Cowboys Draft 2012: The Final Big Board

Beginning last year, I began assembling my own draft rankings and created my version of a big board. In the original formula, I decided to attempt to rank the prospects not just to the Cowboys needs. In my last update, I began tweaking the board to the Cowboys specifically. The big board has officially grown into a ranking system with the Cowboys in mind.

There are some rankings where I ranked a player according to general knowledge. Not every ranking is for the Cowboys, but for the most part this board is Cowboys related. Maybe next year I will go back to a generic board, but for the last update of the year, you can basically read this as a Dallas Cowboys big board.

The draft needs that I had in mind for the Cowboys really haven't changed too much. Cornerback, safety, defensive line, outside linebacker, offensive guard and wide receiver are all priorities on my wish list. Running back seems to be one of the deepest positions in the draft, so there are some running backs ranked according to talent instead of need.

You will notice that the board has extended from 50 to 64. It just made sense to expand the rankings to the first two rounds. With a full two rounds of rankings, you can get a better feel for exactly how I feel about prospects through the 64th pick.

Making this board is honestly one of the hardest tasks I have ever come across when writing on football topics. When I started my board last year, I truly appreciated the draft community even more. This is not an easy task, the professionals that get paid to do this aren't just throwing names on a board and ranking them, well the good draft analysts don't do that anyway. This experience has made me appreciate the scouts job even more because you have to be an extremely patient and smart person to analyze hundreds of college players for an NFL team.

Take the jump for the Top 64 prospects in the 2012 NFL Draft...

The Top 64

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	Morris Claiborne	CB	LSU	n.c.
4	4	Matt Kalil	OT	USC	n.c.
5	6	David DeCastro	OG	Stanford	1
6	7	Trent Richardson	RB	Alabama	1
7	5	Justin Blackmon	WR	Oklahoma State	-2
8	8	Melvin Ingram	DE	South Carolina	n.c.
9	9	Luke Kuechly	LB	Boston College	n.c.
10	12	Mark Barron	S	Alabama	2
11	10	Quinton Coples	DE	North Carolina	-1
12	17	Fletcher Cox	DT	Mississippi State	5
13	11	Janoris Jenkins	CB	North Alabama	-2
14	16	Michael Brockers	DT	LSU	2
15	14	Dre Kirkpatrick	CB	Alabama	-1
16	13	Nick Perry	DE	USC	-3
17	23	Stephon Gilmore	CB	South Carolina	6
18	15	Dontari Poe	DT	Memphis	-3
19	19	Riley Reiff	OT	Iowa	n.c.
20	28	Ryan Tannehill	QB	Texas A&M	8
21	20	Michael Floyd	WR	Notre Dame	-1
22	26	Coby Fleener	TE	Stanford	4
23	18	Cordy Glenn	OG	Georgia	-5
24	21	Jonathan Martin	OT	Stanford	-3
25	22	Don'ta Hightower	LB	Alabama	-3
26	24	Courtney Upshaw	LB	Alabama	-2
27	25	Whitney Mercilus	DE	Illinois	-2
28	27	Devon Still	DT	Penn State	-1
29	29	Brandon Brooks	OG	Miami Ohio	n.c.
30	30	Kendall Wright	WR	Baylor	n.c.
31	31	Bruce Irvin	LB	West Virginia	n.c.
32	33	Vinny Curry	DE/OLB	Marshall	1
33	NR	Shea McClellin	OLB	Boise State	- -
34	32	Mike Adams	OT	Ohio State	-2
35	39	Andre Branch	OLB	Clemson	4
36	NR	Doug Martin	RB	Boise State	- -
37	34	David Wilson	RB	Virginia Tech	-3
38	35	Brandon Thompson	DT	Clemson	-3
39	36	Alameda Ta'amu	DT	Washington	-3
40	40	Alshon Jeffery	WR	South Carolina	n.c.
41	NR	Harrison Smith	S	Notre Dame	- -
42	38	Lamar Miller	RB	Miami	-4
43	37	Kendall Reyes	DL	Uconn	-6
44	41	LaMichael James	RB	Oregon	-3
45	44	Josh Robinson	CB	Central Florida	-1
46	43	Kevin Zeitler	OG	Wisconsin	-3
47	48	Chandler Jones	DE/OLB	Syracuse	1
48	NR	Stephen Hill	WR	Georgia Tech	- -
49	46	Peter Konz	C	Wisconsin	-3
50	50	Amini Silatolu	OG	Midestern State	n.c.
51	48	Jerel Worthy	DT	Michigan State	-3
52	47	Mohammed Sanu	WR	Rutgers	-5
53	42	Zach Brown	LB	North Carolina	-11
54	43	Kelechi Osemele	OG	Iowa State	-11
55	NR	Jayron Hosley	CB	Virginia Tech	- -
56	49	Dwayne Allen	TE	Clemson	-7
57	NR	Josh Norman	CB	Coastal Carolina	- -
58	NR	Cam Johnson	DE	Virginia	- -
59	NR	Joe Adamas	WR	Arkansas	- -
60	NR	Ronnell Lewis	DE	Oklahoma	- -
61	NR	Brandon Boykin	CB	Georgia	- -
62	NR	Brandon Taylor	S	LSU	- -
63	39	Brandon Washington	OG	Miami	-24
64	NR	Jamell Fleming	CB	Oklahoma	- -

Nine Out Of Ten

For the most part, the first nine prospects have stayed on top of the board for majority of the year. Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III are the clear cut prospects on top of the board. Morris Claiborne, Matt Kalil, David DeCastro, Trent Richardson, Justin Blackmon, Melvin Ingram and Luke Kuechly haven't changed too drastically in their rankings on my board.

They are my blue-chip prospects of the draft. I believe each player could become a franchise player for their future organization. Obviously Luck and Griffin are more important prospects because of their position, but a guy like Claiborne, Richardson or Blackmon could become focal points on their respected teams.

Ranking the top nine spots has been relatively easy the past two updates, it's after those rankings that I had trouble maintaining a clear consensus ranking system. Prospects fluctuated due to the more film study and preparation I did for the draft. The more homework I did, the more I shuffled the rankings. I believe that a big board should change unless you have absolutely clear knowledge on the prospects. Since I am an amateur draft analyst, I am going to go back and forth on my assumptions.

Mark Barron

Barron has been the hottest name on the draft circuit the past week. Recently I have fielded a lot of questions about him. Barron is a prospect that I have liked for a while. To be fair, no I haven't had him high on my board previously. The reasoning behind that is because of his sports hernia injury. At first, I didn't believe he would be ready for July or possibly August, but now he looks to be well on his way back to football shape.

It is true I have been influenced by the recent media coverage on Barron, but it is hard not to be swayed by analysts who work in the NFL for a living. Also some of the conversations I have had with Birddog26 the past few weeks have sold me even more on the idea of drafting Barron at 14. I may not have had him in my top fifteen rankings all along, but I have had positive things to say about him throughout the draft process.

After going back and looking over the tape, Fletcher Cox is another player that I am slowly coming around on. His upside at just 21 years old is fantastic, but he just needs to work on playing with a lower pad level. The Cowboys front office and scouting department should get some props here, they were on the Cox bandwagon for a very long time.

It doesn't look like my boys Melvin Ingram or David DeCastro will be there at 14. That is a shame, but let's attempt to be realistic about the matter. Cox is another potential top-ten pick, so we can assume he will be gone too. Due to that, Barron really makes even more sense for the Cowboys. Getting a natural leader and good football player at the safety position would be a fantastic pick for the Cowboys to start their 2012 draft off with.

Ryan Tannehill

Tannehill is the quarterback that generates a lot of buzz when determining where he will go on Thursday night. From a talent and upside standpoint, he has enough of it to be selected within the first ten picks. Deciding where to rank him on my big board has troubled me every time I sat down to put it together.

He reminds me a lot of Aaron Rodgers as a quarterback prospect. Tannehill is going to take time to develop, but if a team is willing to invest the time with him, they may land a mobile quarterback with a really good arm. People have to remember this kid was a wide receiver just a few years ago. He is still learning and adjusting to the quarterback position.

Tony Romo is a franchise quarterback, that is a statement you will either agree with or disagree with, that is up to you. The argument has been debated and analyzed on BTB for years now, so let's leave that discussion on the back porch for now. If we didn't have Romo and a reliable backup in Kyle Orton, Tannehill would be much higher on my board.

Running Backs, Wide Receivers and Cornerbacks Oh My!

There are three positions in which this draft is absolutely loaded with good talent. Running back, wide receiver and cornerback will have the most depth throughout the draft. Each position is stockpiled with good talent through the first to late rounds of the draft. My board is made up of 5 running backs, 7 wide receivers and 9 cornerbacks.

Running back doesn't necessarily translate as a need for the Cowboys because of the dynamic player DeMarco Murray is. Felix Jones may be a bust in my eyes, but I love the way he runs the football. Health has been his biggest problem, and that is a shame because when healthy he can be a gamebreaker at running back. Felix is in a contract year and has never lived up to his first-round draft status, so the Cowboys could be in the market for a running back this weekend.

Boise State running back Doug Martin is a newcomer to my board. After taking a second look after finding out he was a Valley Ranch invite, I really liked what I saw on film. He could be a poor man's Mark Ingram. His running style is very similar, and his short stature is made up by his muscular frame. Martin may be a luxury pick in the second round, but I wouldn't mind seeing him in the blue and silver.

Wide receiver has been a need on my draft checklist since we lost Laurent Robinson in free agency. I love the talent that Raymond Radway has, but he is still an unproven player. Andre Holmes could be a Plaxico Burress type of talent for the Cowboys, but he also very well could be a Ramses Barden (Google that name) type of prospect who never amounts into anything. My gut says that Ryan Broyles will be our third-round draft pick, just a hunch.

Cornerback looks like the deepest position in the draft. Due to the amount of good cornerback prospects available after the first round, the Cowboys really could afford to pass on one with the 14th overall pick. Brandon Carr was a huge signing for the defense, he should pay immediate dividends for them, but they still need more depth at the position. Mike Jenkins is entering a contract year, so it may be wise to begin preparing for his departure. Orlando Scandrick didn't live up to his new contract extension. Getting a young and talented player to push his him might benefit Scandrick and the Cowboys depth chart.