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When we last left our Writer's Mock, the Cowboys had engineered a trade back to the 24th spot and still gotten their DE, Fletcher Cox. It was a shrewd move by our own Rabblerousr, who was able to gain the 56th pick of the draft (late 2nd) as well as a 5th round pick; giving Dallas a total of 10 draft picks in the 2012 amateur draft (including fourth-round compensatory pick assigned).
There was plenty of talent left on the board when Dallas selected at 24. Devon Still, Mark Barron and Don'ta Hightower would soon go off the board, and New England was able to snag a huge deep threat in Stephen Hill with the next to last pick of the first round. Take a look at how the entire round played out.
There was plenty of talent left available for the top of the second round as well. Follow the jump to see how the first 16 picks went down; including the first of Dallas' two second round selections.
| Draft Pick | Team | Assigned Writer | Selection | Blurb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | St. Louis | Rabble | WR Kendall Wright, Baylor |
After a night to review their board, the Rams choose the best player available, the lightning bug from Waco. |
| 34 | Indianapolis | OCC | TE Coby Fleener, Stanford |
The Colts add another significant upgrade to their passing game by reuniting Andrew Luck with his Stanford buddy Coby Fleener. |
| 35 | Minnesota | KD | CB Jayron Hosley, Virginia Tech |
Some may consider Hosley a reach as a late 2nd prospect, but Hosley comes from Va Tech's rich CB tradition and is known to dissect the QB as the game progresses. |
| 36 | Tampa Bay | Archie | RB Lamar Miller, Miami |
I could have addressed the linebacker position here, but Miller is the perfect complement to LeGarrette Blount and an awesome value this late. |
| 37 | Cleveland | Tom | RB Doug Martin, Boise State |
The only thing they needed more at this point was an OT, and Martin is a much higher rated player than any tackles left at this point. |
| 38 | Jacksonville | Coty | CB Alfonso Dennard, Nebraska |
Formerly rated much higher, Dennard's recently falling draft stock allows Jacksonville to happily scoop him up to bolster a secondary in bad need of help. |
| 39 | St. Louis | Rabble | DT Jerel Worthy, Michigan St. |
The Rams need help on the interior of their defensive line, and turn to Worthy, the squatty former Spartan |
| 40 | Carolina | Tom | WR Rueben Randle, LSU |
The 6'3" wideout is ranked on many boards as a late first rounder, with a lot of upside who was believed to have been limited by less than stellar quarterback play in college. |
| 41 | Buffalo | KD | TE Dwayne Allen, Clemson |
The next Alge Crumpler, added to an extremely potent offensive bag of tricks. |
| 42 | Miami | Archie | WR Alshon Jeffrey, South Carolina |
The Dolphins would be thrilled to get a dominant wide receiver this late. The pairing of Jeffery and Tannehill will give Miami the potential for a dynamic quarterback to wide receiver duo. |
| 43 | Seattle | OCC | DE Chandler Jones, Syracuse |
The 6-foot-6, 266-pound Jones is one of the most underrated prospects in this year's draft and will be an instant upgrade for the Seahawk's pass rush. |
| 44 | Kansas City | Rabble | OG Amini Silatolu, Midwestern St. |
With center Casey Wiegmann on the edge of 40, and the underwhelming Jon Asamoah and Ryan Lilja at guard, the Chiefs pick up a big, raw, athletic, young interior lineman who will provide an upgrade inside. |
| 45 | Dallas | Rabble | OLB Shea McClellin, Boise State |
With two second round picks, the Cowboys can pick up good players at two of three need positions that are strong throughout the round: guard, outside linebacker/ pass rusher, and cornerback. As it grew closer to their pick, Jason Garrett and the Joneses were looking at Amini Solatolu. Sadly the small-school guard with the big-school game was snatched up one pick in front of them (Dallas suffered the same fate with David DeCastro in round one). With a slew of good cornerbacks as well as Kevin Zeitler and Brandon Brooks still on the board, Dallas feels confident that they can get a terrific player at those positions later in the round, so they pull the trigger on McClellin, a solid, reliable player who many draft pundits have creeping into the first round. McClellin is a very good pass rusher, has a non-stop motor, and has demonstrated the ability to drop into coverage. With Cox and now McClellin, the Cowboys secondary just got a whole lot better. |
| 46 | Philadelphia | KD | OLB Bobby Wagner, Utah State |
The Eagles need linebacker help in the worst way, and get it in a line-penetrating outside backer that gets in the backfield to attack the ball carrier. |
| 47 | NY Jets | Tom | OLB Lavonte David, Nebraska |
The team needs a pass rushing OLB, and David can do that. Although undersized, he is a tackling machine and should be a good edge rusher. |
| 48 | New England | KD | DE Kendall Reyes, Connecticut |
Reyes wowed as he dominated at the Senior Bowl and will allow Bill Belicheck flexibility along the line as he rolls out his hybrid scheme. |
| 49 | San Diego | Coty | SS Harrison Smith, Notre Dame |
San Diego looks to create a dynamic safety tandem by pairing one of the best in the league, Eric Weddle, with one of the best in this (admittedly weak) draft. |
So there's the top half of the second round. Praise it or attack it in the comment section, but make sure you tell us how you feel about the Cowboys selection of Shea McClellin, a big riser on draft boards and positional rankings in recent weeks.
We'll be back soon with the remainder of Round Two and the Cowboys second selection of the round (#56) to see what trading back from #14 gained us. Let's just say they weren't happy to see Reyes finally scooped up, and by New England at that.