Source: Cowboys Favor Patrick Peterson As #1 On Their Draft Board, Looking To Dump Terence Newman

Interesting nugget from TFY Draft Insider about the Dallas Cowboys, the draft, and one Terence Newman. Obviously we can't confirm any of this, so file this under rumor from un-named sources. Also, speculation runs rampant this time of year, and you can't always believe what sources tell the media. And sometimes, those sources are not guys with actual power within an organization, and they just might be repeating idle chatter that happened in a meeting, or in the hallway, that really isn't part of the overall plan. Still, this one has some ring of truth about it.

According to the site, LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson ranks at the top of the Cowboys draft board. (Maybe some news outlet can get a shot of the Cowboys draft board again this year, but I digress). That's not a real shocker, he probably sits at the top of quite a few boards, or at least near the top.

What's more interesting is what they had to say about current starting cornerback Terence Newman.

In Indianapolis came word that certain factions of the Cowboys front office feel the franchise should rid themselves of former number one pick Terence Newman, who’ll be 31-years old this season and is a player whose skills have diminished.

Can't say I disagree too much with that sentiment in terms of his age and his skills diminishing. Pro Football Focus had Newman rated 93rd out of 100 corners in coverage for 2010. Of course, as I noted in my pick for the Cowboys in the Mock Draft BTB is running, some of that is due to injury. The problem is those injuries have been nagging Newman for the past few years, so thinking they will suddenly stop is probably wishful thinking. The article from TFY Draft Insider speculates that the Cowboys would try to trade up and get Peterson, but if they can't do that, they think we'll go in a different direction all together.

So what happens if Dallas cannot trade up and acquire Peterson? The general consensus is the team will look at players on either the offensive or defensive line when they are on the board with pick number nine. We have speculated the choice could be Cameron Jordan, assuming the Cal senior is still available and were previously told it could be another PAC Ten player, Tyron Smith of USC.

[snip]

One scenario had Dallas potentially trading out of the ninth pick, moving down in the first round then taking an offensive lineman later in the frame.

I guess that could be true, but if the organization truly believes that Newman is past his days of being an effective cornerback, it would be quite a gamble to not take a replacement in the first round. But, in the end, they do concede that things may come back to a name we keep hearing.

Granted, most of this was spoken about over the weekend before Prince Amukamara turned in his very solid workout Tuesday morning.

Stay tuned for a post later today from rabblerousr, were he'll show you a scenario that would make the Cowboys very happy if the draft unfolded in the way he describes.