Media Rankings of Cowboys Draft Picks

[xwalker]

Only Pollard and Wilson are "reaches" based on the media rankings.

Summary (The plus/minus is based on the highest media ranking)
Hill +6
McGovern +18
Pollard -85
Jackson -8
Joe Jackson +85
Wilson -81
Weber +79
Jelks +124


Detailed Breakdown

Trysten Hill DT
58 Actual
52 NFL.com
182 CBS
55 Daniel Jeremiah

Connor McGovern OG
90 Actual
72 NFL.com
90 CBS
75 Daniel Jeremiah

Tony Pollard RB
128 Actual
219 NFL.com
213 CBS
.
Mike Jackson CB
158 Actual
166 NFL.com
174 CBS
.
Joe Jackson EDGE
165 Actual
128 NFL.com
80 CBS
.
Donovan Wilson Safety
213 Actual
294 NFL.com
305 CBS
.
Mike Weber RB
218 Actual
245 NFL.com
139 CBS
.
Jalen Jelks EDGE
241 Actual
139 NFL.com
117 CBS

 

[xwalker]

Note:

Many of the Cowboys really good draft picks over the years were players that the Draft Media had rated lower than where the Cowboys drafted them (i.e. The media would have called them a reach). Vander Esch and Travis Frederick for example. Most of the draft media had Frederick as a 2nd or 3rd round pick. Most of the media had Vander Esch as a late 1st or 2nd round pick.

 

[xwalker]

Note about Pollard:

Memphis had 3 RBs on their roster that will play in the NFL.
Darrell Henderson (5-8, 208) Round 3, Pick 6
Tony Pollard (6-0, 210) Round 4, Pick 26
Patrick Taylor Jr. (6-3, 223) (Projected 2020 2nd to 4th rounds)

The draft media would not rank Pollard higher regardless of how he looked in game footage because he was not the starting RB.

 

[xwalker]

Just for a rough review, I compared the stats for Wilson to Johnathan Abram since both played in the SEC.

This is NOT to say that Wilson is anywhere close to Abram in talent. It's just for reference.

Stats for 2015 to 2018 (3 season for each).
Stats for 2014 not included.
Both missed a full year (Injury and Transfer).

Donovan Wilson
Solo_Tackles : 110
Total__Tackles: 189
TacklesForLoss: 19.5
Sacks : 5
Interceptions : 8
TDs_from_INTs : 1
PassesDefensed: 7
FumbleRecovery: 2
Forced_Fumbles: 4

Johnathan Abram
Solo_Tackles : 107
Total__Tackles: 195
TacklesForLoss: 15.5
Sacks : 5
Interceptions : 2
TDs_from_INTs : 0
PassesDefensed: 10
FumbleRecovery: 1
Forced_Fumbles: 3

 

[xwalker]

More info about Wilson.

2018 (SENIOR): Started in 11 games and was second on the Aggies with 66 total tackles … had two sacks totaling 13 yards and led the team with two interceptions … tallied three pass breakups … recorded six tackles against No. 2 Clemson … sacked the quarterback for an eight-yard loss, and made six total tackles against ULM … recorded the game-clinching interception, his first of the season, and three tackles against Arkansas … led the team in tackles with 12 against No. 13 Kentucky … led the Aggies in tackles with seven against South Carolina … registered three tackles and a forced fumble against Auburn … compiled five tackles, a sack and broke up a pass against Ole Miss … recorded five tackles, a tackle for a loss, a pass break up and an interception against UAB … led the team with 13 tackles, seven solo tackles and a pass break up against No. 8 LSU … given the Aggie Heart Award and the Defensive Leadership Award at the team’s annual banquet.

2017: Defensive team captain … suffered a season-ending ankle injury during the season-opening UCLA game.

2016 (JUNIOR): Posted 59 tackles while seeing action in 12 games ... earned seven starts at nickelback ... had one interception and 5.5 tackles for loss ... also recorded two QB hurries and two passes defended ... recorded a season-high nine tackles twice in 2016 -- vs. Auburn and LSU ... against Tennesee had six tackles with a sack for a loss of 12 yards ... had an interception in the endzone to go along with five tackles against Mississippi State.

2015 (SOPHOMORE): Saw action in all 13 games, starting seven of them at nickel ... led the Aggies with five interceptions, returning them for a total of 76 yards ... had a 60-yard pick-six interception against South Carolina ... recorded 63 tackles on the year, including a season-high 10 tackles against Ole Miss ... had 8.5 tackles for a loss, along with two sacks ... forced three fumbles and had two fumble recoveries ... hurried the quarterback once and broke up three passes on the season.

2014 (FRESHMAN): Had a solid debut season with 19 tackles, including seven solo stops, in 10 games of action ... contributed two tackles for loss ... in his first career start, Wilson led the team in tackles with nine stops in the Liberty Bowl vs. West Virginia.

HIGH SCHOOL: Coached by Jerwin Wilson at Woodlawn HS in Shreveport, La. ... led the Shreveport area with 13 pickoffs while earning All-City Defensive Player of the Year (Shreveport Times) and Class 4A all-state honors as a senior ... also had 70 tackles and five forced fumbles ... on offense, he made 57 catches for 860 yards and nine touchdowns ... member of the New Orleans Times-Picayune “Nifty 50” ... consensus three-star recruit chose Texas A&M over TCU and Utah among others.

 

[jazzcat22]

The media is really the mediots a good part of the time, depending ones agenda.
But still mostly just mediots

 

[DasSchnitzel]

Analysts, scouts, armchair GMs all assign a grade to players and then use those grades to score how a team drafted.

If a scout doesnt like a guy and a team picks that guy, then the scout will dislike the pick and give the team a bad grade.

Opinions are all over the place on this guy, so are the grades, and so is the ammunition for forum posts.

At this point a safety would have been nice just so that we could enjoy some good discussion instead of more hate spewing. But nooo, we were back into "everyone is dumb and I'm angry" before the draft even ended.

 

[ChuckA1]

CBS ranking of Hill is pathetic. Figures.

 

[xwalker]

Analysts, scouts, armchair GMs all assign a grade to players and then use those grades to score how a team drafted.

If a scout doesnt like a guy and a team picks that guy, then the scout will dislike the pick and give the team a bad grade.

Opinions are all over the place on this guy, so are the grades, and so is the ammunition for forum posts.

At this point a safety would have been nice just so that we could enjoy some good discussion instead of more hate spewing. But nooo, we were back into "everyone is dumb and I'm angry" before the draft even ended.

Yes, media rankings are silly; however, if people insist on referencing them, then I wanted to provide an accurate reference.

I've seen posts claiming that the Cowboys "reached" on all or almost all of the picks based on media rankings.

In reality, using more of a general media consensus, the Cowboys actually got "value" on most the of the picks.

 

[JBell]

Yes, media rankings are silly; however, if people insist on referencing them, then I wanted to provide an accurate reference.

I've seen posts claiming that the Cowboys "reached" on all or almost all of the picks based on media rankings.

In reality, using more of a general media consensus, the Cowboys actually got "value" on most the of the picks.

Using three sources is hardly a media “consensus”

 

[Hennessy_King]

What was Juan Thornhill's??

 

[ThreeandOut]

To be fair the NFL.com and Daniel Jeremiah ratings on Hill are at the very high end of his range (Prisco also gave the pick an "A" but didn't actually have a player rating). Brandt and Brugler were in the 3rd round range. Kiper and McShay were more in line with CBS. There was just an usually wide range of ratings among the draft media on Hill. But if you were to use a consensus average, you probably wouldn't say they got value on the pick.

 

[xwalker]

Using three sources is hardly a media “consensus”

Your Thornhill analysis was terrible.

I pointed it out.

Get over it.

 

[JBell]

Your Thornhill analysis was terrible.

I pointed it out.

Get over it.

What does that have to do with my post in this thread? Lol.

But since we're off topic now....Funny how other analysts agree with me on Thornhill's weaknesses and not you. Richard also agreed with me and thought he lacked the skills necessary to be a SS. But what do I know?

 

[xwalker]

What does that have to do with my post in this thread? Lol.

But since we're off topic now....Funny how other analysts agree with me on Thornhill's weaknesses and not you. Richard also agreed with me and thought he lacked the skills necessary to be a SS. But what do I know?

McClay does an interview tomorrow. We'll see what he actually says about it.

The article by Clarence Hill said "according to sources". The 25 seconds video just showed Garrett talking about the DT Hill.

You must enjoy hack reporting. First you think some blogger/twitter guy is getting disrespected and now you are posting links to hack reporter Clarence Hill.

The Cowboys were going to draft Thornhill if they didn't draft Hill. It appears their top two Safety rankings were Abram then Thornhill.

 

[JBell]

McClay does an interview tomorrow. We'll see what he actually says about it.

The article by Clarence Hill said "according to sources". The 25 seconds video just showed Garrett talking about the DT Hill.

You must enjoy hack reporting. First you think some blogger/twitter guy is getting disrespected and now you are posting links to hack reporter Clarence Hill.

The Cowboys were going to draft Thornhill if they didn't draft Hill. It appears their top two Safety rankings were Abram then Thornhill.

McClay already stated they were looking for a box safety. Sorry to burst your bubble.

So sad to see you still going on about Bobby Belt, even though he made you look silly.

And now Hill is a hack because he broke some news that the team doesn't view Thornhill as a SS, which disagrees with your assessment that Thornhill is an "excellent tackler." Maybe it's you that's wrong and not everyone else. But that's a tough pill to swallow.

 

[Outlaw Heroes]

Yeah you can’t take 3 sources, 2 of which have among the most favourable rankings of our first pick out there, then calculate your +/- using only one (maybe the most favourable) of those sources (why didn’t you average them and then calculate your +/-?) and still tell us you’re using ‘a more general draft media consensus’.

Frankly, even the attempt to do so puts the stench of propaganda on your thread. And it’s a bit insulting. You shouldn’t assume your reader has no critical thinking skills.

 

[G2]

It's a difficult thing to gauge. I've studied players who I thought looked promising and when they hit the NFL were mediocre. You just can't get them all right.

 

[BulletBob]

Just for a rough review, I compared the stats for Wilson to Johnathan Abram since both played in the SEC.

This is NOT to say that Wilson is anywhere close to Abram in talent. It's just for reference.

Stats for 2015 to 2018 (3 season for each).
Stats for 2014 not included.
Both missed a full year (Injury and Transfer).

Donovan Wilson
Solo_Tackles : 110
Total__Tackles: 189
TacklesForLoss: 19.5
Sacks : 5
Interceptions : 8
TDs_from_INTs : 1
PassesDefensed: 7
FumbleRecovery: 2
Forced_Fumbles: 4

Johnathan Abram
Solo_Tackles : 107
Total__Tackles: 195
TacklesForLoss: 15.5
Sacks : 5
Interceptions : 2
TDs_from_INTs : 0
PassesDefensed: 10
FumbleRecovery: 1
Forced_Fumbles: 3

On Hangin' with the Boys Podcast this week, they had Chris Hall (heads up the College Scouting Department for McClay). It was a very interesting interview - Chris Hall seems like a very bright emerging FO star.

Anyway, they asked him of all the Draft Picks, who did he think was a real sleeper (i.e., who is your pet cat?). Hall replied, "Donovan Wilson." He went through a list of traits - he seemed most excited when he talked about Wilson being a huge hitter. He said that Wilson was the kid he'd be keeping his eye on all throughout camp.

The entire draft is a crap shoot - especially in the 6th round. But if the head of college scouting says he's keeping an eye on him, then I'll be sure to as well.

I'm rooting for this kid - God knows we could use any improvement we can get at SS.

 

[Shake_Tiller]

We should probably take media rankings for what they are -- entertaining, informative, a good way to prepare to enjoy watching the draft, good fodder for discussion and argument (not that anyone around here ever engages in the latter). The media rankings are not delivered to Moses from on high. For example, I remember when the Seahawks were absolutely fried for taking Bobby Wagner in the second round. Fried by the media analysts. But I think they're happy they made that pick. I think the Cowboys are happy with Frederick.

I'm don't mean to demean the work done by these media guys. I enjoy it very much. I don't have the time I once did to really study and pore over the draft eligible players. I am glad the media guys do the work, these days.

But the teams spend massive amounts of time and money to study these players -- every move they ever made on a college football field. They look at their intelligence and mental makeup. They obsess over their attitude. And they still miss on many, many picks. They still get it wrong. Three years down the road, a good draft nets three or four useful players, maybe a couple of starters.

The media guys are going to be wrong much of the time. We're going to be wrong much of the time. No shame in that.