The elephant in the war room

[RS12]

This is not a great WR draft.

 

[RJ_MacReady]

I hope this isn't a veiled shot at my boy Spaulding.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

Appreciate the effort erod, but the "quiet secret" lies with the stability of one aging player's clavicle. And the elephant in the war room is overshadowed by the falling sky.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

He is, but so are most star players when you get right down to it.

Probably true.

 

[mahoneybill]

I am interested to see what Brice can do with Romo at the helm, A Morris is going to surprise some people. The O was the reason we lost last year, but do not believe it will be the year IF Romo stays healthy.

We need a pass rush DE & someone like Dak we can develop at QB. I think we see a vet QB brought in somehow some way.

So I would prefer a D difference maker and a potential laden developmental QB then the other way around.

Agree. Nice summary. Brice seemed to be able to get separation, and had nice hands

 

[Vinnie2u]

People complaining about who's behind Dez and We have Nick Hayden starting... Something does not compute...

 

[Beast_from_East]

There really is no franchise WR in this draft, Treadwell was probably the closest thing until he ran his 40 and you could time it with a sun dial.

He will get zero separation from NFL CBs, so he is basically useless. That is why he has fallen like a rock in the pro draft mocks.

 

[zekecowboy]

I don't think it makes a case one way or the other. If we trade down, it doesn't mean we need to trade back up. If we don't trade down, we can still pick a QB perhaps or a defensive player. I don't think we need to take a RB in the 1st or 2nd round. We can get one later if we choose to. We could take a WR and there are several that will be there in the 2nd and 3rd. I think we have a lot of ways to go here. JMO

It does IF Dallas is going to try and pick Josh Doctson -TCU WR in bottom of first round. "Having reliable hands is part of the equation, but Doctson puts himself in the category with the likes of Hopkins, Beckham and Evans because of his ability to adjust to the ball and put himself in position to make the difficult contested catches."

 

[Fla Cowpoke]

People complaining about who's behind Dez and We have Nick Hayden starting... Something does not compute...

Nick Hayden is not on this team.

 

[Vinnie2u]

Nick Hayden is not on this team.

Yet

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

The Pink Elephant is a DE not named Bozo.

 

[CCBoy]

Tunsil is not a RT. He's a LT so you would have to probably play Smith at RT, which he could do but you still have the problem of paying two LT contracts. No, I don't think that's the way to go. JMO

There is a proven habit in the offensive line, to just play the five best players and maximize the team. A rookie would be a poor selection to guard Tony Romo's blind side...period. Flozel Adams was a left tackle when he was drafted, and worked at guard his rookie year, to get him up to a NFL speed of play. It helped his career.

A year or two working as a unit and spending time for both tackles to work at both positions, team directions could be forged as well as accepted by the respective players. The very best offensive line is what is sought, and having a 'problem' of both Tunsil and Smith is to kill for in terms of NFL play. A tough and aggressive offensive tackle, such as Erik Williams, doesn't care about side, but mauling and protecting...egos get satisfied that way.

As to top tackles, they all get paid...and Tunsil would be on a five year contract as a 'rook,' That says enough for moderate range contract needs for a complete cap picture,

 

[Doc50]

There is a proven habit in the offensive line, to just play the five best players and maximize the team. A rookie would be a poor selection to guard Tony Romo's blind side...period. Flozel Adams was a left tackle when he was drafted, and worked at guard his rookie year, to get him up to a NFL speed of play. It helped his career.

A year or two working as a unit and spending time for both tackles to work at both positions, team directions could be forged as well as accepted by the respective players. The very best offensive line is what is sought, and having a 'problem' of both Tunsil and Smith is to kill for in terms of NFL play. A tough and aggressive offensive tackle, such as Erik Williams, doesn't care about side, but mauling and protecting...egos get satisfied that way.

As to top tackles, they all get paid...and Tunsil would be on a five year contract as a 'rook,' That says enough for moderate range contract needs for a complete cap picture,

And if Tunsil falls to #4, it's a blue-chip choice.

An extra pick can be derived then by packaging Leary; we've been fortunate with that degenerative knee, and it will likely become less reliable with time.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

It does IF Dallas is going to try and pick Josh Doctson -TCU WR in bottom of first round. "Having reliable hands is part of the equation, but Doctson puts himself in the category with the likes of Hopkins, Beckham and Evans because of his ability to adjust to the ball and put himself in position to make the difficult contested catches."

I don't see that. Doctson may, or may not be at the top of their board at WR or really, in comparison to any other position. I like Doctson but if hands are the criteria, then he's not even the best WR in this draft. The best hands in this draft probably belong to Tyler Boyd.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

There is a proven habit in the offensive line, to just play the five best players and maximize the team. A rookie would be a poor selection to guard Tony Romo's blind side...period. Flozel Adams was a left tackle when he was drafted, and worked at guard his rookie year, to get him up to a NFL speed of play. It helped his career.

A year or two working as a unit and spending time for both tackles to work at both positions, team directions could be forged as well as accepted by the respective players. The very best offensive line is what is sought, and having a 'problem' of both Tunsil and Smith is to kill for in terms of NFL play. A tough and aggressive offensive tackle, such as Erik Williams, doesn't care about side, but mauling and protecting...egos get satisfied that way.

As to top tackles, they all get paid...and Tunsil would be on a five year contract as a 'rook,' That says enough for moderate range contract needs for a complete cap picture,

This all might be true but Tunsil is a LT. He doesn't project to RT in the NFL, based on personnel opinions. If you draft this kid, then you either have to play him at LT or you have to sit him and let him get stronger because right now, he doesn't have the power to play RT in the NFL. I don't know why you would ever play him at Guard if he's the 4th pick of the draft but I guess that's possible. Tunsil and his agent would obviously play for whatever the 4th pick in the draft would make but after that, they aren't settling for RT money. You create a problem there and then, you end up losing this player after having developed him or over pay him.

No, I don't see how that's smart. I like the player but he's not who we need to be drafting IMO.

 

[Verdict]

Good points in this thread. First off, whether Dez fully recovers or not, I am not all that high on this group of receivers as a whole. They totally disappeared without Romo. I'm not saying it isn't reasonable to assume that their production would tail off without Romo, but really they pretty much disappeared without him. I believe that it would be a good thing to bring in a receiver in the top 3 rounds if we can find one that is a true difference maker.

I really hope that we trade back in this draft and pick up a few extra picks. While I am not totally against trading back up in the first, as suggested, it really only makes sense if you are trading back up for a QB, because otherwise you are probably giving up most if not all of the ammo that you got on the trade down to trade back up. If you trade down, wait on the players you want to come to you and get more of them. I am not against moving up three or four spots to target a player if we really want a guy and we know he won't be there if we stand pat, but don't give up all you gained in a trade down. or simply stay where you originally were and take who you want at your original pick.

I know this is a taboo subject, but a guy like the Notre Dame tight end (Nick Vannette?) has been thrown around as being a complete tight end as well. Some mocks have him going as high as the second round. They are saying that he is already an accomplished tight end, and his route running has been called "wicked". Don't be surprised if someone like this is seen as too good of a value to pass up on somewhere in the draft at the expense of immediate "need". I could hear the screaming if we took another tight end in the second round, but I doubt he would be in play as high as our original #2 pick.

Williams is a serviceable guy, but he doesn't have the best hands, and I really don't know if he will be worth signing to a second contract. I guess if Butler lights it up this year, he could eventually become our number two receiver. I like The Beaz, but to say he is one dimensional might be an understatement. I think receiver is probably a little bit higher on the "need" list than most think it is. Overall, a pretty good thought provoking thread and a thumbs up to the OP.

 

[plasticman]

Or Dez coukd be fully healed and simply end up doing something stupid and get suspended or worse. It wouldn't be a complete shock.

In any case I gave nevet felt completely reassured that he would be available at any given time.

Obviously, the same is true in terms of injuries and/or off field issues for the positions of LB, DE, QB, RB, and CB.

Which is why I beleive this topic actually reinforces the idea of BPA.

After all, if there are multiple critical positions that are one injury/issue away from being devastated then the Cowboys have needs everywhere and getting the absolute best player doesn't sacrifice value for need.

There is an argument for obtaining any of the players available at #4, taking BPA will satisfy a need.

 

[CCBoy]

This all might be true but Tunsil is a LT. He doesn't project to RT in the NFL, based on personnel opinions. If you draft this kid, then you either have to play him at LT or you have to sit him and let him get stronger because right now, he doesn't have the power to play RT in the NFL. I don't know why you would ever play him at Guard if he's the 4th pick of the draft but I guess that's possible. Tunsil and his agent would obviously play for whatever the 4th pick in the draft would make but after that, they aren't settling for RT money. You create a problem there and then, you end up losing this player after having developed him or over pay him.

No, I don't see how that's smart. I like the player but he's not who we need to be drafting IMO.

Now, what if Tony Romo was left handed? By the standard presented, he would have to stay on the left side and not be the protector of the blind side, which is all that a left tackle does now. Side doesn't matter to an offensive tackle...nor should role. Both are necessary for run blocking and pass blocking.

Since he is supposed to be the top player in this draft, surely he can be expected to both run block and pass block against any level of player put over him. Side is irrelevant to role.

As to guard, that was just to show it wasn't dumb or unproductive when an alternate position, as opposed to only left tackle, was used to develop up a player into his drafted role. Here, Tunsil would be drafted to be a NFL tackle. How a player helps an already established team is upon his skill set, not preset position. A tackle is a tackle. Who knows, in five years, Smith might start to slow and a switch could be in order by that time. For now, he should be fine as an entry level right tackle until he develops or Smith diminishes. I doubt the later...

 

[Redball Express]

The unspeakable must be spoken.

The clamor for quarterback chasers and ball toters and pass breaker-uppers will dominate our thoughts and posts for the next three weeks. Even more so, the QB question looms larger, knowing we're unknowingly close to having that nuts-in-a-bench-vice conundrum to fight through if we push it off much further.

The here-and-now versus the uh-oh-later. Such is the enigma wrapped in a riddle for the personnel people.

But are we perhaps burying another pressing problem?

We all agree that Dallas needs an upgrade at WR to go alongside Dez. We know that because, while Williams is pretty good with Dez, he's virtually useless without him, and the rest of the corps are a collection of slot guys and incomplete packages that can't carry the water in a pinch. Witten is 100 years old, and Escobar is a unicorn.

That's critically important because perhaps the real question is, does Dallas actually need a replacement for Dez, not just a better No. 2 receiver?

The scary truth of the matter is that there's no certainty Dez will fully recover from the injury he had last year. Foot injuries are a testy lot for receivers, especially when they involve broken bones that whisper funny French words like Lisfranc. You don't want to hear that word. Dez' break was never fully rendered as such, but it was in the "like Lisfranc" mentions, and that should worry us all. It not only robs speed and quickness, these fractures often re-fracture and never properly heal for the rigors of running routes.

Dez is a tough hombre, and we all know he played through pain. But he wasn't good, and not just because of the quarterbacks throwing to him. Even Weeden managed to find a rhythm with DeAndre Hopkins. Dez wandered through routes and floated through games. He wasn't himself, not by a long shot.

I watched him closely, and there was no explosion, no separation, no crispness to him the entire season. He was an easy cover, and his frustration got to his hands, where many passes were simply dropped. He was rendered a non-factor in a bland season that left Linehan handcuffed and short-staffed. We're all assuming that it was just a temporary season thing, and we get 2014 Dez back soon. I'm not so sure.

If we don't, it presents two problems. First, the rest of the bunch can't function without Dez' threat on the field, so that presence must be replaced with a draft pick. Second, Jerry dumped a lot of money on Dez less than a year ago, and that contract could become an albatross of sorts. A young cheap No. 1 receiver would be needed while the Cowboys ride out Dez' contract.

The dice have to be rolled somewhere. Who would you rather gamble on...Romo, Dez, or Morris/McFadden? Can you muster a pass rush with those on hand? Can you afford to just go Best Player Available this time? (I'm usually a BPA guy.)

The quiet secret may lie in a mended, or not-so-mended, foot.

I agree here.

Last year was a horrific year btw the injuries to Romo and Dez and the exit of Murray.

You maybe right..

unfortunately as with the Romo contract..

Dez's deal can't be gracefully undone..

and I don't see us drafting a WR high because of that.

So you can sound the alarm but it seems we are going to need to ride this out.

 

[big dog cowboy]

If the unthinkable happened and Treadwell was there at 34.................. I'd take him.

Not with that 40 time.