Cowboys Draft 2012: The Big Board 4.0 (Post Combine)

The combine has come and gone. We are right in the middle of free agency, but the draft is inching closer. It has been nearly a month since my last big board update. Prospects are starting to settle into their rankings and teams draft boards will begin to take shape.

The Cowboys are off to a great start rebuilding their roster. The theme of the offseason appears to be plug in holes on the roster via free agency and use the draft to take the best available talent on the board. It's hard to buy everything Jerry Jones sells us, but so far he seems to be backing up what he is selling.

This is one of the best free agency periods the team has had in a long time. Most of the contracts were very reasonable and look like good financial moves. Free agency is far from over, but I wouldn't expect the Cowboys to do much more shopping on the open market. The draft is shaping up to be a very interesting one for the Cowboys. With the way the have handled free agency, they are putting themselves in a great position to draft with less pressure on them.

2012 Cowboys Draft Needs

As of right now, I would say there are a few areas the Cowboys will attack in the draft. Center looks like a need still. If they decide to roll with Phil Costa again; there will be trouble. I know they are hoping he will improve and be a better football player, but I just cannot see this offense succeeding with him at center.

Mackenzy Bernadeau and Nate Livings are solid signings, nothing spectacular. Just because we signed two offensive guards doesn't mean we are out of the David DeCastro hunt. If he falls there they will take him. Offensive coordinator Bill Callahan recently worked out with Peter Konz and Kevin Zeitler. The Cowboys look to be focused on continuing to upgrade the offensive line.

Laurent Robinson took the big money and will be leaving Dallas after being one of their best wide receivers in 2011. Kevin Ogletree was re-signed, but we cannot expect him to be the #3 wide receiver next year. The draft is loaded with wide receiver talent. I moved the position up on my draft need wishlist after losing Robinson. Replacing 11 touchdowns won't be a walk in the park.

Brandon Carr was their #1 target entering free agency. Cornerback is nowhere near the need now it was just a week ago. They should still look to add another cornerback after the first round, but if one falls to them at 14 they may pull the trigger. There will be some great values after the first round, so the team should continue to stock up on cornerback talent.

Defensive line looks the area of need to upgrade in the draft. There have been no reports of the Cowboys bringing in any free agent defensive lineman in for a visit. The draft will have to be means to upgrade a defensive line that needs to generate more of a pass rush.

Michael Brockers has immense upside, but is the boom or bust type that makes selecting him that high risky. Fletcher Cox doesn't do it for me on tape or in the workouts to take him at 14. He is a fantastic young man with the RKG mentality, but he doesn't wow me enough to take him in the top 15. If he was the pick, I wouldn't have a problem with it. He is a solid football player with great upside, but I might go in another direction.

The Top 50

Rank	Previous	Player	Position	College	Change	Trend
1	1	Andrew Luck	QB	Stanford	n.c.
2	2	Robert Griffin III	QB	Baylor	n.c.
3	3	Justin Blackmon	WR	Oklahoma State	n.c.
4	4	Matt Kalil	OT	USC	n.c.
5	5	Morris Claiborne	CB	LSU	n.c.
6	6	David DeCastro	OG	Stanford	n.c.
7	7	Trent Richardson	RB	Alabama	n.c.
8	8	Melvin Ingram	DE	South Carolina	n.c.
9	13	Luke Kuechly	LB	Boston College	4
10	14	Janoris Jenkins	CB	North Alabama	4
11	15	Nick Perry	DE	USC	4
12	16	Dre Kirkpatrick	CB	Alabama	4
13	22	Dontari Poe	DT	Memphis	9
14	10	Michael Brockers	DT	LSU	-4
15	9	Quinton Coples	DE	North Carolina	-6
16	12	Riley Reiff	OT	Iowa	-4
17	18	Michael Floyd	WR	Notre Dame	1
18	27	Cordy Glenn	OG	Georgia	9
19	19	Jonathan Martin	OT	Stanford	n.c.
20	42	Fletcher Cox	DT	Mississippi State	22
21	23	Don'ta Hightower	LB	Alabama	2
22	20	Devon Still	DT	Penn State	-2
23	48	Ryan Tannehill	QB	Texas A&M	25
24	11	Courtney Upshaw	OLB	Alabama	-13
25	21	Mike Adams	OT	Ohio State	-4
26	24	Alameda Ta'amu	DT	Washington	-2
27	- -	Bruce Irvin	OLB	West Virginia	- -
28	31	Stephon Gilmore	CB	South Carolina	3
29	29	Mark Barron	S	Alabama	n.c.
30	25	Kendall Wright	WR	Baylor	-5
31	30	Vinny Curry	DE/OLB	Marshall	-1
32	26	Brandon Thompson	DT	Clemson	-6
33	36	Whitney Mercilus	DE	Illinois	3
34	46	David Wilson	RB	Virginia Tech	12
35	34	Mohammed Sanu	WR	Rutgers	-1
36	- -	LaMichael James	RB	Oregon	- -
37	50	Kendall Reyes	DL	Uconn	13
38	35	Lamar Miller	RB	Miami	-3
39	38	Brandon Washington	OG	Miami	-1
40	37	Coby Fleener	TE	Stanford	-3
41	41	Zach Brown	LB	North Carolina	n.c.
42	39	Orson Charles	TE	Georgia	-3
43	33	Kelechi Osemele	OG	Iowa State	-10
44	- -	Josh Robinson	CB	Central Florida	- -
45	- -	Andre Branch	OLB	Clemson	- -
46	- -	Mychael Kendricks	LB	California	- -
47	47	Jerel Worthy	DT	Michigan State	n.c.
48	32	Chandler Jones	DE/OLB	Syracuse	-16
49	44	Dwayne Allen	TE	Clemson	-5
50	43	Jared Crick	DE	Nebraska	-7
Out
	17	Peter Konz	C	Wisconsin
	28	Alshon Jeffery	WR	South Carolina
	40	Jonathan Massaquoi	DE/OLB	Troy
	45	Chase Minnifield	CB	Virginia
	49	Vontaze Burfict	LB	Arizona State

Here's how the Top 50 board splits out by position groups