Although the Cowboys don’t have any room currently under the cap, as a faithful Cowboys fan I have to believe that at some point within the next week or two the team will extend Tony Romo’s contract and as a result create $8 million in cap space. Once they do that, if they also cut Lawrence Vickers, they’ll have roughly $9.5 million in cap room.

What to do with this money? Although many free agents have already signed, the Cowboys can still shore up two or three positions of need and enter the draft with fewer needs and a better ability to draft purely.

One position the Cowboys should target is at safety. KD previously recommended signing Rhonde Barber to a short-term contract at or near the veteran minimum, and I think that’s an excellent suggestion. I would also suggest targeting Bernard Pollard or Louis Delmas if the Cowboys can sign him for $3-4 million. This would leave enough money to sign Ahmad Bradshaw to back-up DeMarco Murray and maybe even have enough remaining for Kellen Davis, recently released by the Bears when they signed Marty B.

Before suggesting a few mock scenarios, I would boldly predict that the Cowboys won’t draft a guard in the first round. First, Jerry invested a significant amount of money in Livings and Bernadeau, and I can’t see him giving up on them after one year – particularly since Livings had a positive PFF grade and Bernadeau improved consistently over the course of the season as he played more at guard, as Dr. P. pointed out. It seems that the only irreparable hole on the O-line resides at right tackle: if the Cowboys draft an offensive lineman in the first round, it will be a tackle rather than a guard.

Now, with the safeties and back-up running back signed, the Cowboys’ draft could look something like this:

Plan A: Sheldon Richardson still available at 18:

1) Sheldon Richardson, DT
2) Travis Frederick, G/C
3) Terron Armstead, ROT
4) Devin Taylor, DE
5) Matt Scott, QB
6) Michael Williams, TE

Plan B: Sheldon Richardson off the board; Cowboys trade down to 24 for an additional 3rd rounder:

1) D. J. Fluker, ROT
2) Sylvester Williams, DT
3a) Sio Moore, LB
3b) Brian Schwenke, G
4) Devin Taylor, DE
5) Matt Scott, QB
6) Michael Williams, TE

However, earlier today I noticed that Bjoern Werner’s stock appears to be falling, and several mocks haven’t caught onto the recent buzz surrounding Cornellius Carradine (e.g., Draftek, which this morning has him mocked at 36). This would present the Cowboys an opportunity to not only trade down and pick up one of them, but also to leverage the selection into more picks.

Imagine if the Cowboys could trade down to 26-29 and net an additional 2nd round pick as OCC simulated yesterday, and imagine if the Cowboys were able to draft Carradine or Werner with that first pick. If the Cowboys were to be so lucky, I would say that Anthony Spencer just became expendable, in return for a 2nd and a 3rd round pick.

With these extra picks, the Cowboys’ draft could look something like this:

1) Cornellius Carradine, DE
2a ) Sylvester Williams, DT
2b ) Travis Frederick
2c) Matt Elam, FS
3a) Terron Armstead, ROT
3b) Sio Moore or Sean Porter, LB
4) Cornelius Washington, LB
5) Matt Scott, QB
6) Michael Williams, TE

So, what do you think?