Wes Bunting of the National Football Post released his mock draft offering today, his mock draft version 5.0.
Bunting, of course, is an old pro in the mock draft business, and knows that to keep people talking, he has to provide some variety. In his previous four mock drafts he had the Cowboys selecting different players every time: OG David DeCastro in v 1.0, OC Peter Konz in v 2.0; CB Dre Kirkpatrick in v 3.0 and DT Michael Brockers in v 4.0. For mock v 5.0 Bunting proposes Kirkpatrick again, but with a twist:
Dallas Cowboys: Alabama FS Dre Kirkpatrick
Some of the buzz coming out of the NFL Combine is that a number of NFL teams are now looking at Alabama DB Dre Kirkpatrick as the top safety prospect in the draft. Either way the Cowboys have needs still at both corner and safety and Kirkpatrick is the kind of versatile athlete that could play a big role at either spot.
Moving Kirkpatrick to safety is not a new idea per se, but I believe this is the first time a widely read national writer has proposed this idea, so it warrants some attention. And I've got to admit, I kind of like the idea.
Conventional wisdom holds that you don't draft somebody that high and then change his position. And Cowboys fans are particularly wary of moving a corner to the safety position after the failed Alan Ball experiment. The 6-2, 186 pound Kirkpatrick will come to Dallas for a pre-draft visit in April. At the very least, the Cowboys will have considered a scenario in which Kirkpatrick is used as a free safety in the NFL. They might even be one of the teams Bunting references in the quote above.
If you were to think of Kirkpatrick as a safety and not as a corner, would you invest the 14th pick to get the best safety prospect in the draft?