Dallas Cowboys News & Notes: Cowboys Unlikely To Pick A Running Back In First Round?

Cowboys unlikely to pick a running back in the first - Todd Archer, ESPN Dallas
Where other sites haven't offered up a new story all weekend, Archer continues to pump out content. This time he addresses the Cowboys' plans for a running back in his Twitter mailbag, and his take could disappoint some Cowboys fans.

With a few weeks to go before the draft, I don't think you will see the Cowboys draft a runner in the first round. I think there is a good chance you will see Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon go before the Cowboys pick.

I think Jay Ajayi could be a good thought in the second round, but something tells me to keep an eye on T.J. Yeldon. He is a solid all-around back. I don't think he would be there at No. 91 when the Cowboys pick in the third round, so I'd say he goes in the second round, even if No. 60 might be a little rich.

Greg Cosell's NFL draft preview: Examining the top RBs in a great class | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo Sports
Cosell writes that it's a great class for running backs, and examines nine running back not named Todd Gurley, one of which could soon be a Cowboys - if Archer is correct. Here's Cosell's take on T.J. Yeldon:

Yeldon has a running style and mentality well suited to the NFL, with his intuitive feel to attack downhill with conviction and his ability to work effectively between the tackles. He’s laterally quicker and a more explosive inside runner than Gordon.

Yeldon is a big inside runner with quick feet and the ability to create space in confined areas. He has deceptively quick feet for a 226-pound back. Yeldon has loose hips with the agility to dart and slash through small cracks in the middle of the defense. That’s important.

Come back at 10:00 AM ET for a more detailed T.J. Yeldon scouting profile here on Blogging The Boys.

Mayock's five fastest risers in 2015 NFL Draft - NFL.com
NFL Media analyst Mike Mayock has come in from the pro day circuit and found five prospects who are among the fastest risers in the 2015 NFL Draft, three of which have met with the Cowboys:

"Second is Mario Edwards out of Florida State. Back in August, he was over 300 pounds," Mayock said. "At the combine, 279 -- 272 at his pro day. Now he looks like a base defensive end who can kick inside on sub-packages. That gets some teams excited. The question is, though, now that you're paying him as a second-round pick, which guy are you getting, the 300-pounder or the 272-pounder with an edge?"

Another pass rusher who is shooting up boards, according to Mayock, is Bud Dupree from Kentucky.

"The tape is inconsistent, but as coaches get involved, they want to work with this piece of clay," Mayock said. "He's got everything you want in a Pro Bowl edge rusher except consistency."

Mayock's fifth-fastest riser in the draft, Arizona State's Damarious Randall, was just bumped to Mayock's No. 3 safety in the draft, and Mayock believes he is the best man-coverage player at the position.

Can draft prospects still influence their draft stock? - NFL.com
Albert Breer explains how prospects can still influence their draft stock even in a time where no football snaps are being played.

One NFC exec explained, via text, that players can help themselves "a little, but tape and live exposure is the main thing. Interviews, workouts and pro days just confirm or call for more investigation. ... Not a lot of wholesale changes on any guy. Guys may have moved a half a round or a round, when you say they've really helped themselves."

"Juniors have more volatility before and after (the season), and then still can make jumps," added a college scouting director for another team. "Top-round guys can improve maybe a round; lower-level guys tend to make bigger jumps, because there's less of a consensus. ... (But) a lot of it is the media catching up to names they didn't know."

Bill Jones: Cowboys Mock Draft 2.0 - CBS Dallas / Fort Worth
Jones gets all creative in his latest mock draft that has the Cowboys trading down twice and trading up once. The result:

2nd Rd – #41 – Mario Edwards, DT, Florida State
2nd Rd – #60 – Jay Ajayi, RB, Boise State
3rd Rd – #82 – Josh Shaw, CB, USC
3rd Rd – #91 – Chris Conley, WR, Georgia
5th Rd – #152 – Jamon Brown, OT, Louisville
5th Rd – JaCorey Shepherd, CB, Kansas
7th Rd – Chris Hackett, S, TCU
7th Rd – Darius Allen, LB, Colorado State-Pueblo

The top 300 players in the 2015 NFL Draft - SBNation.com
The CBSSports big board is convenient, sortable, and continuously updated, which is why we may have been focusing on it a little too much here on BTB. Familiarity breeds distress, so it's always good to get an alternative take, and Dan Kadar offers just that in his 300-strong big board.

Ex-NFL DB: My Mom said I owed her $1 million after I was drafted 17th overall - CBSSports.com
Cautionary tale from former first round pick Phillip Buchanon about the demands rookies are regularly faced with from their family.

Giants' Eli Manning named one of the top philanthropists under 40 | NJ.com
We dish on Manning a lot here, and there's a time and place for that. But today is the day we recognize his charitable efforts that have seen him raise nearly $3 million from 2007 to 2012 to build his Eli Manning Children's Clinic in Mississippi, which provides outpatient care to more than 75,000 children each year. Manning was recognized as one of the New York Observer's Top 20 Philanthropists Under 40, so there's at least one ranking where he makes the top 20.

Eagles unorthodox practice schedule not deterring free agents - Philly.com
Looks like Chip Kelly's genius extends beyond smoothies all the way to which socks his players can wear.

"To be honest, at first nobody liked it, but nobody would say that," McCoy said to The Inquirer last week. "But you got your coach, and you trust your coach. I trusted Chip. I did whatever he wanted after a while. Small [stuff] like wearing the right socks - you get over that."

Tug of war for new Redskins stadium is complicated by name debate - The Washington Post
The Redskins, who have been playing in Maryland since 1997, could relocate to Virginia. Which of course could lead to a complicated name debate. After all, they have yet to change their name to the Maryland Redskins, never mind the Virginia Redskins.