Dallas Cowboys 2017 Draft Predictions: Who Do You Think The Cowboys Will Pick? - OCC, BtB
The best articles about the Cowboys are often right here on Blogging the Boys, and you have to love this prediction piece on the eve of the draft. The comments are not closed, so get in your picks before the draft, then be able to crow about them afterwards!
Submit a list of up to 30 players, irrespective of round, that you think the Cowboys will draft or sign as undrafted free agents. How you arrive at your selection is entirely up to you. You can carpet-bomb the first three rounds; you can focus on specific positions; you can look at the list of players the Cowboys invited for pre-draft visits or local "Dallas day" workouts; anything goes, but you've got to stick to 30 players.
NFL Draft Trends May Favor Cowboys In 2017 Draft - Tom Ryle, BtB
Ryle also has a nice piece demonstrating how all those QBs, RBs, and offensive linemen overdrafted before Dallas selects at 28 should help yield a quality edge rusher or defensive back that the Cowboys covet. He adds this little tidbit.
You can add some numbers up, and come up with a list of players who have less than a 50/50 chance of being gone when the Cowboys go on the clock....
Based on my calculations, all these players were more than likely to still be on the board when Dallas goes on the clock at 28:
Takkarist McKinley
Taco Charlton
Charles Harris
T.J. Watt
Kevin King
If those were your choices, who would you pick?
Dane Brugler thinks the Cowboys may be leaning CB for round 1, but he hedges to say edge rusher could also be the pick.
I think corner is the position we're looking at here at 28. It's really fortuitous that the strengths of this draft line up with the Cowboys' needs at 28. I think there could be both pass rushers and corners there that they'd be interested in. Adoree' Jackson, the USC corner, is the name that I've mocked to the Cowboys the last few weeks. He doesn't have maybe the size that Will McClay and the scouts traditionally look for at the corner position, but he has the length, in terms of the arm length. And I think that matters more than height in the eyes of Will McClay. Then you factor in that he's a world-class athlete and what he can bring to the team as a return man. He can help in a lot of ways. I think Adoree' Jackson would be on the short list.
Sturm: NFL draft prospects I think are worth the hype, and those who aren't - Bob Sturm, DMN
This list is a compilation of Sturm’s excellent series looking at draft prospects for the Cowboys. Definitely worth checking out.
Now, this is possibly the oddest "big board" you will see all day. This is not a mock draft. This is not a thorough look at the entire draft. I did not spend any time on wide receivers, tight ends, or offensive linemen. None. There are none of those on my board, yet we know that there will likely be about 10 of those in the first round alone. So, my 32nd player is probably close to the 45th player in the draft. I wish my staff was bigger than just me and I didn't try to cover seven sports, but I do. So, I had time for 11 weeks and five players per week. So, we did 45 defensive players, five running backs, and five quarterbacks.
Cowboys NFL mock draft roundup: Will Dallas get 'an absolute steal' at No. 28? - DMN Staff
Who do you like? Charles Harris? Jabrill Peppers? Tre’Davious White? Takkarist McKinley? Kevin King? Derek Barnett? David Njoku? Adoree Jackson? Taco Charlton? They are all mocked here. My realistic favorite out of these - probably Kevin King. With only Nolan Carroll over 6 feet tall, King could help a lot with big receivers.
"There are no Round 1 guarantees in this cornerback class beyond Lattimore. King, though, has propelled himself forward enough that it would be a mild upset if he isn't among the top 32 picks. The Cowboys have to be tougher against the pass, hence the addition of King's size and speed.
Dallas Cowboys have to take aggressive approach with defensive line - Todd Archer, ESPN
Archer doesn’t like the Cowboys’ returning players on the defensive line, so he’s suggesting the Cowboys grab:
Best fit: Derek Barnett, Tennessee. He broke Reggie White’s school record for sacks, finishing with 33 in his career. He was able to produce big-time numbers in the best conference in college football against top competition. He does not possess all of the quick-twitch athleticism you would want from a right defensive end, but he gets the job done with powerful hands, solid leverage and smarts.
Will he last to 28th?
Michigan DE Taco Charlton says he's 'definitely a top-15 guy' in draft - Mike Rothstein, ESPN
This appeared on the Detroit Lions’ blog, but Charlton is also often mocked to Dallas. He’s got straight line power, but can he bend the corner like the Cowboy’s need? He’s not lacking in confidence.
“I definitely feel like I’m a first-rounder,” Charlton said. “I feel like I’m one of the better pass-rushers in this draft. There’s a lot of stuff I can do on the edge. I’m one of the most complete pass-rushers and most complete edge guys that they’ve got out there. I’ve proven to stop the run. I’ve played inside and stopped the run. Played outside. Played a lot of different positions.
“Had 10 sacks in 10 games, and that’s on one foot. What I could do when I’m healthy and all the different things I can do, I feel like I could be a great player in the league.”
Should Dallas Cowboys have picked Ezekiel Elliott or Jalen Ramsey? - Todd Archer, ESPN
Here’s a topic we covered on BtB last week. Archer tries to make the case for Ramsey, who would unquestionably help the Cowboys’ secondary, but he ultimately sides with Zeke, who had a rookie season for the ages.
Elliott has the look of a transcendent player. He changed the Cowboys' modus operandi last season. He made the big plays. He picked up the dirty yards. He helped make everyone's job, from Dak Prescott, to the line and, yes, to the defense, easier.
The Cowboys did the right thing in selecting Elliott last year, but had they picked Ramsey a year ago it wouldn't have been the wrong thing.
At tight end, Dallas Cowboys don't need a progress-stopper - Todd Archer, ESPN
Don’t worry, this isn’t about taking another tight end in the second round while Jason Witten is still here. However, this might be a choice later in the draft.
Best fit: Jake Butt, Michigan. He suffered a torn ACL in the Wolverines’ bowl game but the Cowboys have a history of selecting players needing time to recover. You would like him to weigh more than 246 pounds but he has the chance to add bulk as he rehabs. The Cowboys want their tight ends to do everything and Butt is a willing blocker. He is a dependable pass-catcher, good route runner and what Jason Garrett calls the “right kind of guy.”
Late-round possibility: Michael Roberts Toledo. He is something of a project but there is a lot to work with. He is big (6-foot-4, 270 pounds) and he had his best season last year with 45 catches for 533 yards and 16 touchdowns. The Cowboys want in-line blockers and Roberts has that ability. He won’t run away from defenders but he can make difficult catches.
This ranks the needs from 5 to 1 as essential, important, always welcome, couldn’t hurt, and can wait. We all know the 5s - edge, cornerback, safety. Nothing else is higher than a 3.
Assessment: The search continues for a defensive end that stresses opposing offenses every snap. Dallas finished the season with 36 sacks, which ranked middle-of-the-pack in the NFL. The total was up from 31 sacks in 2015. But the Cowboys still haven't had a player record more than eight sacks in a season since Jason Hatcher had 11 from an under-tackle position in 2013. Benson Mayowa, a free-agent acquisition last offseason, led the team with six sacks.
Draft history: The Cowboys have tried, they really have. DeMarcus Lawrence (2014) is coming off a one-sack season, slowed by suspension and injuries. Randy Gregory (2015) played two games last year and will miss the upcoming season to suspension. Charles Tapper (2016) missed all of his rookie season to injury but has been cleared to play in 2017.
How does Gareon Conley situation affect Cowboys' final days of draft prep? - Jon Machota, DMN
Have you read the news? Conley is being investigated on a rape charge. Could be La’el Collins take 2, or could be a serious crime. It’s hard to know at this point, but it’s very likely to take him off team draft boards.
"If he's part of a rape investigation on draft weekend and there's no resolution, he's going undrafted," NFLDraftScout and CBS Sports draft analyst Dane Brugler said Tuesday. "An NFL team cannot draft a player who is in the middle of a rape investigation, unless the NFL knows what has not been reported yet, which is possible.
"This is something that happened in early April. The NFL hasn't just found out about this a couple days before the draft, they've known for a little while. But if police have an open investigation, investigating one of these players, who has been accused of rape, -- now he hasn't been arrested, he hasn't been charged, but he is the suspect of a rape investigation -- you can't draft a player like that."
Whatever the truth, it’s a sad situation for all concerned.