my next nfldraftblitz cowboys column

jterrell

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as busy as they'll be with draft stuff may be a couple of days before it is updated.


Jerry Jones gets his man, gets lucky and rewinds the clock.

On day one of the 2008 NFL Draft The Dallas Cowboys selected Felix Jones as expected. What wasn't expected was the fact they passed on Rashard Mendenhall to do so. RM was expected to go top 15 and has awesome power and speed.

So why'd Dallas do it?

You can ask yourself two questions here: 1. Is Mendenhall the better player without Marion Barber in Dallas? 2. Is Felix Jones the better fit with Marion Barber in Dallas?

The Cowboys decided the answer to both question was Yes and signaled Barber will be going no where by selecting a perfect complement to him. I know one can wonder how would Felix Jones do if he has to carry the load but at the same time don't you also have to ask yourself how Mendenhall would fit in in a 10 carry role? He isn't the kick returner or slot player Felix Jones is. Felix will be on the field WITH Barber and that is something they didn't envision with RM.

The best player on the board at 22 may well have been Mike Jenkins. Dallas was fairly confident Pittsburgh and Tennessee were interested in things other than a corner and when the running back run ended at 25 Dallas had traded back up with Seattle and snagged Mike Jenkins. The South Florida CB looked bored at times and played sloppily in some games but no one is denying Deion Sanders Hall of Fame access for doing the same. Now Jenkins is no Deion but the point it CBs can get bored when they are good enough to seldom get tested. That's not exactly a knock like the ones on Aqib Talib.

Dallas completed their first day with the selection of TE Martellus Bennett. Bennett is a big guy with very good overall athleticism. He has a great blend of blocking and receiving skills. This was a shock to many Dallas fans the team had just traded away Anthony Fasano for a pittance. BUT, Bennett was one of the top overall athletes in the country coming out of high school and played in that "should only be run for Vince Young" veer option offense at Texas A&M. I truly believe Bennett would have been a mid first rounder had he returned to school and played under new Aggie coach Mike Sherman in an NFL style offense.

So all in all this was a good day for the Dallas Cowboys.

Goose Gossellin had the guys rated:
Felix Jones-21
Mike Jenkins-15
Martellus Bennett-46

So Dallas got value at each selection and each guy should have a role on a team that expects to be a Super Bowl contender.
 

Bob Sacamano

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looks great, jt

I can't believe people are *****ing about this draft, 3 players in pretty much everyone's top 50, not only did Goose get that from some teams, but NFLDraftScout had Jenkins 11, Felix Jones 25, and Martellus Bennett 39

before the Combine
 

MONT17

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every hilite I see of Bennet it looks like he does not trust his hands... and his tackles instead of blocking! I would fear him in the Red Zone and with MB3s everydown load increased this team will need more ways to score in the Red Zone
 

jterrell

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MONT17;2056391 said:
every hilite I see of Bennet it looks like he does not trust his hands... and his tackles instead of blocking! I would fear him in the Red Zone and with MB3s everydown load increased this team will need more ways to score in the Red Zone

witten, t.o. and barber... how many pro bowl targets you want in the end zone?


bennett is a 6'7" basketball player so would be another target but with the guys we have who cares... we'll just hand it to barber til they prove they can stop it then throw fades to T.O. or quick seems to Witten.

if they cover everyone romo will just waltz into the end zone.
 
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