Cowboys Draft 2012: The Big Board 5.0

We are only a few weeks away from the draft. I think we all might be relieved once it is finally here because while it is a fun time, it is stressful. The smokescreens are in full effect now, and Jerry Jones is a pro at it. This is the most frustrating part of the draft for me. I spend months breaking down and analyzing prospects for the Cowboys to draft, but this year is totally different.

The last two years we had a better idea of who the Cowboys are interested in. This year I couldn't tell you with certainty who will be the next first-round draft pick for the team. We know where the holes are, so at least we have an idea of the positions they will be targeting. Defensive line, guard, cornerback and pass rusher should be at the top of the draft priority list.

Usually when I write this board up, I attempt to stay unbiased and make it non Cowboys related. When I began writing this update, I found it difficult to steer away from not thinking about a board that made sense for Dallas. That is why you will see certain positions and players rated the way they are. Secondary, defensive line, pass rushers and offensive lineman all make sense for the Cowboys. With that in mind, I altered my rankings accordingly.

One player you will see with a very high ranking for the first time is offensive guard Brandon Brooks. The more I examine him, the more I like him. He is a tank that would really bring a much needed physical element to the Cowboys offensive line. At one point he looked like a reach with the 45th overall pick, but I think he would be a great pick for us in the second round.

Besides offensive line, the offense for the most part is set. This should be a draft that allows defensive coordinator Rob Ryan to upgrade his personnel. Fortunately for the Cowboys, this is a draft class stocked with defensive talent. Last year we saw a dedication to the offense, hopefully this year we see the draft picks go to the other side of the football.

So have at it folks, comment and leave your feedback below. This will be one of my last big board updates for the year. I will release one right before the draft, with a few mocks in between then for some good old fashioned fun.

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