Tony Pauline, Sports Illustrated draft analyst, passed on the following draft rumor/speculation on his Draftinsider.com blog:
We continue to hear the Dallas Cowboys are looking to do to things in the draft with their first pick 1) trade down and 2) grab an NFL ready right tackle. If they cannot move the ninth pick we understand Tyron Smith presently sits atop their draft board. As we reported last week head coach Jason Garrett and line coach Hudson Houck were in Los Angeles for the USC pro-day and the team is scheduled to bring Smith in for a visit.
That certainly opens up all sorts of possibilities ...
Yet when we look around the mock draft world, it appears that the mockers of the world have united and proclaimed Tyron Smith to be the foregone conclusion as the Cowboys' top pick. Over half of the mocks I regularly poll have Tyron Smith as the Cowboys' pick, and just like Morissey, I have grown slighty tired of all these Smiths.
So today, we'll only look at quotes by mock drafters who think the Cowboys will take someone not named Smith.
Here's an overview of our BTB Mock Draft database. Smith gets 14 of 25 votes, Watt gets 4 nods and Amukamara 3, while Bowers and Castonzo get two selections each.
| Mock draft | Date | #9 DAL |
|---|---|---|
| Drafttek | 4/6 | Smith |
| Walter Football | 4/5 | Smith |
| Draft Season | 4/5 | Amukamara |
| Doug Farrar (Shutdown Corner) | 4/5 | Castonzo |
| MyNFLDraft.com | 4/5 | Amukamara |
| Russ Lande (Sporting News) | 4/4 | Castonzo |
| Chad Reuter (NFL Draft Scout/CBS) | 4/4 | Smith |
| Rob Rang (NFL Draft Scout/CBS) | 4/4 | Smith |
| Brian Galliford (SB Nation) | 4/4 | Smith |
| Al Fronzak (East Coast SportsNews) | 4/2 | Smith |
| Mocking The Draft | 3/31 | Smith |
| Charles Davis (NFL.com) | 3/31 | Watt |
| Wes Bunting (Nat'l Football Post) | 3/30 | Smith |
| Don Banks (SI.com) | 3/30 | Smith |
| Pete Prisco (CBSSports) | 3/29 | Smith |
| Clark Judge (CBSSports) | 3/29 | Watt |
| Steve Wyche (NFL.com) | 3/29 | Watt |
| Draft Ace | 3/28 | Smith |
| Evan Silva (Rotoworld) | 3/28 | Smith |
| Dan Shonka (Ourlads) | 3/26 | Smith |
| Nolan Nawrocki (Pro Football Weekly) | 3/25 | Bowers |
| Scott Wright (Draft Countdown) | 3/21 | Watt |
| Todd McShay (ESPN) | 3/16 | Smith |
| Great Blue North Draft Report | 3/14 | Bowers |
| Mel Kiper (ESPN) | 3/9 | Amukamara |
Draft Season: Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska
"The Boys could use one more corner and should be thrilled to see the Fresh Prince of Nebraska on the board. This is one pick I’m going to lock in."
Shutdown Corner (Doug Farrar), Anthony Castonzo, OT, Boston College
"Jerry Jones has plowed a huge amount of money into skill and flash positions in the last few years, only to finally realize that without the big behemoths to protect them, those stat-collectors don't look so good. Right tackle Marc Colombo has proven to be especially vulnerable to the efforts of enemy defenders, and Castonzo looks to be the toughest, most well-rounded, tackle in this class. Typical of BC offensive linemen, he comes to the NFL with a great sense of fundamentals, which is something that has been in short supply on Dallas' front five in recent seasons."
NFL.com (Charles Davis), 4/3/2011: J.J. Watt, DE, Wisconsin
"Former TE at Central Michigan has morphed into a much-debated big-time DE ... seems to be a prototype 3-4 DE or five-technique."
CBSsports.com (Clark Judge), 3/29/2011: J.J. Watt, DE, Wisconsin
"Cowboys need another CB, but that CB is Peterson. With him off the board, they go for the best DE left."
NFL.com (Steve Wyche), 4/3/2011: J.J. Watt, DE, Wisconsin
"The Cowboys got handled a lot up front last season, and Watt could give them an anchor end who can help free up the OLBs and take heat off NT Jay Ratliff."
Pro Football Weekly (Nolan Nawrocki), 3/25/2011: Da’Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson
"Despite having been a wrecking ball as a junior despite finishing the season with ligament damage in his knee, Bowers could fall out of the top five, potentially even the top 10, as a result of concerns about the injury. Regardless of how he fares at his pro day on April 1 or whether he clears medically at the Combine re-check, some NFL teams already have considerable concerns that could affect his draft status. Nonetheless, Jerry Jones has a pressing need to fill on his defensive line, and Bowers' game is best suited for power. He can stack the edge and upgrade a pass rush that has not been able to create with the front three since Chris Canty departed."
Weeii.com (DJ Bean), 4/2/2011: J.J. Watt, DE, Wisconsin
"The more I see of J.J. Watt, the clearer it becomes that he is the best 3-4 lineman in this draft not named Dareus. I have assumed that either Cameron Jordan or Watt would be Top 10 picks, but not both. With their choice of either at No. 9, the bigger and more fundamentally sound Watt could be their guy. The need is certainly there for the Cowboys at defensive end."
Dallas Cowboys Mock Draft overview (min. five rounds deep)
| Site |
Date |
1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | 4th Round |
5th Round | 6th Round | 7th Round |
7th Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft Tek | 4/6 | Tyron Smith, OT, USC | Cameron Heyward, DE, Ohio State |
John Moffitt, OG, Wisconsin |
Curtis Marsh, CB, Utah State | Henry Hynoski, FB, Pittsburgh |
Jermale Hines, FS, Ohio State |
Nick Bellore, ILB, Central Michigan |
Terry Griffin, DT, Elizabeth City State |
| Walter Football | 4/5 | Tyron Smith, OT, USC | Christian Ballard, DE, Iowa |
Quinton Carter, FS, Oklahoma | Curtis Marsh, CB, Utah State |
Roy Helu, RB, Nebraska |
Lee Ziemba, OG/OT, Auburn |
- - | - - |
| Draft Site | 4/4 | Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska | Christian Ballard, DE, Iowa | Marcus Cannon, OT, TCU | Marcus Gilchrist, CB, Clemson | Jason Pinkston, OT, Pittsburgh | Chris White, ILB, Mississippi State |
Javes Lewis, S, Oregon |
Kentrell Lockett, DE, Mississippi |
| MTD Live 7-round draft (CaliCowboys Fan92) | 3/28 | Tyron Smith, OT, USC | Rahim Moore, FS, UCLA |
Jason Pinkston, OG, Pittsburgh | Kelvin Sheppard, ILB, LSU | Ryan Jones, CB, Northwest Missouri |
Cecil Shorts, WR, Mount Union |
Wayne Daniels, OLB, TCU |
Kenny Rowe, DE, Oregon |
Once again, you can now vote on which mock you like the best. It's hard to believe, but Draft Tek has walked away with the victory for four consecutive weeks now, with four different mocks. Do any of the others stand a chance?