I know I know beating a dead horse. But I had a little free time on my hands and based on some of the discussion I thought it might be worth while to take a look.
Basically I went back through the draft and tried to recreate what the draft board would have looked like when the 47th pick came around. All the players with a first round grade were gone at this point. Assuming I didn't make any mistakes these are the players with a second round grade that were available:
+2 Terrance Williams, WR
0 Gavin Escobar, TE
-4 Ryan Nassib, QB
-5 Margus Hunt, DE
-7 Matt Barkley, QB
-12 Blidi Wreh-Wilson, CB
-14 Eddie Lacy, RB
The number represents the number of spots below or above Escobar the player was. For instance Williams was the best player remaining on the board and two spots above Escobar.
The most interesting name on this list is DE Margus Hunt from SMU. He was selected six picks later by the Bengals at 53. Doing a small amount of research on him he has very very good measurables. Raw talent however so I would say he's a classic boom or bust type guy. Worth noting he is already 26 years old. Even if he does boom it might be a limited window for his career.
The thing about drafting for need is that if the player is not a year one starter the point is somewhat moot. That's because the team will have other drafts/Free agency within that time frame to address the need.
I think Hunt is a slight reach but I would find it acceptable if he were taken by the Cowboys at 47. For me I would be okay with either Hunt, Escobar, Williams and maybe Nassib. I tend to be a pure BPA guy so if I'm in Jerry's shoes I'm taking Williams. However as it turned out Williams was available at 73 so taking Escobar is actually the move which maximized the Cowboys potential value.
People have said they would have rather taken next best OL/DL instead of Escobar. The next best DT had a third round grade and that was Bennie Logan. Cowboys had him at number 51 on their board he ended up being selected with the 67th pick of the third round by the Eagles. Keep in mind Escobar was ranked 25th on the Cowboys board.
For the offensive line it gets worse. All remaining offensive lineman had a fourth round grade or lower. When Jerry said Frederick was the last of the Mohicans he wasn't kidding.
Next Available OL:
C: Khaled Holmes 70th player on Cowboys board
T: Dallas Thomas 78th player on Cowboys board
G: Brian Winters 89th player on Cowboys board
Basically if you had substituted Escobar for next best available DT or O-lineman you would have been reaching by at least one round. The scouts may end up being wrong on Escobar but I do not fault the draft strategy. What say you zoners? Do you favor the Escobar pick or do you think the Cowboys should have gone OL/DL?
