Well that draft is over and there have been high quality undrafted free agents signed. I feel much better about the roster this coming year than I did last year and was very happy with all the draft picks other than the Hitchens picks. I hope I am wrong but I just got the feeling that this will be remembered as another 4th round blunder. Shades of David Arkin, AOA the FS, and Matt Johnson were etched into my brain. I do think this team will have a much younger, deeper, and cheaper rotation than last year. So this is my outlook of the 53 man roster
QB (3)
Tony Romo, Brandon Weeden, Kyle Orton
Orton can forget about getting cut. He will have to play in Dallas or not at all next year.
RB (3)
Demarco Murray, Lance Dunbar, Joseph Randle
Maybe Dallas can bring back Felix Jones on a veteran minimum contract because Joseph Randle was hot garbage last year. He looked like he was making cuts in Armadillo boots and this is from someone who was excited about him getting drafted last year.
WR (6)
Dez Byrant, Terrence Williams, Dwayne Harris, Cole Beasley, LaRon Byrd, Devin Street
I have a feeling that Byrd is going to break out this coming year. He seems like a hard worker and has very good size. I think with Dooley coaching him, he will make an excellent back up receiver who will emerge as a legitimate target in multiple receiver sets. Will he be a pro-bowler? No, but sometimes teams just need extra receivers for sub-packages. I thought about cutting Beasley, but the team likes him as a slot receiver despite his Peter Dinklage stature. Harris remains one of the best special teamers in the NFL
TE (3)
Jason Witten, Gavin Escobar, James Hannah
I think Dallas infatuation with the 2 TE offense is over. They might still sprinkle in some 2 TE looks, but it will no longer be the base offense. They even ran the ball better out of 3 receiver sets.
FB (1)
James Copeland
Finally an old school fullback.
OL (8) Tyron Smith, Ronald Leary, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin, Doug Free, Jeremy Parnell, Darrion Weems, and Mackenzy Bernadeau
I think Dallas goes a little light here due to the lineman being able to play multiple positions. While the starting 5 are locked down, Parnell can backup both tackle positions, Weems can backup both tackle and guard, and Bernadeau can serve as a backup to both center and guard positions. Excellent versatility allows Dallas to use extra D-linemen on the roster.
DL (10) DeMarcus Lawrence, Terrell McClain, Henry Melton, Tyrone Crawford, Ken Bishop, Davon Coleman, George Selvie, Ben Gardner, Martez Wilson, and Ben Bass
I thought about keeping Hayden over Bass but Bass is a much better 3 tech fit than anyone else on the roster. I think Crawford sticks as a SDE and he looked like a pretty good pass-rusher before he got hurt. My surprise cuts are Spencer and Mincey. I think Gardner will emerge as a player and I have a feeling that Wilson will turn some heads as the WDE. Both players will force the coaching staff to go with a youth movement. This is my fearless prediction. Everyone will get playing time as the defense will come at the opposition in waves.
LB (6) DeVonte Halloman, Sean Lee, Kyle Wilber, Bruce Carter, Anthony Hitchens, and Will Smith
I think Halloman will emerge as a WOLB. He took off in the Philly game and looked much better in 1 game than Carter had looked all year. I think Carter should be cut but his draft status will force the team to give him 1 more year. The guy has a million dollar body and a ten cent brain. I think Halloman flat out beats him. Wilber looked rather promising as the strong side linebacker. He actually looked like an improvement over Durant even in his limited playing time. I hope Hitchens wasn't a reach because Lee will get hurt, again. Durant finally has the clock strike midnight here in Dallas.
CB (5)
Brandon Carr, Orlando Scandrick, Morris Claiborne, BW Webb, and Terrence Mitchell.
Claiborne has lost his starting job, but will still get lots of playing time as teams go 3 wide quite often. Claiborne will go outside while Scandrick covers the slot.
S (5)
Barry Church, JJ Wilcox, Matt Johnson, Ahmad Dixon, and Sterling Moore. Hamilton and Heath get caught in in a numbers game. I think Moore serves as insurance in case a starting safety goes down as he is much more fundamentally sound. I really like Moore and do not understand why the staff didn't give him more looks at FS last year. He can also play corner in a punch. Very versatile player.
Specialist players (3)
LP Ladoceur
K Dan Bailey
P Cody Mandell
I think Madell makes Jones expendable. Ladoceur is too good to go anywhere anytime soon.
