I absolutely wanted Donald in Dallas. I had even said trade up to about the 10th pick or so to make sure he played in Dallas for Marinelli. I would have loved to see him in Big D. Marinelli would have worked wonders with that guy.
I also liked Martin but he was a distant 2nd to Donald. I'm happy now that he's in Dallas and he's even better than I thought he would be. Simply fantastic.
Odell Beckham I didn't spend much time looking at because I didn't think there was any way Dallas would go WR in round 1. I thought he'd be good but I honestly didn't study him enough to know more than that.
I still lament the loss of Donald to the Rams but I wouldn't trade Martin for him now.
Very happy with the outcome. More than anything I'm happy that the guys the Cowboys were interested in like Donald, Martin, and Shazier turned out to all be great players. It is just more evidence that whatever Dallas is doing in personnel is really working.
As far as this year, I really haven't had a lot of time to get many pet cats but I really like Kevin Johnson, CB Wake Forest a whole lot. Right now he's probably a 2nd rounder and I'd love for Dallas to get him there. However, much like Donald last year, I'm afraid he'll rise up into the first round with a strong combine. His intangibles are terrific and his ball skills and natural corner instincts are going to be a hot commodity in the NFL community. Plus his 6-1 height makes him just the type of long corner the NFL is wanting these days. Just watch him play. Natural cover corner, IMO.
Early guys I like are:
Michael Bennett, DT Ohio St.
Todd Gurley, RB Georgia. He is going to be a super star in this league.
La'el Collins, OT LSU would be the RT I'd target if he is there at 27 and I didn't go defense. He's a mauler with a bad attitude.
Denzel Perryman, MLB Miami is a monster at LB. I don't like drafting 43 ILB's in the first but I would have zero complaints if Dallas took him as the BPA at 27. He is that impressive.
Cameron Erving, OL Florida St. is such a terrific football player, I'd take him at 27 and plug him in wherever the line needed a starter. I love his game.
Bud Dupree and Nate Orchard are two DE's I'd be interested in at 27. I haven't watched them play enough, but I do like them at this early point.