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When we last left the Cowboys in the hands of OCC (now dubbed The Goog by the other front-pagers), they had selected their Left Defensive End of the future in Bjoern Werner of Florida State. Werner should allow Dallas to let Anthony Spencer go on his merry way as soon as 2014, as he reminds most observers of another Closed DE that has come into his own, Chris Long. Defensive End isn't atop the Cowboys immediate needs of upgrades needed to make 2013 successful, but it is a vital role that needs to be addressed.
There is plenty of validation for the pick. If one wants to look at approaching the draft fiscally as well as practically, you almost have to select a player from the "Money 5" in the first round. Getting the "cheap labor" of a five-year deal for a franchise Quarterback, Left Tackle, Wide Receiver, Cornerback or Defensive End holds the key to effectively mastering your cap space.
A look at the Cowboys salary hierarchy shows it to be true. Brandon Carr, DeMarcus Ware, Miles Austin, Tony Romo, Doug Free... these are the upper echelons of the Cowboys cap-eaters. Along with an unneccessary extension given to a non-Money 5 in Jay Ratliff. Now look at how the Cowboys have drafted in the first round of recent years: Dez Bryant, Tyron Smith, Morris Claiborne. All Money Five guys. With no need (or value) in a first-round quarterback, don't be surprised to watch the Cowboys do a similar things to The Goog come April 25th. And yes, I've forced the other FPWs to now refer to OCC in this manner.
So now that Werner is "on board", what happens next? We saw what happened in the first part of Round Two, here. By a wide margin, our community poll says that Dallas should snap of Larry Warford of Kentucky; he won with over 540 votes while the next closest name had less than 70. LOL, you all must not know how O.C.C. feels about guards.
| Pick | Player | GM |
| 47. Dallas Cowboys | Terron Armstead, OT, Arkansas-Pine Bluff | OCC |
| Good bye Doug Free, thanks for helping out. Terron Armstead, playing bookend to Tyron Smith, allows the Cowboys to lock down the tackle position for years with two ultra-athletic tackles. Armstead is an outstanding athlete for the position who impressed at Senior Bowl and Shrine game practices and utterly dominated the Combine, exceeding target measurables in 6 out of 7 drills. Ultra-fast for his size and athletic on the move, he is the prototype of what offensive tackles should look like in the future and fits the athletic profile that Garrett and Callahan want in their linemen as they build a line that can really move. | ||
| 48. Pittsburgh | Manti Te'o, LB, Notre Dame | Coty |
| Believing strongly that a good locker room is a remedy for personal delusions, the Steelers invest their second-round pick in the heart of their defense, adding Manti Te'O to an otherwise aging front seven. The Steelers also had strong needs in the secondary, but they have made a habit of fielding lesser-known players with strong discipline, and it hasn't worked out too poorly thus far. | ||
| 49. NY Giants | Zach Ertz, TE, Stanford | Rabble |
| The Giants lost TEs Martellus Bennett and Travis Beckum in free agency, managed to re-sign Bear Pascoe, who functions largely as a third tackle, and inked former Raider Brandon Myers, a solid receiver who is by no means a deep receiving threat. With the addition of Ertz, Eli Manning gets a weapon in the passing game the likes of which he hasn't had since Jeremy Shockey was on the team: an athletic target who can pair up with 2012 fourth rounder Adrien Robinson to stress safeties and linebackers the way the Patriots do with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. The Giants offense just got a lot more difficult to defend. | ||
| 50. Chicago | Larry Warford, OG, Kentucky | Tom |
| With multiple needs on the offensive line, the Bears do cartwheels of joy to see Warford still available. They were convinced Dallas was going to take him, but there appears to have been a last minute change there. Now they have the third best guard available in the draft. A big mauler with excellent balance and strength, he just looks like a perfect fit for da Bears. | ||
| 51. Washington | D.J. Swearinger, S, South Carolina | Rabble |
| It's no secret that the 'Skins biggest position of need is safety, so they were pleased to see one of the targets still on the board at the 51st pick. Washington has an excellent front seven but journeyman Reed Doughty and oft-injured Brandon Merryweather were liabilities at safety. Swearinger is a versatile player, a free safety type who plays with physicality and aggression. He'll provide much-needed competition at a position of need. | ||
| 52. Miami | Quinton Patton, WR Louisiana Tech | Tom |
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TRADE NOTE: MIN gives 25,52 & 83 MIA gives 12 & 108 Having addressed pass rush and pass defense, the 'phins now add a new receiving threat with Patton. A bit overlooked playing for a smaller school, he showed great speed and strength, with long arms that will let him contend with defenders, plus he showed some good downfield blocking skills. The pick came down to him and Terrance Williams of Baylor, and Patton gets the nod for his punt returning abilities, which should allow him to contribute immediately on special teams as well. |
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| 53. Cincinnati | Gio Bernard, RB, North Carolina | Joey |
| The Bengals are ecstatic to add a home run hitter like Bernard to their Offense. After adding speed and athleticism to their defense earlier in the draft, they elect to do the same for their offense at #53. Bernard has dealt with some injury situations in his college career, but when on the field he has shown the ability to produce as a runner in 2 different base run schemes, while also proving to be a reliable option out of the back field and a threat as a punt returner (2 PR TD's in 2012). He will pair perfectly with the law firm of Benjarvis Green-Ellis, and will give defensive coordinators a lot to worry about in 2013. | ||
| 54. Miami | Menelik Watson, OT, Florida State | Tom |
| Having addressed pass rusher, CB and WR, Miami goes for another high impact position player with Watson. He is considered raw, but he also is compared with players like Joeckel and and Fisher in terms of potential. Speed, quickness, balance and build are all pluses for him. He may not be answer immediately, but looks to be a major piece of the puzzle for many years to come. | ||
| 55. Green Bay | Terrance Williams, WR, Baylor | Rabble |
| Packers General Manager Ted Thompson loves drafting receivers in the second round - Greg Jennings (2006), Jordy Nelson (2008) and Randall Cobb (2011) - and he goes to the well once again, picking up Baylor's speedy Williams. After losing Jennings to free agency and Donald Driver to retirement, the Packers need another potent weapon for their patented four-receiver sets; Williams, with his field-stretching speed, provides just that. | ||
| 56. Seattle | Margus Hunt, DE, SMU | OCC |
| Seattle has the luxury of not having to draft for a specific need. They've done a great job over the years of drafting linebackers and defensive backs, but haven't invested much in their defensive line outside of last year's first rounder Bruce Irvin. With the selection of Margus Hunt, they give their pass rush ("only" 36 sacks last year) an adrenalin shot: the 6'8" Hunt has an 82-inch wingspan, ran a 4.6 40 and put up 38 bench press; numbers that suggest a high ceiling for Hunt and have seen him getting first-round consideration. The NFL needs to start seriously worrying about this Seahawks defense. | ||
| 57. Houston | Robert Woods, WR, USC | OCC |
| Quick, name a receiver for the Texans not named Andre Johnson. Can't do it? That's not surprising, as the Texans just released Kevin Walter, and the next three receivers on the roster combined for only 22 receptions last year. Woods can be one of the best No. 2 receivers in the NFL, and instantly adds an extra threat to the high-flying Texans offense. | ||
| 58. Denver | Barrett Jones, C, Alabama | Coty |
| The Pro Bowl showed the sentimental connection shared between a Quarterback and his Center. The Broncos intend to get every last Favre-ing season out of Manning, and so they will try to forge a new bond between one of the best quarterbacks in history and the best center in the 2013 draft class. This pick is, of course, provided that everything checks out medically with his foot. | ||
| 59. New England | David Amerson, CB, North Carolina State | Archie |
| The war room had a difficult decision in the first round, but we opted to go with another weapon for Tom Brady. WIth this pick, the Patriots land a cornerback who just a few years ago was a certified ballhawk that some felt was a first-round talent. Amerson has great size and possesses the "swagger" that good defensive backs must have. Depending on where he is most comfortable, Amerson fills an immediate need in the New England secondary at either cornerback or safety. | ||
| 60. Atlanta | Jordan Poyer, CB, Oregon State | KD |
| The Falcons are hurting at the cornerback position and are very happy to pickup the opportunistic Poyer. Poyer showed he has what it takes to defend against NFL signal callers, plucking off several future pro quarterbacks. He is stout against the run and turned in a surprising 40 time during the combine. He continuously reads the eyes of the QB and does a good job breaking on the ball. They added pass rush in Round 1, now they picked up a player that will snag those hurried throws. | ||
| 61. Carolina | Dallas Thomas, OT, Tennessee | KD |
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TRADE NOTE: Carolina trades 44 (460) + 105 (82) to SF for 61 (292) + 74 (220) + 157 (28.6) Cam Newton gets some protection. Thomas will bookend Jordan Gross and with the return of Ryan Kalil, Carolina will finally be able to hum on offense. Thomas is an athletic player with the arm length to succeed after moving back outside to tackle. Thomas has good knee bend and is able to get to the second level, meaning he'll be out in front of Newton's read option scrambles, paving the way for 30 yard runs on a regular basis. |
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| 62. Baltimore | Jamie Collins, OLB, Baltimore | Coty |
| Collins can jump like DeMarcus Ware (41.5" vertical at 250 pounds! 11'7" broad jump) and, at 4.59, is faster than some NFL Safeties. He projects to be an excellent fit on the outside of a 3-4 defense. Paul Kruger will not be missed. | ||
| Prior Picks | Selections 1-46 | Review |
| 1 Kansas City Luke Joeckel 2 Jacksonville Geno Smith 3 Oakland Dion Jordan 4 Philadelphia Eric Fisher 5 Detroit Dee Milliner 6 Cleveland Jarvis Jones 7 Arizona Lane Johnson 8 Buffalo Barkevious Mingo 9 NY Jets Kenny Vacarro 10 Tennessee Chance Warmack 11 San Diego Sharrif Floyd 12 Minnesota Star Lotulelei 13 Tampa Ezekiel Ansah 14 Carolina Sheldon Richardson 15 New Orleans Jonathan Cyprien 16 St. Louis Jonathan Cooper 17 Pittsburgh Cordarelle Patterson 18 Dallas Bjoern Werner 19 NYG DJ Fluker 20 Chicago Xavier Rhodes 21 Chincy Arthur Brown 22 StL Tavon Austin 23 Green Bay Datone Jones 24 Indy Keenan Allen 25 Miami Damontre Moore 26 Minny DeAndre Hopkins 27 Houston Kawaan Short 28 Denver Sylvester Williams 29 NE Justin Hunter 30 Atlanta Tank Carradine 31 SF Tyler Eifert 32 Baltimore Kevin Minter 33 Jax Desmond Trufant 34 SF Jesse Williams 35 Philly Johnathan Hankins 36 Detroit Alex Ogletree 37 Cincy Eric Reid 38 Zona Ryan Nassib 39 NYJ Sam Montgomery 40 Tenn Alex Okafor 41 Buffalo Matt Barkley 42 Miami Jonathan Banks 43 Tampa Jamar Taylor 44 SF Matt Elam 45 San Diego Eddie Lacy 46 StL Phillip Thomas | ||
So what do you think BTB? What's your assessment of our second round?