News: USAToday: Boring-Free-Agency Mock Draft: Cowboys grab QB, intend to watch world burn

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For years the Dallas Cowboys refused to consider drafting a quarterback. It was all Tony Romo, all of the time. That finally changed in 2016 when they attempted to grab Paxton Lynch and Connor Cook before settling on Dak Prescott in the fourth round. In 2018, they selected Mike White in the fifth after having a higher grade on him. Could they strike again?

In our latest mock draft, we weren’t planning to take a quarterback. But after making two defensive selections with the Cowboys second and third-round selections, a top quarterback prospect who I feel will emerge from this draft class as one of the best was staring at us. With other needs assuredly higher (I’m not in the replace-Prescott camp and condone a huge long-term deal to lock him up) I’m also not a fool to not understand the value of the position.

With the scarcity of starting QBs around the league, a fourth-round pick now can turn into a first-round pick later, and also serves as insurance if Prescott falters or fails to reach an agreement.

Here’s the haul, using Fanspeak’s On The Clock simulator. We used Draftplex’ recent big board for ourselves, and had the sim use multiple boards for other teams, to best recreate what it will be like on draft weekend, we everyone having their own opinions about the rankings.

Below the gallery is the full breakdown of each selection.

Gallery

Cowboys 7-round Mock Draft: March 15, 2019




No. 58: DT Dre’mont Jones | Ohio State

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Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports


Jones would plug right in to the Cowboys’ current defensive tackle rotation and take the role of three-technique. Dallas lost a bit of talent there with the exodus of David Irving and Jones will prepare them for the 2020 departure of Maliek Collins.

Dalton Miller’s full scouting report

Jones has a good first step, in which he’s able to threaten the hip of interior blockers quickly, but it’s his subsequent steps that are elite. Unlike other interior defenders who can get to the hip quicker, Jones is able to carry that momentum through and to the quarterback.​


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— Dalton Miller (@DaltonBMiller) February 18, 2019

No. 90: Safety Darnell Savage, Jr. | Maryland

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Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports


Don’t let the package give a bad impression, Savage is the embodiment of his last name. He’s a box safety with coverage skills, and would be a perfect pair with Xavier Woods. He has ball skills and is capable of playing the slot and against tight ends. Great speed, violent hitter.

From Draft Network’s Kyle Crabbs:

Competitive Toughness -Mean, nasty hitter who moves at a different speed than his teammates in pursuit once locked onto the football. Has a great sense of fighting through contact on the edge and working to discard of blocks as a support defender.​

Flexibility -Has effective range of motion below the waist to produce suddenness on a plant/bucket step to spring out of a pedal. Mobility and body control flash most when tasked with tackling in the open field, shows good tackle radius to finish reps.​

No. 136: QB Will Grier | West Virginia

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Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports


Grier is a polarizing figure in this year’s draft. Some have him as the fourth-best QB prospect, capable of being drafted at the tail-end of the first round. Others have him waiting until Day 3. He has the prototypical size for the positions at 6-foot-3 and weighing 217 pounds.

He didn’t have the best week at the Senior Bowl, his opportunity to quiet critics about his arm strength and accuracy.

Still, his collegiate production indicates he may be a diamond in the rough. Five-thirty-eight’s Josh Hermsmeyer feels the NFL goes about drafting QBs all wrong, which is the reason so many early-drafted QBs bust out. Using an advanced metric known as completion percentage over expected (CPOE), he measures players based on how well they do against the level of competition they faced. Grier actually ranks second and gives him a 90 percent probability of NFL success.

The model predicts that Daniel Jones and Drew Lock are not going to be very successful.

No. 136: WR Jakobi Meyers | North Carolina State

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Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports


The big slot receiver Dallas needs.

From Draft Network:

Separation Quickness – Quick feet and varies his pace well to lull defenders to sleep. Not the most explosive receiver and is still learning the finer points of the position. Seems to possess decent quickness, but footwork might not be where it needs to be yet. Wish there was more juice out of his cuts to really create max separation.​

Ball Skills – Adjusted and high-pointed a ball between two defenders against Boston College that made my jaw drop. Was not utilized as a down-field, go-up-and-get-it type of receiver very often, but the flashes are intriguing. Did not see many drops on his tape. Has a big catch radius for a slot receiver and is fully comfortable going to get the ball outside his frame. Adjustments to off-target throws were frequent when necessary, and showed the concentration to finish in tight quarters. Will go get it over the middle of the field.​



No. 165: RB Darwin Thompson | Utah State

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Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports


We don’t know yet whether Thompson will be the next Tarik Cohen or not, but he sure is exciting. Standing at 5-foot-8, Thompson wasn’t invited to the 2019 combine, but he should have been.His highlights certainly seem to have the it factor.


Yeah Darwin Thompson is gonna be a problem. Contact balance, elusive, shifty, second gear, decent blocker, AND receiving ability? This guy is a mirror image of Tarik Cohen. He’s been a blur and dominated every game I have watched from him. He might be among the best of this class pic.twitter.com/NGI8BjfK73

— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) December 28, 2018


Yo, Darwin Thompson declared so I’m diving into his tape, but holy hell what a play. This is ELITE contact balance. I have no clue how he’d stayed up here. Dude is a quick and shifty runner. So far, I LOVE what I see. #DraftTwitter pic.twitter.com/8qjZLM30iJ

— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) December 28, 2018

No. 241: CB Jamal Peters | Mississippi State

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(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)


Taking a flyer on a cornerback with the height/weight combo Kris Richard likes despite the slow 40-yard dash time.

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