Predraft thoughts on the second day...

[silverbear]

Sitting here all antsy, waiting for the draft to get here, and the next hour is just gonna drag... so I've been thinking about how the Cowboys might approach the rest of the draft, and this is how I could see it going...

For openers, we all know that the Boys need to add some new blood at WR, but I'd hold off until the 4th round pick, number 100... starting at pick 64, there are 7 good WRs on my list, in roughly this order:

Early Doucet
Andre Caldwell
Earl Bennett
Marcus Monk
Lavelle Hawkins
Keenan Burton
Will Franklin

I'll wager that at least two of those wideouts will still be on the board at 100, and I could live with having to choose between Burton and Franklin, or frankly, any 2 of that group...

So, what to do in the third round, pick 92??

Josh Barrett, if he's still on the board... the Boys need some new blood at safety, but IMO they need it more at SS, which is what Josh is... and a big, faast strong safety he is, with computer numbers striking similar to Darren Woodson's coming out of college...

But there's a fair to middling chance he won't be, in which case my fallback position would be Peyton Hillis, Jones' Razorback teammate... Hillis makes sense on so many levels, he's a good blocker, good receiver, and can even fill in at RB for a few carries if needed... right now, the Boys have Marion Barber, Felix Jones, Deon Anderson, Ronnie Cruz and Alonzo Coleman on the roster, and that's it... a RB who can play FB would be useful in that 7 slot, I think... I also think he'd be able to contribute as a rookie...

I have read that the Boys like Hillis... and I have heard comparisons to Richie Anderson, though IMO Peyton is considerably more physical than Richie ever was...

Then in the 6th round, my gut's telling me the Boys might be looking real hard at Tommy Blake, the pass rushing OLB/DE tweener from TCU... Blake is good value at this point, for a troubling reason-- he had a problem with depression, and needed help with it... but he apparently has that under control with medication, and he would likely have been a 2nd or 3rd rounder if he hadn't had the medical issues, and again, we know they had him on on their "Dallas Day"...

If somebody else were to jump on Blake, this might be the point at which they'd address a backup QB to groom, Erik Ainge from Tennessee...

Peyton Hillis, Will Franklin and Tommy Blake, that would work for me... Burton, Barrett and Ainge would work just fine, too, though... there are any number of combinations of those six that would suit me...

 

[Woods]

SB, I'm wondering this a.m. whether we draft a WR or just try to get a veteran wideout later this Summer.

Had you asked me yesterday, I was sure we'd definitely get another WR in the Draft, but I'm not as confident now.

I think I'm confusing myself and chasing my own tail.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

In Rd 3, I think I'd take a WR. Either Andre Caldwell, Early Doucet or Earl Bennett. If Red Bryant is on the board, I'd take him, then grab a WR in rd 4. In Rd 5 we have no pick, but I would consider trading up Zbikowski if he's still there.

That would give us a draft class of

Felix Jones
Mike Jenkins
Martellius Bennett
Red Bryant
Early Doucet
Tom Zibikowski

 

[DeepBleu]

i think we take defensive tackle or another corner at end of 3rd. a wide receiver or whichever position we didn't take out of defensive tackle or corner with the 4th. actually, i wouldn't mind taking mario manningham with a 4 rounder. come think of it, i really hope the team will go with best player available mode for the rest of the draft, minus punter and kicker. just for the record, my preferred 6th rounder is dennis dixon from oregon.

bear, i don't get it, why do you over value peyton hillis so much? most of the mock drafts have the guy going in the 5th or 6th round area, yet you consistently stating that the guy is a 3rd or 4th round type. not saying he won't be a 3rd round pick, but can you just shed some light into your thinking?

 

[silverbear]

SB, I'm wondering this a.m. whether we draft a WR or just try to get a veteran wideout later this Summer.

Had you asked me yesterday, I was sure we'd definitely get another WR in the Draft, but I'm not as confident now.

I think I'm confusing myself and chasing my own tail.

I think the Boys will make a push for a veteran later in the summer, but I do rather expect them to draft a WR in the next 2 picks, too...

 

[silverbear]

In Rd 3, I think I'd take a WR. Either Andre Caldwell, Early Doucet or Earl Bennett. If Red Bryant is on the board, I'd take him, then grab a WR in rd 4. In Rd 5 we have no pick, but I would consider trading up Zbikowski if he's still there.

I was with you all the way, right up till you got there...

The guy's a wicked hitter, liable to be an asset on special teams, and has a cool story, what with being a boxer and all...

But he can't cover a lick... I mean, he makes Roy Williams look like a pure cover specialist...

 

[silverbear]

i think we take defensive tackle or another corner at end of 3rd. a wide receiver or whichever position we didn't take out of defensive tackle or corner with the 4th. actually, i wouldn't mind taking mario manningham with a 4 rounder. come think of it, i really hope the team will go with best player available mode for the rest of the draft, minus punter and kicker. just for the record, my preferred 6th rounder is dennis dixon from oregon.

bear, i don't get it, why do you over value peyton hillis so much? most of the mock drafts have the guy going in the 5th or 6th round area, yet you consistently stating that the guy is a 3rd or 4th round type. not saying he won't be a 3rd round pick, but can you just shed some light into your thinking?

Maybe I do overvalue him... I just think he fits what the Cowboys are looking for in a fullback, and I think they like that he can play RB too... if Barber were to go down, with Hillis on the team you could still have Jones operate in a shared back system (only Felix's carries would go up, obviously)... but mostly, I think that he fits what Jason Garrett is looking for in the way of offensive potential from a fullback in his system...

I see him as a 4th or 5th round prospect, and think that the Boys might reach for him a little if they really do like him as much as I've read they do... and I'd be comfortable with reaching into the early 3rd round for him...

So basically, it's my belief that he has what the Cowboys need, combined with my reading that they like him, which makes me overrate him a little, maybe...

Hey, at least I didn't BS you, did I?? LOL...

 

[Manwiththeplan]

I was with you all the way, right up till you got there...

The guy's a wicked hitter, liable to be an asset on special teams, and has a cool story, what with being a boxer and all...

But he can't cover a lick... I mean, he makes Roy Williams look like a pure cover specialist...

yeah I agree on your analyst on Zbikowski, but I'm drafting him for his special teams ability

 

[marchetta]

bear, i don't get it, why do you over value peyton hillis so much? most of the mock drafts have the guy going in the 5th or 6th round area, yet you consistently stating that the guy is a 3rd or 4th round type. not saying he won't be a 3rd round pick, but can you just shed some light into your thinking?

I'm not bear, but I also LOVE Hillis. He's a FB that catches and runs routes like a WR. If you remember back in the season, when Romo was getting in trouble throwing picks, he realized that if he was patient and started checking down to the FB it got him out of trouble and allowed him to move the offense as he nickeled and dimed the D to death. Romo loves throwing to the FB, and Hillis is the best pass catching FB in this draft, and would be the top pass catching FB in the league in a year or two and would give Romo a "slow death" option to kill Ds.

 

[DeepBleu]

well, the first full back, jacob hester, is off the board in the early part of the 3rd round. maybe full back will be in bigger demand than the so called experts think.

 

[silverbear]

well, the first full back, jacob hester, is off the board in the early part of the 3rd round. maybe full back will be in bigger demand than the so called experts think.

IMO, there were really only 3 FBs worth drafting-- Hester, Hillis and Schmitt... Hester was third on my board...

 

[big dog cowboy]

Drafting a WR is somewhat risky because there isn't much of a chance of him making the final 53.

 

[L-O-Jete]

In Rd 3, I think I'd take a WR. Either Andre Caldwell, Early Doucet or Earl Bennett. If Red Bryant is on the board, I'd take him, then grab a WR in rd 4. In Rd 5 we have no pick, but I would consider trading up Zbikowski if he's still there.

That would give us a draft class of

Felix Jones
Mike Jenkins
Martellius Bennett
Red Bryant
Early Doucet
Tom Zibikowski

Anything BUT Zbikowski