Stephen: Kevon and Heath will compete to win a safety job

[OmerV]

NO, im not suggesting that, what im saying is,it was never a thought..There was never a plan to do anything but take Lve..Which begs to ask, what if he was taken the pick before Dallas?. Im all for making a selection, honing in on it, and standing pat till you make it..Calm yada..But if you entertain a trade for a fs a week before the draft, but the price is too high, and you have a chance to get a better price..What does that say?

Your logic is flawed. Not planning to move up does not equate to having no plan if LVE had been taken before the 19th pick. It's ludicrous to suggest they would have been standing around stunned with no idea what to do if LVE had been taken.

The fact is, all we really know is the team wasn't willing to pay the price to move up and that LB was a target. All saying "this is the guy we wanted" means is that was the guy they wanted based on how they thought the draft would play out. Obviously there were people drafted along the way prior to the 19th pick they would have loved to get, but they knew they couldn't expect to be available.

 

[CowboyRoy]

People are prone to dramatic over exaggeration on sites like this, and that's what I think is happening with you. I think it's fair to point that out.

What I also think is fair to point out, and why it's important to note that Heath is at least an average player, is that a team has to prioritize its needs. So while safety certainly could stand an upgrade, there are other positions that need upgrading as well. One of the DT spots for example, needs to be upgraded, and we desperately need another LB. To me, finding someone for those positions is much more important than replacing Heath. The Cowboys also have a bit of an O-Line problem - who fills LG, and if it's Collins, who fills RT, and if its Flemming, who fills the swing tackle role? Some will argue that it's vital to get a top receiver to replace Dez as well.

So what's the priority? If Heath is a "horror story" like you claim, then safety jumps ahead of most or all those needs. If he is an average player, we can get by with that in order to fill bigger needs. That's why it matters to look at this in fair and reasonable manner, and why it's important to distinguish between average and a "horror story".

Im not one of these guys that thinks we MUST fill holes are that we are going to the SB this year. I typically look at draft needs for one or two years down the road. Safety to me is VERY high on the list.

 

[xwalker]

Here is another head scratcher if james was notvworth jumping up two spots to draft, what makes you think The Thomas deal has legs?

Completely different players. It would be wasting James talent to play him deep.

 

[xwalker]

NO, im not suggesting that, what im saying is,it was never a thought..There was never a plan to do anything but take Lve..Which begs to ask, what if he was taken the pick before Dallas?. Im all for making a selection, honing in on it, and standing pat till you make it..Calm yada..But if you entertain a trade for a fs a week before the draft, but the price is too high, and you have a chance to get a better price..What does that say?

Think about how the draft fell (played out) in front of them.
After pick 15, these players were still available:
Edmunds
James
Vander Esch
The probability is high that one of those with make it to #19. If Vander Esch was their preference of the 3, why trade up?

Green Bay traded up to #18. Green Bay likely checked with the Cowboys on the cost to trade up to #19. If they did, it often comes out who the trade up team wants or at least what position.

Even if they didn't know what Green Bay wanted, the Cowboys likely had the WR Moore ranked right behind Vander Esch.

It was the 2 OTs, Da'Ron Payne and Davenport getting picked ahead of them that probably guaranteed they would not trade up.