Second biggest steal of the draft is Anthony Brown

[buddieluver]

Found this interesting

http://cowboyswire.usatoday.com

Claiborne’s overall grade of 78.2 is the best in his career; Brown is right behind him with a 78.0 overall. Interestingly enough, Brown has a better coverage rating than Claiborne this season, which is saying something because he’s playing the best football of his four-year career.

 

[xwalker]

I am really liking what I see from Anthony Brown so far. For a sixth round pick, he is playing like a vet. He could actually enable the Cowboys to let Claiborne walk next year if he continues to improve.

While I like the way Mo is playing, he is not the first player that has stepped up during his contract year. I just can't help thinking that once he gets paid, he will revert.

Brown seems to be giving some options.

Agree on Brown.

Last year was actually Claiborne's contract year.

 

[BlueStar22]

Because he hasn't played to it? We let Bobby Carpenter go, or should we have kept him?

Sorry but Bobby Carpenter was a super reach. Parcells was doing his friend a solid.

 

[xwalker]

Jaylon Smith - I give it a 50-50 that he comes back close to before.
If it happens, that is a steal even for a high 2nd.

Brown - possibly could be a starting slot CB - that would be a steal for a 6th

Jackson - good chance he gets a chance next year - if he is the backup in a year or 2, that is a steal for a 6th.

Gathers - 6th round lottery ticket - my pet cat for 2017.
6'8" 280lb extremely athletic project who runs a 4.75 with enormous hands.
If he cannot catch, a candidate for OT conversion if he bulks up 20-30lbs.
How much potential do the Cowboy see - they are paying him 449k to stay on the practice squad!
Take a look at this video showing diving 1-handed catches - how many WRs can do that?:
http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=15388302
Take a look at this unbelievable RAC:

Rico Gathers: 6'6-1/4", 273 (Pro Day)

Gathers will have to learn to block. They obviously choose the #2 TE based on blocking; otherwise, Escobar would be playing because he is a better receiver than Swaim.

I think Gathers can do it. He improved his blocking significantly just from the 1st preseason game to the last one; however, it's more than just inline blocking. The #2 TE has to understand the offense and be able to perform as a move blocker as well as an inline blocker. Traylor was a really good inline blocker but didn't function well doing the other things required of the #2 TE.

The OT conversion seem unlikely, but he is about the same size as Parnell when he came into the league. Parnell was also a college basketball player.

 

[xwalker]

From the custom 49ers game film I put up here on the site, here's the Anthony Brown plays from last Sunday:

2 passes defensed, 2 completions, 1 key blitz that led to a bad pass.

It says "this video is private".

 

[Doc50]

I think they are much more likely to let Carr walk than Mo. and you need 3 cb's

Agreed.

I think Mo's issue is one that is rampant among college players -- they are among the top few athletes on their teams, and are allowed to simply play instinctively.

When it comes to playinging within a complex NFL system, I don't think he's the sharpest tool in the shed, and it has taken him a while to get comfortable. Now that he is, he may have several very good years left, and he probably will continue to grow in this now-familiar system.

OTOH, if he has no loyalty to the Cowboys despite their amount of investment and patience, and he wants to feed his ego with another gigantic contract, then he should be outta here.

 

[Teague31]

Takes over for Carr for sure. Remains to be seen if Mo is back another year.

 

[Risen Star]

Remember when all you heard is how you can find running backs later in the draft?

Well you can find cornerbacks too.

 

[kevm3]

Brown is playing above what we expected of him, but he's not covering other teams 1s or 2s. Put him in that position and he will start getting roasted too. The CB is one of the more difficult positions in football to play. Most guys don't start getting it together until the end of their first and the beginning of their second contract, which it looks like Claiborne is doing and it was the same for Scandrick too. If he has another great game, I'd think about extending him after the game. The market for top notch corners is crazy.

 

[Echo9]

I for one do not agree /and hate the he only preformed because it was a contract year ! It really makes no sense when you think about it. If a player really plays well for his rookie contract then he normally gets the large / long contract he looks for. SECURITY

So let me see if I get this straight ! Mo decided rationally to get hurt, not play up to his potential, take tons of crap from the fans ,I am sure staff in the meetings, and to not live up to his hype of a first round pick. Then when the contract year came up he played well until he got hurt, but that earned him the wonderful security of a 1 year deal with minimal money. Now he has to do it again and he is !

Why can't we just give the man a break it took a little time for him to develop he is staying healthy and now looking like what we thought we drafted. Think of hit as a long time investment and NOW people want to sell the stock when it is starting to turn around. His stock is rising so you buy more while it's low And you hold it for a few more years.

This is why I hate the contract year crap

I didn't even mention - the draft ramifications if we let mo go we are already probably letting Carr walk so we are basically forced to go DB first round it is just overall a bonehead move to let Mo go at this point IMO

Right. Nine out of ten times, the contract year stuff is crap. Every once in awhile, there can be hints that something like that is at play. Mo is not one of those. If someone wanted to point at DeMarco Murray or Bruce Carter and say that they played extra hard in their contract years, it would at least be a debate in the realm of reality. There were clues and talk that those two were not giving their all in the years previous.

The knocks on Mo have never even hinted at him doggin it at any time. He got hurt and had confidence issues. He has taken longer to develop and that development has been stunted by his injuries. More importantly, he seems to have found his confidence. What gets me about the folks who insist it's a 'contract year' weren't too ignorant to realize that last year was one also, which negates all validity of that argument. People point fingers and love to place blame without being smart enough to know what they are talking about.

 

[Techsass]

Remember when all you heard is how you can find running backs later in the draft?

Well you can find cornerbacks too.

With any luck we can add in QBs too.

 

[xwalker]

Brown is playing above what we expected of him, but he's not covering other teams 1s or 2s. Put him in that position and he will start getting roasted too. The CB is one of the more difficult positions in football to play. Most guys don't start getting it together until the end of their first and the beginning of their second contract, which it looks like Claiborne is doing and it was the same for Scandrick too. If he has another great game, I'd think about extending him after the game. The market for top notch corners is crazy.

Don't underestimate how difficult it is to play the slot CB position. The outside CBs can use the sidelines to their advantage; whereas, the slot CB has to deal with WRs that can go in any direction.

 

[dallasfan4lizife]

Yes, you do that. Dream.

I just hope the front office isn't doing the same.

On paper, it looks to be a successful draft. Nearly everyone made the team in some way, either on the active or practice squads.

Prescott is killing it. Steal.

How is Jaylon Smith anything?

Brown? Looking okay as a nickel CB fill in.

Jackson? Not being given much of a chance.

Gathers? C'mon.

You've been on fire lately.

 

[Common Sense]

Honestly, the "he's playing well because he's healthy for the first time in five years" argument makes me not want to sign him to a long term deal as much as anything else. We've been down this road before.

 

[drawandstrike]

It says "this video is private".

I selected 'unlisted'. Really? You can't see it? there's 3 choices, public, unlisted & private. I've been selecting 'unlisted'.

I'll go back and change it.

 

[Verdict]

I think Claiborne is just a late bloomer who ha s also been injured.

 

[big dog cowboy]

If Mo keeps working hard and stays healthy...he might by the end of his "career" be average.

He is already above average right now.

 

[Irvin88_4life]

People stop saying Claiborne is playing good only because of contact year. Last year was a contract year and he played well until he was injuried. He hasn't been terrible as a player, problem was health. He has stayed healthy so far thus you're seeing what he can do

 

[Irvin88_4life]

Claiborne has never had a good year. Last year was the closest, however, he still missed 5 whole games and parts of 2 others while playing a bit above average.

In 2012, 2013, and 2014, he sucked.

He didn't suck. He had some decent games every year. His problem was health