What wasn't going to happen in the draft

[gimmesix]

There are a couple of things I read on here that fans wanted Dallas to do that I don't think were realistic because of who the Cowboys already had on the roster.

1) The first was drafting Jalen Ramsey. Now, I believe if Dallas was forced to take the free safety/corner, it would have, but there are multiple reasons that he was not a realistic option. The first is that Dallas took a free safety/corner in last year's draft. Picking Byron Jones made it less likely that the Cowboys would turn around and take a similar (but better) prospect this year. The second is the money committed to the corner positions. Scandrick is playing on a five-year, $19 million deal he signed last year. Carr took a pay cut, but still is set to make $10 million this year. The money and resources committed to the secondary just didn't make Ramsey realistic.

(Dallas said Ramsey "was in the discussion," but I think that discussion ended with we're already paying a lot for our starting corners and just got Byron last year.)

2) Taking a DT like Reed, Robinson or Billings in the second. A lot of fans were clamoring for one of these 1-tech DTs to be Dallas' second-round pick when the team had just paid Cedric Thornton to be its 1-tech starter. That's on top of 1-tech not being the most valued position in this defense. If Dallas hadn't signed Thornton maybe it would have picked one of the Alabama boys, but I wouldn't have been surprised if the Cowboys had passed on them even without Thornton, believing it could get a 1-tech type later (which it could have in Billings).

 

[hendog]

I don't believe they would've taken those type of players even later in the draft. Maybe the 6th. They don't fit the mold of what they're looking for. Rushmen! Not that I agree just what I think.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

You can say the same thing about taking a RB. We have a 1000 yard back on the roster now that is cheap. We signed a guy who fits the scheme and could be very productive for cheap. We have a back that is coming off injury and was lighting it up last year, prior to that injury. You have a very deep draft class at the RB position.

Based on those things, taking a RB should never have happened, but it did. I don't think you can apply this type of thought process to our draft strategy.

 

[gimmesix]

You can say the same thing about taking a RB. We have a 1000 yard back on the roster now that is cheap. We signed a guy who fits the scheme and could be very productive for cheap. We have a back that is coming off injury and was lighting it up last year, prior to that injury. You have a very deep draft class at the RB position.

Based on those things, taking a RB should never have happened, but it did. I don't think you can apply this type of thought process to our draft strategy.

The key word you used is cheap. We don't really have much money committed to McFadden or Morris. Dallas had no monetary reason to not take Elliott. The team isn't tied to either McFadden or Morris.

Now, the argument could be made that the team could have cut Carr if it had drafted Ramsey, but I don't know how likely it would be to cut him right after getting him to agree to take a pay cut. The main argument that could have been used for Ramsey is the fact that both Carr and Claiborne will be free agents after this season, but still there's a whole lot invested in that secondary this year.

I think the one exception to the money rule was the QB position, where even though Dallas has a lot invested in Romo, his age/injuries made it necessary to begin trying to find his successor. However, it was easy to see that Dallas wanted to draft a QB by the fact that they didn't pick up one in FA.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

There are a couple of things I read on here that fans wanted Dallas to do that I don't think were realistic because of who the Cowboys already had on the roster.

1) The first was drafting Jalen Ramsey. Now, I believe if Dallas was forced to take the free safety/corner, it would have, but there are multiple reasons that he was not a realistic option. The first is that Dallas took a free safety/corner in last year's draft. Picking Byron Jones made it less likely that the Cowboys would turn around and take a similar (but better) prospect this year. The second is the money committed to the corner positions. Scandrick is playing on a five-year, $19 million deal he signed last year. Carr took a pay cut, but still is set to make $10 million this year. The money and resources committed to the secondary just didn't make Ramsey realistic.

(Dallas said Ramsey "was in the discussion," but I think that discussion ended with we're already paying a lot for our starting corners and just got Byron last year.)

2) Taking a DT like Reed, Robinson or Billings in the second. A lot of fans were clamoring for one of these 1-tech DTs to be Dallas' second-round pick when the team had just paid Cedric Thornton to be its 1-tech starter. That's on top of 1-tech not being the most valued position in this defense. If Dallas hadn't signed Thornton maybe it would have picked one of the Alabama boys, but I wouldn't have been surprised if the Cowboys had passed on them even without Thornton, believing it could get a 1-tech type later (which it could have in Billings).

I agree. I didn't see them taking a 1-tech after they signed Thornton in free agency. I'm not at all surprised by the Collins pick. I remember seeing a few months ago that his NFL comparison was Henry Melton, and as soon as they drafted him it reminded me of seeing that. I said for a while before the draft that the only DT I could see them taking was a versatile 3-tech in the 3rd. I was expecting Sheldon Day to be honest. The only exception I could've seen was taking Rankins because he could be too good to pass up. As far as Ramsey goes, a lot of fans were getting excited thinking about him and Jones roaming in the backfield at both safety spots. It even excited me a little, although I didn't want to draft Ramsey. But I just wasn't expecting it to happen. The only DB I could've seen them taking early was a sure fire SS like Joseph who could immediately beat out Church for the starting job in Week 1. The guy they ended up drafting could definitely be a Church replacement in a year or two. His NFL comparison is Church and he has the one major thing that's holding Church back - speed and athleticism. But I was not expecting them to play two FSs in the backfield, and I wasn't expecting them to put Ramsey or Jones at CB either.

 

[DFWJC]

I disagree with your take on Ramsey, though I do see your line of thinking.

It seems clear to me that Ramsey was Dallas' 2nd choice behind Zeke, and that the margin was not overwhelming.
They were fully prepared to take Ramsey. It just sounds like after some pretty intense deliberation, and to some degree, after the head coach actually sat down and watched every single play by both players for 7 hours, that Zeke won out.

 

[gimmesix]

I disagree with your take on Ramsey, though I do see your line of thinking.

It seems clear to me that Ramsey was Dallas' 2nd choice behind Zeke, and that the margin was not overwhelming.
They were fully prepared to take Ramsey. It just sounds like after some pretty intense deliberation, and to some degree, after the head coach actually sat down and watched every single play by both players for 7 hours, that Zeke won out.

I think if they didn't want Elliott, they would have taken the trade with Baltimore and drafted Floyd (another position where not much money is invested). I think Ramsey was in the conversation only from the standpoint of value. If Elliott was gone, it was either take Ramsey or trade. If no trade was on the table, then it would have been Ramsey (if Elliott was gone) by default.

I don't think they had anything against the player, just that the investment at the position made him lesser valued to them. If we had not drafted Jones last year, I have no doubt we would have taken Ramsey.