Dallas Cowboys News & Notes: Dominique Easley "Got A Real Good Vibe From Cowboys."

Dominique Easley: "I got a real good vibe from the Cowboys" | National Football Post
Easley said after his pro day workout last week that he is roughly 80 percent recovered from a torn ACL in his right knee, and added that he'll be full-go by training camp. That's good news for the Cowboys, who could use a player of his caliber, and it seems they left a suitable impression on Easley when he was brought in for a pre-draft visit two weeks ago.

"Going to Dallas was really good. I didn't actually meet Jerry Jones on my trip, but I got a real good vibe from them. All the trips were very similar."

Cowboys' mysterious NFL draft consigliere Will McClay builds savvy reputation | Rainer Sabin, DMN
Sabin offers up a lengthy profile piece on Will McClay. An excerpt:

In the war room, [McClay] will partner with Stephen and Jerry Jones as they make decisions that will affect the team for years to come. Those who know and have worked with McClay say he’ll be a fine consigliere, offering informed guidance that will steer the family-run business in the right direction.

"He’s going to provide Stephen and Mr. Jones with the very best information, the very best players, the very best evaluation, the very best research that he can possibly come up with," said Gray, a scouting consultant with the club."

"I think that anybody, whether it be Mr. Jones, Stephen or anybody in another corporation, is going to respond to that, to the very best that’s available to them. Will is an incredibly detail-oriented person. His work ethic is really unbelievable. And he is very, very intelligent."

Gauging Cowboys' needs, potential fixes as NFL draft gets ever closer | David Moore, DMN
Moore puts together a primer on the Cowboys' needs heading into the draft, offers up defensive line, safety, and corner as the biggest areas of needs, and proposes players with which the Cowboys can address those needs.

Bears GM 'wouldn't count on' mock projections - Chicago Bears Blog - ESPN
Chicago general manager Phil Emery indicated that he doesn't expect Aaron Donald to be available once the Bears hit the clock at No. 14, much less when it's the Cowboys' turn at No. 16, and also explains why mock drafts are always lagging behind where teams rank players.

"Usually doesn't happen that way, does it?" Emery said, laughing, after being told of the many mock drafts projecting Donald to the Bears. "So I wouldn't count on that one. He's a very good player. When the dust is settled, usually teams understand who the top 10 players in the draft are."

"Then you'll see as the draft gets closer, the mocks get a little finer just because they're talking to people in the league, and everybody finally has kind of agreed on who the top 10 or 12 players in the league [are]. You'll see all those players, all of the sudden some of them are leaping from 18, 19, 20 … you'll start to see them at 10."

"[It's] because they have talked to enough people and people are saying, 'That's a really good player. That's a dynamic player. That's a difference maker.' And all of the sudden some of these folks that have been back there on mock drafts hanging back at 18 to 25 are all of the sudden in the top 12. They didn't rise. It's just that universal knowledge is being gained on who the top players in the draft are. So that's always an interesting dynamic to look at."

Cowboys might target WR or TE in first round of 2014 NFL Draft - NFL.com
NFL Media insider Ian Rapoport reports he wouldn't be surprised if the Dallas Cowboys, despite their defensive needs, target a wide receiver or even TE Eric Ebon in the first round. Of course, with that kind of mindset, Rapoport would likely have come up empty if he'd been asked which positions he would find surprising if the Cowboys picked them - and kicker or punter don't count.

'Boys hope Johnny Manziel falls to them, don't plan to draft him - NFL.com
The Cowboys would 'love' to see Johnny Manziel available when they're on the clock with the 16th overall pick, just so they would have some ammunition for a potential trade. More wisdom from Rapoport.

Bears GM: Don't waste late-round picks on QBs - ESPN
Phil Emery does not believe in the concept of a developmental quarterback.. Emery said he had studied the development of quarterbacks in the NFL and found that teams that draft quarterbacks in the late round rarely turn those players into franchise starters.

"I just did a little study. It's very interesting," Emery said. "That developmental theory doesn't hold a whole lot of water. There's entire classes of quarterbacks, since '06, I went back and looked at from Jay's on -- when people say developmental quarterbacks, OK, so who has gotten developed? There isn't a single quarterback after the third round since 2006 that has been a long-term starter. So you're either developing thirds, and most of them have been wiped out of the league. So to get a quality quarterback, you've got to draft them high. That 2012 class is a blip on the radar that's unusual, highly unusual."

"Most of the starters in this league come from the first and second round. So that's where you need to take a quarterback. So when you talk about quarterback every year, they have to be somebody that you truly believe will beat out the second and third quarterback that you perceive on your roster. And if not, history shows that you shouldn't make that pick."

Chiefs GM John Dorsey: "About the first of April, people stretch the truth a little bit." - ESPN
Dorsey with some perspective on what you should believe in the weeks heading up to the draft (and in today's news roundup, too):

"Do you know how much I pay attention and listen?'' Dorsey asked last year, about a week before the draft. "I haven't turned the radio on, picked up the newspaper or watched TV in terms of football in a month. And I try to block that out so I can get a really true perspective of what's there and what my goal is to do, to try to get the best available players, so I try to block all this out."

"About the first of April, people kind of stretch the truth here a little bit, so you just have to watch that."

Quick-hit thoughts around NFL & Pats - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN
Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston provides some (unintentional) draft comedy:

Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio: "I’d say there’s a deep group of defensive linemen that are different types of players."

NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock: "The edge draft isn’t great this year. If you’re looking for a defensive tackle, defensive end, it’s not real good."

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.: "I don’t think the defensive line is something you can wait on. There is not a lot of depth at end or tackle."