an emergence of PacMan. Youth is definitely on our side here. Newman is still a Pro Bowl DB. We can get something better than a 2nd for him should our pieces fall into place.

Martellus Bennett
You can never have enough people protect the quarterback. A TE that can do it and provide some sort of a threat against an opposing defense is more valuable. If Kansas City offered us Tony Gonzales for a low-round pick, we'd be fools to say no. That's the kind of mindset we have with Bennett. He can be good; perhaps, even great. Just give him the opportunity to do is damage. We already have three legitimate targets for Romo to throw at. Imagine the notion of having T.O., Glenn, Witten, Hurd, Crayton, and now Bennett? One-Two combinations are good at every position, so why should a TE be any different?

 

[theogt]

You said it like it's a generally accepted fact. But anyone who actually believes Flowers was as talented as Jenkins would be in the strong minority.

Like Jerry Jones, perhaps? Who said that the dropoff between the corners at the top and the 5th or 6th corners wasn't much at all?

Nice spin. I just watched the PC and he never said Jones can't be a starter. He simply emphasized that he was drafted to be paired with Barber.

The spin job is taking anything away from that PC other than the fact that Jerry doesn't think he can be a full-time starter.

 

[theogt]

I guess it's an opinion on the durability of Barber. If Barber stays healthy, Felix is the better joice. If Barber misses significant time, Mendenhall is the better choice.

I'm not sure I agree with that. We don't use our backs in a "complementary" role under Garrett. They're used in entire drives, and alternate. Perhaps now we'll have to revert to the situational back roles from two years ago. Perhaps not. We'll just have to see how it plays out.

My opinion is that Jenkins will be a lot better than Flowers. For this reason, I see giving up a 5th and 7th as a reasonable price to get Jenkins.

On both points, we will know who is right and who is wrong in a few years.

Well, he wasn't nearly as good as Flowers was in college. Obviously that doesn't guarantee that the ratio of production will remain the same in the NFL, but I don't see a drastic reversal as the most likely scenario.

 

[CowboyMort]

Initially I thought the Bennett pick was a head scratcher. I thought about it for a while and maybe the thinking was like this. If god forbid Witten goes down during the season Fasano wouldn't cut it without seeing a huge drop in production. Maybe they think that Bennett provides that.

Also are we a stronger team now than we were at the end of the season? F. Jones I think will be better than Julius Jones. Pacman and Jenkins are better than Reeves and Nate Jones. The staff thinks Zach Thomas is an upgrade from Akin and maybe Burnett and Carpenter are equal or better than Akin.

I may be looking at the rosey side of this, but I think we have upgraded our team today.