We no longer have to count months. We no longer have to count weeks, or even days. Only hours my friends, only hours. I hope you are all as excited as I am. I was excited for the draft in November, I've got my dial turned all the way over to "crunk" now. Starting on Saturday, the Dallas Cowboys will welcome an infusion of new blood. With new young players comes new-found hope. Some of the names called over the weekend will become key contributors. Hopefully a few will become franchise cornerstones. This is where championship teams are built.
You’ve done your homework. You’ve devoured every draft publication you could get your hands on. You’ve scoured the internet for every mock draft and prospect evaluation. Now is your chance to get up on your soap box and campaign for your guy.
I want to know who you think the Cowboys should select with their first pick. Let’s try to keep this thing as uniform as possible. This is not the time for crazy scenarios, or a list of guys. I don’t want to see your whole draft board, just give me one name and your reasoning for why the Cowboys need your guy most.
For the sake of an example, I guess I will set this thing off.
With the 51st overall pick of the 2009 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys should select…
There are plenty of reasons why I think Chung should be the Cowboys’ first pick. Firstly, I feel that safety is the Cowboys biggest need. Safety has been an area of need for the Cowboys since Darren Woodson retired, and we have seen in recent years how poor safety play can handcuff a defense. It is time to finally spend a first-day pick to plug the seemingly eternal hole at safety.
Secondly, I think that this year's talent pool at safety is much more shallow than the talent pool at defensive tackle, offensive line, linebacker, or wide receiver. There are three safeties who have pushed themselves ahead of the rest of the pack: Chung, Western Michigan’s Louis Delmas, and Utah’s Sean Smith.
Smith is best athlete of the group, but has more experience at corner. The Cowboys are high on Delmas, who may be the best player of the group, but his 12 bench press reps at the combine are a real red flag in my book. I am not as concerned with his upper body strength as I am with his work ethic. Delmas had to have known for at least a year that he would be showcasing his talents for NFL scouts in February. You have at least a year to prepare for the biggest job interview your life, and you don’t put in the work to put up a respectable number? You’ve got to do better than that.
Patrick Chung is not spectacular, but he is reliable. After watching seven years of Roy Williams, reliable sounds fantastic to me. Chung has the size, speed, recognition and coverage skills to play either safety position. If you are looking for Ed Reed, keep looking. Chung does not have the most impressive highlight tape, but you won’t often find him in chase position on anybody else’s highlights either. Patrick Chung is not as dynamic as Sean Smith, nor is he a bone-crusher like Missouri’s William Moore. Chung is however the most complete package at the safety position. That is why I think the Dallas Cowboys should take Chung with the 51st overall selection.
State your case for your guy (and slaughter me for suggesting Chung) below.