Last year the Cowboys had the chance to take JJ Watt, trade down, or stick to their guns and draft Tyron Smith. What was most interesting about the pick was that they were drafting a player who wasn't even considered the best tackle on his college team (USC). Even though he played right tackle the Boys smartly considered him the best tackle prospect in last year's draft. That pick has turned out be a home run. Their second round pick is still up in the air but hopes are high Carter will be a heavy contributor this year. Certainly they got one of the steals in the draft in drafting DeMarco Murray. The team was initially very happy with Arkin in camp but shortly thereafter realized he needed to get stronger to handle pro tackles. One year is not enough to judge Arkin. He was drafted from a small college program and it's normal for lineman to take a year or two.

Our recent free agency signings mostly plugged our holes. We still could use interior line on the offense, cornerbacks/free safety, and defensive pass rush. My board mostly goes after those needs while trying to keep in mind BPA:

ROUND ONE: Ingram OLB South Carolina, Coples DE UNC, Decastro Guard Stanford

If we miss on any of these above
- trade down -

if we can't trade down: Courtney Upshaw OLB Alabama, Cordy Glenn Guard Georgia, Fletcher Cox DT Mississippi St

(I love Kuechly but took him off with the recent Connor signing)

ROUND TWO: Chandler Jones DE Syracuse, Stephon Gilmore CB South Carolina, Kevin Zeitler Guard Wisconsin, Bruce Irvin OLB West Virginia, Konz C Wisconsin (wouldn't surprise to see Konz drop due to medical concerns)

ROUND THREE: Jamell Fleming CB Oklahoma, Harrison Smith FS Notre Dame, Brandon Thompson DT Clemson, Brandon Brooks G Miami of Ohio, Trumaine Johnson FS Montana, Josh Robinson CB

ROUND FOUR: Josh Norman CB Coastal Carolina, Ryan Broyles WR Oklahoma, Jake Bequette DE Arkansas, Jonathan Massaquoi OLB Troy

ROUND FOUR (COMP.): Tyrone Crawford DE Boise St, Mike Martin T Michigan, Donte Moss DE UNC, Evan Rodriguez FB/TE Temple

ROUND FIVE: Derek Wolfe DT Cincinnati, Janzen Jackson FS McNeese State
ROUND SIX: Kellen Moore QB Boise State, Nicolas Jean-Baptiste DT Baylor, Ishmaa'ily Kitchen DT Kent State
ROUND SEVEN: James Hanna TE Oklahoma, Coty Sensabaugh CB Clemson, Aaron Henry FS Wisconsin

I know a lot of people are high on Fletcher Cox. I'm not as sold on him versus some of the other prospects.

This board is full of guards, corners, and defensive tackle prospects. I'm not pretending to be a pro NFL scout here. I'm sure my board has got some questionable picks. Starting with JJ in the fifth I was taking some shots in the dark. I generally would hope the Boys stay away from players with questionable character. But this late in the draft if we wind up cutting a player due to character concerns it's not that big of a deal. Neither Dre Kirkpatrick nor Janoris Jenkins are on my board.

From the board above I'm hoping it falls for us like this

1. Decastro G Stanford
2. Chandler Jones OLB/DE Syracuse
3. Jamell Fleming CB Oklahoma
4. Ryan Broyles WR Oklahoma
4. Tyrone Crawford DE Boise St (Compensatory Pick)
5. Derek Wolfe DT Cincinnati
6. Kellen Moore QB Boise State
7. James Hanna TE Oklahoma