Mock 5April2015

[xwalker]

I'm going to let the big list of DTs already on the roster have a chance to develop. Crawford, Brent and T. McClain are the veterans. Chris Whaley will be like a draft pick for this year after being on IR as a rookie. Ken Bishop looked decent as a rookie from a small college and he now has some experience including a playoff game. Coleman has some talent. Okoye was a good player a couple of years ago and might surprise. Jack Crawford looked good in 1 game at DT. Hardy and Mincey can take snaps at DT in the Nickel on occasion.

The Cowboys have stocked up on LBs so I'm not going to try to hard to find one in the draft.

I actually like the RBs on the roster but I will add one in the draft just to make sure that the position is covered.

CB is a big need and it would be nice to either get rid of Carr's 8M salary or have leverage to get him to take a pay cut.

There is basically nothing after the starting Safeties unless you feel good about Jeff Heath.

Trade down about 10 spots and pick up an early 3rd.

37 Byron Jones CB
Big, super athletic CB.

60 Nate Orchard DE
He has fallen down the draft board after a non impressive forty time. He is really quick off the ball. Just needs to get stronger.

69 Eric Rowe Safety/CB
I don’t know exactly where he goes, but I'm guessing around this area. Probably plays Safety, but has CB skills.

91 Mike Davis RB
I really like this player. Finds yards where it looks like nothing is available. His OLine was not that good in college.

127 Gerod Holliman Safety
Has tackling issues but is a super ballhawk.

163 Darren Waller WR
Big (6-6, 238) and fast (4.43 forty).

236 Laurence Gibson
Athletic OT. Just needs time and coaching.

243 Frank Clark DE
Very talented player with some character/legal issues.

 

[reddyuta]

I have no problem with guys you have selected except holliman but i dont like your draft approach at all.just because we have a bunch of bodies on the Dline(who may never amount to anything)we cannot ignore good DTs who may drop to our spots,this is not a good way to draft and i think you should know that.

 

[RS12]

Waller has me intrigued.

 

[funkytown]

I like it. Big fan of trading back and picking Byron Jones. I feel Corner is our biggest need, and wouldn't be against taking Jones at 27 without a trade down.

I'm all for adding fresh bodies to this secondary so I love the idea of adding Rowe and Holliman to Jones.

 

[Kaiser]

This is funny, I posted my first mock about an hour ago and had four of the same players, with Jones and Holliman at the same picks. I would be happy with your draft as well, my only quibble is I would probably take Buck Allen of USC if we miss out on Ajayi and draft RB in the 4th. Also I think they draft an OG this year irregardless.

This is what I mocked -

1st CB Byron Jones, Connecticut or Eric Rowe, Utah

2nd RB Jay Ajayi, Boise State

3rd DE Nate Orchard, Utah

4th OG Jeremiah Poutasi, Utah

5th FS Gerod Holliman, Louisville

7th RB Trey Williams, Texas A&M

7th LB Bryce Hager, Baylor

 

[CATCH17]

Too many DBs.

 

[sureletsrace]

I'd rather have Kevin Johnson at 27. Wouldn't be upset with this at all though.

 

[65fastback2plus2]

im in, love it

 

[tm1119]

I'm not the biggest Jones fan...I think there are better cb's, even if they aren't as athletic.

Also not sure about the Holliman pick after getting Rowe and Jones already.

They are the only 2 picks I would have questions about. The rest looks really good

 

[Kaiser]

Too many DBs.

We have zero depth behind our starting safeties and after this year, Scandrick and maybe Patmon may be the only CBs on the roster.

We also have had seasons where a rash of injuries kill one position like 2013 where we had multiple injuries on the DL and ended up playing street free agents - and didn't pick up more only because we picked up a street FA's like Selvie and Hayden in the offseason. It doesn't take much to turn a position of strength into "Who is Corey Irwin???"

 

[waving monkey]

I'm of the we're a 'clock control team' school. I can't get past
taking the first available RB that falls to us at appropriate slot.

I am certainly xwalker your more learned and studied in the draft then i
but give me the RB,Dt and DB as the BPA falls to us and I'am happy.

The Cowboys always draft guys I haven't heard of and I'll say 'what the .....!'

This is just too back field-ish for me.
Throw a DT in there

 

[xwalker]

I have no problem with guys you have selected except holliman but i dont like your draft approach at all.just because we have a bunch of bodies on the Dline(who may never amount to anything)we cannot ignore good DTs who may drop to our spots,this is not a good way to draft and i think you should know that.

The issue is that if I didn't take a DT in the 1st or 2nd then I didn't see the point of adding more developmental guys at that position.

 

[xwalker]

I'm of the we're a 'clock control team' school. I can't get past
taking the first available RB that falls to us at appropriate slot.

I am certainly xwalker your more learned and studied in the draft then i
but give me the RB,Dt and DB as the BPA falls to us and I'am happy.

The Cowboys always draft guys I haven't heard of and I'll say 'what the .....!'

This is just too back field-ish for me.
Throw a DT in there

I' m convinced that McFadden and Williams are going to be terrific behind this OLine.

I have Mike Davis as a too 5 RB in this draft. The media draft analysts are discounting him because his average per carry was 4.5, but their OL was just not that good relative the the defensive talent they faced.

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

I have no problem with guys you have selected except holliman but i dont like your draft approach at all.just because we have a bunch of bodies on the Dline(who may never amount to anything)we cannot ignore good DTs who may drop to our spots,this is not a good way to draft and i think you should know that.

Remember taking 3 or 4 CBs in the Draft and watching them all flop, and the best of them 3rd or 4th round pick Mario Edwards ended up playing his best football somewhere else, Tampa Bay.


Speaking of Florida, when is the last time Dallas addressed DT as a top Draft priority, Russel Maryland?

 

[Sasquatch]

Shades of 2000. Looks good on paper but that experience makes me wary about stocking up in one area like this despite it being an obvious need.

 

[Macnalty]

Nice draft with three weeks to go

Been waiting for you to come out with this one. I do agree with your premise, who did you decide not to get with the 1st two picks? The third pick with Rowe(like his size) was DT Hardison on your radar?

B Jones is a talent and I think moves into the first round, his track speed is difficult to discount. IMO

Orchard is an upgrade so no problems there for me unless Michael Bennett was available. This is a steal with this pick IMO.

WR Waller is the bigger more talented version of L’Damian Washington Mizzou the big receiver we got as a UDFA last year. who do we move to practice squad? Always in my mind for a late WR between him and Kenny Bell Nebraska.

Frank Clark if we can get by his offseason behavior fine, if we have to create context as to why we got him not interested. Talent is there not so sure the self control.

I think your draft could have three starters depending on how Davis blends in with our pass blocking scheme not too concerned about his running skills.

CB I like but hard to squeeze into our draft is Ifo Ekpre-Olomu(honey badger attitude) who has a knee issue from last year, IMO a more talented Scandrick just not available for play early this year.

 

[jterrell]

very much like that mock.
very well done.

hits needs, no reaching.

 

[jterrell]

BTW, I see zero duplication in this mock.
Jones is a Carr replacement and day 1 starter. Might be the best overall zone CB prospect in this draft.
Eric Rowe is a nickel/safety guy. Think Honey Badger.
Holliman is a Jeff Heath replacement you could hopefully grow into a centerfielder.

At DE Orchard and Clarke may both be DE's but Clarke is a shot in the dark for upside development down the road. He's probably inactive if he makes the roster.
Orchard is a limited snap and special teamer as a rookie.

Davis isn't my fave back but LOVE the value and idea of waiting to see what RB drops. RB is very dependent upon OL and offensive fits.
And this is a very deep draft for RB.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Shades of 2000. Looks good on paper but that experience makes me wary about stocking up in one area like this despite it being an obvious need.

The 2000 draft did not look good on paper. Equating Lacewell reaching for SEC DBs and acting like that is what would happen this time is disingenuous.

 

[xwalker]

Nice draft with three weeks to go

Been waiting for you to come out with this one. I do agree with your premise, who did you decide not to get with the 1st two picks? The third pick with Rowe(like his size) was DT Hardison on your radar?

B Jones is a talent and I think moves into the first round, his track speed is difficult to discount. IMO

Orchard is an upgrade so no problems there for me unless Michael Bennett was available. This is a steal with this pick IMO.

WR Waller is the bigger more talented version of L’Damian Washington Mizzou the big receiver we got as a UDFA last year. who do we move to practice squad? Always in my mind for a late WR between him and Kenny Bell Nebraska.

Frank Clark if we can get by his offseason behavior fine, if we have to create context as to why we got him not interested. Talent is there not so sure the self control.

I think your draft could have three starters depending on how Davis blends in with our pass blocking scheme not too concerned about his running skills.

CB I like but hard to squeeze into our draft is Ifo Ekpre-Olomu(honey badger attitude) who has a knee issue from last year, IMO a more talented Scandrick just not available for play early this year.

Yes, I like Hardison. I think I posted something a few weeks ago about him being underrated. I guess I just like the developmental DTs already on the roster more than most people like them. I like to give players a chance to develop. If they take a DT in the 3rd/4th they will feel compelled to keep them on the roster. They have a big list of developmental DTs on the roster but questions at the top in terms of the starting 1tech. Since I didn't take a DT in round 1 or 2 (Brown), I didn't feel compelled to take another developmental guy later.

I assumed that Gurley, Brown and OO were gone at #27. I considered Kevin Johnson at #27 but decided to take the trade down. Johnson's thin build concerns me and he's not a burner despite being lightweight.

With Orchard, I think back to before the combine or before reading any draft reports and just watching game footage of Orchard and Dupree. Honestly, I thought they were about the same as pass rushers based on the game footage. Then Orchard didn't do that well at the combine and Dupree exceeded expectations and now Dupree is a mid 1st and Orchard might be a late 2nd.

The Cowboys cut L’Damian Washington before training camp was even over. I think of L’Damian Washington when reviewing some of the big/fast WRs. Waller looks much better as a receiver than Washington ever did, IMO. Waller's issue was that they ran the balll 95% of the time in that offense. Also, Washington was 6-4, 195. His thin build was a problem in training camp. At 238 Waller does not have that issue.

I expect McFadden to be in the game when Pass Blocking is critical. He is really good in Pass Protection. I don't really want to depend on any of the rookie RBs to have to be the lead RB on this team immediately.

The Cowboys had about six 7th round picks last year and cut most of them. Sometimes I think some of the guys with character issues in the draft might be less likely to be a problem than some others because they probably experienced a reality shock going though the draft process and being beaten down about their past conduct. I'm certain that there are many players that had similar issues but just didn't get caught. Much like the Safety Dixon last year, Clark would be on a short leash. I don't like taking character issue guys early because a 1st round pick can hold the team hostage so to speak in terms of being forced to deal with that players issues but late round picks have no clout.

In regards to Ekpre-Olomu, a 5-9 CB with a knee problem is hard to draft. Tyrann Mathieu is also 5-9 but that's actually less of a concern to me for a free safety than for a CB. I guess Ekpre-Olomu will be a value pick at some point in the draft but I think the Cowboys will be focused on bigger CBs. Scandrick and Patmon are not big CBs and Carr might get cut. They have the guy that was cut by the Saints that has good size but he obviously had some issues if they Saints didn't want to keep him; although, I think Ryan's screwball scheme could have caused him problems. If Ekpre-Olomu, Scandrick and Patmon are all active, that would be a really small lineup of CBs.