News: When it comes to rookie pass rushers, patience matters most

[RS12]

IRVING, Texas -- ESPN Insider Todd McShay has the Dallas Cowboys taking a running back in his most recent mock draft, but there are plenty of needs they have to fill, most of them on defense.

At the Pro Bowl, defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli said the Cowboys have to get better up front to aid a pass rush that recorded just 28 sacks in the regular season. Jeremy Mincey led the Cowboys with six sacks, which was the lowest total to lead the team since Greg Ellis had six in 2001.

The Cowboys have rebuilt their offensive line with three first-round picks in the last four years. They started the process of rebuilding the defensive line through the draft by taking DeMarcus Lawrence in the second round, giving up their third rounder to get him.

Earlier this week Steve Muench of Scout.com listed his top-five defensive ends in the upcoming draft, with Nebraska’s Randy Gregory, Florida’s Dante Fowler Jr., Clemson’s Vic Beasley and USC’s Leonard Williams leading the way.

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowb...-to-rookie-pass-rushers-patience-matters-most

 

[Macnalty]

We have little chance of sniffing these guys at draft pick 27, more likely we are looking for DT/DE combo's like Goldman DT only, Nate Orchard DT/DE, Carl Davis DT/DE IMO.
This is a talent laden draft that matches up with our needs, other than DE's being depleted early, we should find some talent in our first couple of picks. If we hit again with our first two picks somebody needs a raise. Yes I am declaring Lawrence a hit along with Martin and Hitchens.

 

[DogFace]

Yep ^^^Lawrence 2 sacks 2 fumble recoveries in 2 playoff games in limited snaps.

 

[xwalker]

We have little chance of sniffing these guys at draft pick 27, more likely we are looking for DT/DE combo's like Goldman DT only, Nate Orchard DT/DE, Carl Davis DT/DE IMO.
This is a talent laden draft that matches up with our needs, other than DE's being depleted early, we should find some talent in our first couple of picks. If we hit again with our first two picks somebody needs a raise. Yes I am declaring Lawrence a hit along with Martin and Hitchens.

They need to get some pass rushers in free agency. Counting on a rookie pass rusher is not a good idea for a team that is ready to contend.

Maybe they really should let Murray go, use that money on defensive free agents and draft an RB early because RBs acclimate to the NFL much faster than most other positions.

 

[Deep_Freeze]

They need to get some pass rushers in free agency. Counting on a rookie pass rusher is not a good idea for a team that is ready to contend.

Maybe they really should let Murray go, use that money on defensive free agents and draft an RB early because RBs acclimate to the NFL much faster than most other positions.

Yeah I believe DLaw will be fine, his performance late in his rookie season should remind people of Ware's rookie season.

We aren't in a position to hope and pray for another guy on the DL, while we should draft the position high, we really need to make just one splash on the DL in free agency for someone proven. If that costs us Murray, well point blank it is harder to find that pass rusher than a running back. We do owe Murray some loyalty since he is a Cowboy currently, but if we want this team to actually be a better team next year we do have to consider upgrading the premium position of pass rusher.

 

[Wood]

I am starting to cool on taking DE in round 1. There was article this week that tracks all DE for like past 10 years and on average the rookie DE has 2 sacks their first year. It position that takes time to develop. With Dallas having a window of lets say 2 years (with Romo) I think they have to go FA for DE. The more I look at this I think Dallas should go CB with 1st pick. Even if Murray leaves there are bunch of 2nd round guys I like that could work out well with FA RB and Randle.

 

[gimmesix]

They need to get some pass rushers in free agency. Counting on a rookie pass rusher is not a good idea for a team that is ready to contend.

Maybe they really should let Murray go, use that money on defensive free agents and draft an RB early because RBs acclimate to the NFL much faster than most other positions.

That's a good point. It would be much easier to find a starting-caliber running back at that point than a starting-caliber DE, so the money might be better spent there in free agency.

I just don't like the idea of that RB turning out to be a bust when we showed what we can achieve with balance. If we leaned toward replacing Murray in the draft, I would want Dallas to bring in a cheap stopgap who has proven he can carry a load to go along with that draft pick. Keep the bonus money low and if the draft pick shows he can handle it, cut the FA.

However, I believe if Murray's reasonable we should be able to keep him and add a high-caliber FA DE. But if it came down to either/or, I'd lean toward the DE.

 

[waving monkey]

They need to get some pass rushers in free agency. Counting on a rookie pass rusher is not a good idea for a team that is ready to contend.

Maybe they really should let Murray go, use that money on defensive free agents and draft an RB early because RBs acclimate to the NFL much faster than most other positions.

I agree with you but after seeing that photo with Red,Romo and Murray I suspect
Murray gets a contract from JJones

 

[waving monkey]

That's a good point. It would be much easier to find a starting-caliber running back at that point than a starting-caliber DE, so the money might be better spent there in free agency.

I just don't like the idea of that RB turning out to be a bust when we showed what we can achieve with balance. If we leaned toward replacing Murray in the draft, I would want Dallas to bring in a cheap stopgap who has proven he can carry a load to go along with that draft pick. Keep the bonus money low and if the draft pick shows he can handle it, cut the FA.

However, I believe if Murray's reasonable we should be able to keep him and add a high-caliber FA DE. But if it came down to either/or, I'd lean toward the DE.

the only problem is; this is counter to the new approach to business this FO has
i.e. not buying high priced FA's.

 

[xwalker]

That's a good point. It would be much easier to find a starting-caliber running back at that point than a starting-caliber DE, so the money might be better spent there in free agency.

I just don't like the idea of that RB turning out to be a bust when we showed what we can achieve with balance. If we leaned toward replacing Murray in the draft, I would want Dallas to bring in a cheap stopgap who has proven he can carry a load to go along with that draft pick. Keep the bonus money low and if the draft pick shows he can handle it, cut the FA.

However, I believe if Murray's reasonable we should be able to keep him and add a high-caliber FA DE. But if it came down to either/or, I'd lean toward the DE.

You're not going to get much of a player for minimal guaranteed money. That is unlikely to get anybody better than Randle/Williams. Teams have to take some amount of risk every year.

 

[Macnalty]

They need to get some pass rushers in free agency. Counting on a rookie pass rusher is not a good idea for a team that is ready to contend.

Maybe they really should let Murray go, use that money on defensive free agents and draft an RB early because RBs acclimate to the NFL much faster than most other positions.

I agree rookie DE's are still trying to figure out what moves work in the NFL after they realize they are no longer the strongest or fastest anymore. I firmly believe the very good DE's live in the first two rounds and the sooner we draft one the better, which makes DT/CB the next item on the shopping list and out of the two I think earliest impact position is CB/RB, we have maybe a two year window with Tony and Jason Witten, would hate to see a wasted season waiting for the talent to catch up.

I think most would agree this draft talent looks very good at our late pick?

 

[gimmesix]

the only problem is; this is counter to the new approach to business this FO has
i.e. not buying high priced FA's.

I don't think that's the new approach. The new approach was to not pay for age. The team had Melton set to receive a $9 million option on his contract if he had been the game-changer it was expecting.

We mostly bought cheap for the line last year because we needed a bunch of bodies. I think this year will be quality over quantity.

 

[gimmesix]

You're not going to get much of a player for minimal guaranteed money. That is unlikely to get anybody better than Randle/Williams. Teams have to take some amount of risk every year.

If we let Murray go to get a top FA DE instead and then spent the first-round pick on an RB, I think you could pick up a player like Darren McFadden or Knowshon Moreno as a cheap potential fallback without having to spend much. Healthy, both have more skins on the wall than Randle/Williams.

 

[waving monkey]

I don't think that's the new approach. The new approach was to not pay for age. The team had Melton set to receive a $9 million option on his contract if he had been the game-changer it was expecting.

We mostly bought cheap for the line last year because we needed a bunch of bodies. I think this year will be quality over quantity.

Meelton is a counter example, now lets see

 

[jobberone]

I am starting to cool on taking DE in round 1. There was article this week that tracks all DE for like past 10 years and on average the rookie DE has 2 sacks their first year. It position that takes time to develop. With Dallas having a window of lets say 2 years (with Romo) I think they have to go FA for DE. The more I look at this I think Dallas should go CB with 1st pick. Even if Murray leaves there are bunch of 2nd round guys I like that could work out well with FA RB and Randle.

S other than OL is the safest pick in general although of course success is determined by the individual player. DE is the greatest need but we need S and CB as well.

 

[gimmesix]

Meelton is a counter example, now lets see

And I have no doubt Dallas would have restructured his contract for a long-term deal if he had panned out. (It wouldn't surprise me if Dallas makes him another short-term offer now.)

Also, I do believe Jerry has made a statement that he'd rather pay two or three players what it would take for one high-priced player because of the "production" he got from Lawrence, Mincey, Selvie and Spencer after cutting Ware. Personally, I think that was a weak comparison since he was pointing out the play of all the DEs, on both sides, compared to a single DE who outproduced the lot of them in the regular season (although Lawrence alone beat him in the postseason with 2 sacks to none.)

I'm not interested, though, in throwing more OK pieces at the DL. We've got enough good-enoughs; we need to add a great to the mix.

Lawrence and Mincey have shown they could be a good combination on the right side, especially if Lawrence builds on how he played in the postseason.

Crawford is a solid 3-tech and Melton is still a possibility to rotate with him if the price is right ... while there are others (Whaley, Jack Crawford, even Terrell McClain, possibly Amobi Okoye) who might can at least contribute to a rotation. I'm not opposed to us going after an upgrade, but I don't think it's as pressing as other needs because of Tyrone's play.

The 1-tech position is questionable with Brent and Hayden, but I wouldn't go high-priced there (Bishop might develop; McClain showed he can contribute). We could definitely use a Booger McFarland to make the other line spots more effective, but it's a spot where we can get by without a great player.

Left end is where I'd invest the FA money. We have solid contributors in Selvie and Spencer, but we need more than that, and I don't think we can count on players like Gardner, Jack Crawford, Edwards, Boatright to provide the production we need from the spot.

 

[Doomsday101]

Lawrence getting injured with the broken foot in training camp really was a big set back for him, as a rookie you need all the reps you can get and he was unable to do that. I was just glad to see him come along towards the end of the season and look forward to seeing how much impact he can make with a full camp and season.