Update [2007-4-23 15:31:55 by Grizz]: The draft webcast special with Goose and others can be seen here. It starts at 3:30 pm EST. [END UPDATE]
Some interesting remarks in the Jerry Jones press conference earlier today. Here are some of the things I took way from it.
The Cowboys feel, like we all do, that they have a lot of flexibility going into this draft. There is no one position that is desperate for attention. We could draft at a lot of different positions in the first round.
Character is a big issue in regards to draft picks and Calvin Hill is involved in the process. They are even more concerned this year because of Roger Goodell’s tougher stance. They’ve already crossed some guys off the list because of character issues.
The draft board hasn’t been created yet. The Cowboys will do that over the next few days.
They do hope to draft a starter with the first pick, and Jerry mentioned competition at cornerback, specifically nickel corner. He said a corner could come in and start this year, though he highly doubted it.
There is the possibility that the Cowboys will bundle up picks and try to move higher in the first round to grab a star player. If someone is within reach, they might do it. They have 4 defensive and 3 to 4 offensive players marked that if they fell out of the top 8-9 picks they might trade up. But they don’t want to sacrifice future #1 picks to do that.
Brandon Merriweather’s issues haven’t scared the Cowboys away. Jerry is intrigued.
Jerry doesn’t share the Tuna’s philosophy about not drafting a WR in the first round, but that it would be hard for a WR to come in and start here. Mentioned again he feels confident at what they have at WR, and felt you could get talent there in the second or third round. Said he wasn’t willing to pay the price to get Calvin Johnson.
Trading one of their players on draft day isn’t likely; players have more value in trades after draft day.
Wade Phillips likes speed a little more than Parcells did. Parcells drafted the prototypes for his scheme. Phillips is more flexible.
My bottom line: Unless someone falls out of the top-10, the Cowboys appear to be ready to draft at #22 and are looking for a possible starter. The mention of nickel CB lines up with one of my big issues, that’s why I’ve been pushing Aaron Ross – but it could be one of the other 1st-round quality corners in the draft. It doesn’t sound like they will go WR unless a bargain falls into their laps. It’s interesting that Jerry was putting an emphasis on possibly moving up. I was thinking they might drop down, but it appears they are thinking about moving up. They need to get rid of some of those picks, 10 are too many, and they need to jump up in a few rounds.