Snooze. Waiting on the Tuna has sure slowed the news to a crawl out of Valley Ranch. So there's only one thing to do, and that's to look at some mock drafts. Woo hoo! Is there anything more fun than mock drafts in the offseason?
I only looked at a few, so feel free to add other ones that you find in the comments. I know we don't know who our coach will be, and free agency will radically alter draft plans because needs are no longer needs. But who's got time to wait on all that?
Without further ado:
Projected pick: +Reggie Nelson, S, Florida
Nelson, a speedy center fielder with excellent ball skills, would provide an ideal complement next to hard-hitting S Roy Williams.
Update [2007-1-18 14:28:35 by Grizz]: As noted by Parl in the comments, NFL Draft Countdown has updated their mock draft since I checked them for this post. They think S Reggie Nelson will be off the board, so they got us taking a lineman now.
Here's the updated pick:
The Cowboys have two clearly defined needs at offensive guard and free safety so with LaRon Landry and Reggie Nelson both off the board here this decision becomes relatively easy. Marco Rivera is just about finished due to a back injury and while it might not be a sexy or popular selection in round one the Cowboys need to find a suitable replacement. Justin Blalock played right tackle for the most part in college but will probably move inside to guard at the next level and he could be a real all-around force there. If either Landry or Nelson were available they'd be hard to pass up but word has it that Anthony Henry might move to safety and if that happens the need will shift from free safety to cornerback so that could be an option as well. With things as they are Blalock probably makes the most sense at this point and his addition would go a long way towards improving what has been a pretty average offensive line for quite some time now.
The Cowboys have two clearly defined needs at offensive line and free safety but with there not being an o-lineman worthy of this pick on the board their decision becomes easy, although I'm not so sure they would take a Levi Brown over Reggie Nelson anyway. For years now the safety spot opposite Roy Williams has been a problem area for this team and in all honestly they haven't made much of an effort to address it via free agency or the draft. After yet another long season of seeing Williams get burnt in coverage something tells me that is going to change sooner rather than later though. It's really not Williams' fault as he's more suited to be an in-the-box type and by expecting him to cover wideouts deep you are simply asking for trouble. Nelson only has a couple of years of Division I experience but he has made the most of them and was one of the true impact defensive backs in the college game this past season. A ballhawk and playmaker in the secondary, some feel Nelson could even project to cornerback at the next level but in Dallas he'd be a perfect fit at safety and his coverage skills would finally provide an ideal compliment to Williams and help eliminate some of the big breakdowns that have haunted them.
Levi Brown (OT, Penn State) It's been an up-and-down year for Dallas, but making the playoffs is an accomplishment. The Cowboys couldn't hide protection problems with the statue-like Drew Bledsoe standing in the pocket, but they have been able to mask problems up front with the mobile Tony Romo at QB. Levi Brown is a solid OT prospect from Penn State, who has been a senior leader on the offensive line for the Nittany Lions. Beyond offensive line, they might want to add another pass-rushing OLB, because they were not the same defense after Greg Ellis went down. Oh, and they could probably also use a holder...
Two for a safety and one for an offensive tackle.
Anybody got some others?