FanPost

Draft Owen Schmitt

There's a couple of areas in need on this team. Mel Kiper says the Cowboys are old and getting older at WR. True. In addition, anyone with a functioning set of eyes and a brain could see we can't afford to have Facemask Reeves out on the field in anything other than injury-driven desperation.

The one area that I've not seen a whole lot of conversation about (granted, it's only Tuesday), though, is the running game. I think it's a unique opportunity for improvement for a couple of reasons. First, we've already got the difficult-to-find pieces in Jones (game breaker) and Barber (bruiser). Second, the draft this year provides an opportunity to get the missing link that will tie it all together: Mountaineer fullback Owen Schmitt.

What got the Cowboys in an offensive funk down the stretch, what's caused Julius Jones to be such a letdown as a feature back and what wore MB3 down in the second half of the Giants game is that they don't have a decent fullback on this team. The Cowboys haven't had a decent fullback since Moose retired. If Jerry had sprung for both Eddie George AND Lorenzo Neal, I think Eddie's time here would have been quite different.

Owen Schmitt is exactly the kind of player the Cowboys need to connect the rest of the pieces of the running game. He's going to be the Lorenzo Neal or Moose Johnston or Tom Rathman of this upcoming draft class...maybe this generation...of players. Here's how he instantly improves the running game for Jones and Barber and possibly even improves Romo's game:

Julius Jones: Jones is a second level runner, a guy who can break a run if he can get into the open field. The problem, up to now, is that he can't get past the first level. He is constantly brought down by arm tackles at the line or by linebackers plugging the hole. Jones is the kind of runner who needs a fullback to lead for him. Schmitt's got the size and the resume to fit that need perfectly.

Marion Barber: MB3...well, what can you say about how hard this guy runs? He's a hell of a lot of fun to watch. The problem is his running style gasses him as we very clearly saw on Sunday. Besides splitting carries with another back, what can be done to help him stay in the game longer? Give him a lead blocker. MB3 is a first level runner, but first level runners expend a whole lot of energy  breaking through those linemen and linebackers. A lead back with Schmitt's size would be perfect to reduce the wear on MB3 while keeping his brutal running style in the game for longer.

Tony Romo: Who wouldn't want 6'3 250lbs next to you in the shotgun to pick up the blitz? Just imagine if the guy can learn to catch passes in the flat like Moose used to...

Schmitt's not going to fly under anyone's radar and we'll have to wait and see what happens in free agency before we'll see if he might figure into their draft plans. At the end of the day, however, I think that he presents a unique opportunity to make both our feature backs...and possibly our quarterback...better.

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