Scouting chief McClay hit it big with rookie class

[drawandstrike]

Well. Honestly at the time he was drafted I really thought it was just another wasted pick. I mean the ink on Prescott was not that great and I hoped the club with that 4th pick would have grabbed one of the highly regarded QB's. Anyway, Prescott has been very impressive and now l am glad the club drafted. Funny old world ain't it!!

Goes to show the Draft really is unpredictable. The 'experts' are only making educated guesses. Until these QB's are on the field handling an NFL defense at NFL speed nobody really knows how it's going to go.

Wentz and Dak were truly 'NFL ready' and benefited by being drafted by teams with coaching staffs who've gotten them ready to play. Had Wentz ended up in Cleveland, I honestly don't think you see much from him yet. Goff with the Rams may get there, but at this point we can tell he has some development needed before being able to handle the NFL game.

The way the game has evolved many times QB's don't get 1-3 seasons to get coached up any more. It's sink or swim from the start. Romo may truly be 1 of the last NFL QB's to benefit from a coach using the old system: sit the guy for 3 seasons, coach him up, fix his flaws and then put him out there. Romo got all of the 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 training camps and preseasons to fix his side arm throwing motion and his low release point.

Without those 4 seasons of prep under Parcells, Romo isn't the player he was from 2007-2015.

 

[erod]

If we want to say the class is great because of Dak, I'm fine with that. But let's put that on hold for just a moment and talk about the rest.

Of course if we get a starting MLB, DT, CB (Nickel is pretty much base these days), backup RB in addition to Elliott it will be hugely successful class. But the odds of that happening are close to zero.

Collins isn't outplaying Crawford and Thornton. Thornton plays a different position and Crawford just happens to be playing better at end. When DL comes back, Crawford will go back to starting at the 3T spot. Seriously, can somebody tell me what Collins has done? He's made two nice hussle plays yards away from the line. But he's been invisible otherwise. I'm not saying that's a red flag for a rookie DT. But let's stop pretending that he's a quality starter today, or that he's shown signs of being one soon. He's not and he hasn't. At all.

Crawford was getting shoved around inside. Collins isn't.

Zeke is starting to look like the next elite back of the future. And they aren't even using him in the passing game yet, where he excels. His pass protection looks like a seasoned veteran already.

Brown looks like Scandrick 2.0. I really like how he moves and how comfortable he looks.

If that nerve heals and Jaylon Smith can return to football the same, this will be a draft for the ages.

 

[waving monkey]

It's totally fair but what Dak is doing at a high level is just classic NFL football..

Kaepernick was killing people with zone reads and making big pass plays off of it.. So was RG3.

He's sitting in the pocket reading the defense and finding the open man.. When nothing is there he has the ability to run.

It is common knowledge that few rookies process the speed of the pro game well enough to be a competent NFL starter.
Just classic football is fantastic for a rookie. Sorry your such a poor judge of talent.You strive to find the negative. What ever floats your boat I guess.

 

[Galian Beast]

I forget how the NFI rules go, but they are similar to PUP. They been posted many times before. So:
They get 6 weeks on NFI, then they get 2 weeks to evaluate, then he can actually practice for a few weeks, then they get another week to make a decision. They can actually stretch this out to 11 or is it 14 weeks before they need to activate him, release him, which we know will not happen, or place him on IR.
So by him not being on IR right now means nothing to his contributing this year or his recovery expectations.

It means they think it is worth keeping him on NFI.

 

[ConceptCoop]

Crawford was getting shoved around inside. Collins isn't.

Zeke is starting to look like the next elite back of the future. And they aren't even using him in the passing game yet, where he excels. His pass protection looks like a seasoned veteran already.

Brown looks like Scandrick 2.0. I really like how he moves and how comfortable he looks.

If that nerve heals and Jaylon Smith can return to football the same, this will be a draft for the ages.

You're best case and that's fine. I'm an odds guy and the odds of things going the way you suggest just aren't very high. It takes more than 70 snaps (much, much less than that, considering Brown's a DB and the broadcast doesn't show all 22) to identify the next Orlando Scandrick. It takes more than being a little better than Crawford (who's playing like garbage), while still not getting push and giving up 5 YPC, to be quality starter at DT. Smith is a huge IF and not a when.

Again, just a different perspecitve.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Good or bad, you really do need to wait few years and see how the players turn out.
Wilcox and Hitchens were considering great value picks during their rookie year and look how they turned out.

Wilcox never looked that good his rookie season.

 

[Zman5]

Wilcox never looked that good his rookie season.

That was his best year and he did look that good early in the season. There were many posts like this one about him early in his rookie year.

 

[Echo9]

They key untold story here and I'm glad they mention it is Jaylon Smith. We're talking about a generational linebacker before his injury. The Cowboys STILL haven't put him on IR...

As much grief as we give the front office for the resources they have put towards our defense (much deserved), they really made a good pick here (potentially). He can advance this defense tremendously.

J Smith is on NFI and doesn't count against the 53. There is no reason to put him on IR.

 

[xwalker]

Bravo to McClay
There has been a lot of talk, and with good reason, about the outstanding play of rookie quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott. As the fourth overall pick, the Cowboys expect Elliott to be special. He is third in the NFL in rushing with 274 yards. Prescott, picked in the fourth round out of Mississippi State, has been the biggest surprise. A development project for the future who was forced to play because of Tony Romo’s fractured back, Prescott has emerged as one of the best rookies in the entire class. But the impact of scouting chief Will McClay’s rookie draft class goes deeper when you consider defensive tackle Maliek Collins, who is now a starter alongside Terrell McClain with Tyrone Crawford moving to end, and the play of cornerback Anthony Brown. Collins, a third-round pick from Nebraska, was strong in the run game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday while also showing some push in the pass rush. Brown started for an injured Orlando Scandrick against the Bears and stood out for not standing out in a negative way. He looked like he belonged and gave up nothing. The Bears did not exploit the rookie sixth-round pick from Purdue. Add in safety Kavon Frazier, a sixth-round pick from Central Michigan, and running back Darius Jackson, a sixth-round pick from Eastern Michigan, who both made the roster out of training camp, and this class is making an impact. And that’s not even considering fourth-round defensive end Charles Tapper, who has been out with an injury but is someone who is expected to provide juice for the pass rush. Fast forward to next year. If the Cowboys are able to get second-round pick Jaylon Smith on the field at middle linebacker, this rookie class could be the team’s foundation for years to come. Bravo to Will McClay.


Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/article104539366.html#storylink=cpy

I think a coach pushed for Dak. The scouts had Driskell (who was available) ahead of Dak.

My guess is Linehan was behind the push for Dak.